{"product_id":"bilyk-ivan-mech-areia-roman-kyiv-1972","title":"Bylyk Ivan. The Sword of Araya: a novel. Kyiv, 1972","description":"\u003cp\u003eIvan Bylyk. The Sword of Arian: a novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKyiv: Radyans’kyi Pysmennyk, 1972. Printed by the M. V. Frunze Book Factory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePublisher’s binding: covers pasted with colored paper, spine bound in grey-olive cloth. Front cover illustration in the woodcut style—two figures and a sword in radiance; title, author’s name, and year printed in a red-and-black Cyrillic font in an archaic style; back cover plain. Frontispiece—illustration in the same style: a rider at the head of a retinue. Covers rubbed and soiled, edges and corners worn, most notably along the right edge of the front cover; brown stains and smudges on the back cover. Block edges yellowed and soiled, frayed along the bottom edge. Paper naturally yellowed; yellow-brown stain on p. 38. Condition: good.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst edition of the novel. The book has historical and cultural value.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eINFORMATION\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIvan Bylyk’s novel “The Sword of Arian” was removed from circulation shortly after its 1972 publication—the year of the wave of arrests of Ukrainian intellectuals. It is a historical novel about Attila, whom the author portrays as the Kyiv prince Bohdan Hatyl, and the Huns as Slavs, the direct ancestors of Ukrainians. The narrative is structured like a chronicle: chapters open with the formula “In the year…” followed by the year. An extensive “sermon” on a separate sheet before the text lists the characters: Prince Bohdan, the beautiful Hrimilda, the treacherous eunuch Chrysaphus, the faithful warrior Hodechan, the blacksmith Lyudota, and the enchanted Nibelung treasure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIvan Bylyk (1930–2012) was a writer, journalist, and translator, and a member of the Union of Writers of Ukraine from 1967. After the publication of “The Sword of Arian,” he was accused of “falsifying history” and “nationalist leanings,” forced to resign from his job, and banned from publishing for years. He later wrote the historical novel “The Funeral of the Gods” (1986).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book was published by the Kyiv publishing house Radyans’kyi Pysmennyk. The unsold portion of the print run was destroyed, copies were removed from libraries and bookstores, and the book later reappeared for readers in independent Ukraine. The edition is distinguished by its design, which stylizes the book as an ancient manuscript: red-and-black Cyrillic titles, ornamental headpieces, and woodcut-style illustrations.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"archivevam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67289409552755,"sku":"SKU-01089","price":2250.0,"currency_code":"UAH","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/7885\/2723\/files\/pr-15634385731955.jpg?v=1793987309","url":"https:\/\/archivevam.com\/en\/products\/bilyk-ivan-mech-areia-roman-kyiv-1972","provider":"ARCHIVEVAM РІДКІСНІ КНИГИ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}