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Stalking the Atomic City

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Stalking the Atomic City
AuthorMarkiyan Kamysh
Original titleОформляндія
LanguageUkrainian
GenreNarrative non-fiction, novel.
Publication date
2014
Publication placeUkraine
Published in English
April 05, 2022
Pages160
ISBN9781782278573

Stalking the Atomic City: Life Among the Decadent and the Depraved of Chornobyl (Ukrainian: Оформляндія,[1] lit. Oformliandiia) is the book of Ukrainian novelist[2] Markiyan Kamysh. It was originally published in Ukrainian in 2014[3], and the first English translation was published in 2022.[4] The book is about Kamysh's experiences illegally exploring the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

Synopsis

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Kamysh tells of his experiences as a "stalker" in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone of Ukraine between 2010 and 2014. The essence of the book from the reviewer of The Quietus magazine: "It’s tempting to call his trespasses acts of pilgrimage, and there is something votive about them, but they are a compulsion too, an addiction. The prose – or maybe the experiences it describes – has the quality of a fever dream. Kamysh is a stalker, but it’s the forbidden Zone that stalks him. The thought of it won’t leave him alone. He swears he will stay away. He always comes back. You might call these journeys entradas, after the word the Spanish used diving into the American interior after the fall of the Aztec and Inca empires. And the zone too is a kind of terra incognita. Yes, there are maps. But I don’t know if there are any maps for what Kamysh wants to find."[5]

The majority of the book takes place within "The Zone," including Prypiat, Chornobyl-2, and the abandoned villages. Kamysh describes his fascination and obsession with The Zone, self-described "fetish" and "addiction" persists in spite of the various dangers that he encounters while stalking.

Throughout the book, Kamysh openly discusses his complicated relationship with The Zone. He has sworn off stalking multiple times, attempting to convince himself that it is not worth the time and risk to keep returning. These attempts are always unsuccessful, and he always returns to The Zone. As a testament to this, the book concludes with the phrase "I will return again."[6]

Reception

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Western critics compare Kamysh with Hunter Thompson[7], Jack Kerouac[8] and Charles Bukowski[9]. la Repubblica included the book on their list of the ten "books of the year" that "best represent the spirit of our times".[10] The Guardian called it "remarkable book".[11] "Mesmerizing" from The Telegraph[12], "an amazing book" from Le Nouvel Obs[13] and The Wall Street Journal called it "A punk rock pilgrimage to Chernobyl".[14] Multiple Ukrainian authors, including Andrey Kurkov have written positive reviews of the book.

References

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  1. ^ ""Оформляндія" | Маркіян Камиш". web.archive.org. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  2. ^ "« Le Maître », de Markiyan Kamysh : dans le cœur rongé de la Polésie" (in French). 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  3. ^ ""Оформляндія" | Маркіян Камиш". web.archive.org. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  4. ^ "Stalking the Atomic City". Astra Publishing House. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  5. ^ Quietus, The (2022-07-09). "Get In The Zone: Stalking The Atomic City By Markiyan Kamysh". The Quietus. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  6. ^ Kamysh, Markiyan (2022). Stalking the Atomic City: Life Among the Decadent and the Depraved of Chornobyl. New York: Astra House. p. 139. ISBN 9781662601279.
  7. ^ Rees, Jasper (2022-07-01). "Meet the madman who spent 200 days in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  8. ^ "Stalking the Atomic City by Markiyan Kamysh: 9781662601279 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  9. ^ "Una passeggiata nella zona di Markijan Kamyš – Capitolo23". web.archive.org. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  10. ^ "I libri più belli dell'anno ve li consiglia Robinson". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  11. ^ Jordison, Sam (2022-07-09). "Stalking the Atomic City by Markiyan Kamysh review – in search of meaning in Chornobyl's forbidden wasteland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  12. ^ Rees, Jasper (2022-07-01). "Meet the madman who spent 200 days in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  13. ^ "Tchernobyl 30 ans après : au coeur de la zone interdite". Le Nouvel Obs (in French). 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  14. ^ "WSJ".
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