Holocaust: Artistic Dimensions of Contemporary Ukrainian Prose (Using the Example of Larysa Denysenko’s Echoes: From the Dead Grandfather to the Deceased

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The theme of the book studied is fascinating and very important at this moment. We need to know more about Ukrainian prose. On the other hand, the analysis is not literary. It is a novel, but analyzed essentially as a document by a psychologizing method. This is a real problem for me - as a literature scholar -, but this type of psychologizing analysis is common in memory studies, unfortunately.

It is necessary to summarize the book on which the analysis focuses earlier. Furthermore, is it a novel, a non-fiction? (“The work is based on” is too vague) Who is the narrator?

The author of the article has no critical perspective on the psychogenealogy visibly at work in this book. Unless the author of the article himself applies psychogenealogy to this novel? The idea that knowing the past solves all the personal problems of the present is truly conventional. Is it that of the author of the article or the book?

The author essentially highlights the “socio-cultural and global political changes” to explain the collective erosion of historical memory, leading to diminished interest among newer generations. But this is also explained by the duration of family memory above all, which is only 3-4 generations! (Assmann)

The author of the article wants to show „how an individual hero's genetically and individually expressed psyche can encapsulate the collective unconscious of an entire nation“ but individual memory and collective memory do not work in the same way!

There is no consensus on genetic memory. It must be clarified at the beginning, this is not a scientific fact but a hypothesis. Conversely, the author never talks about family memory, which is strange.

p. 5: what does “a Martha” mean?

Alayda Assman => Aleida Assmann

ameliorative markers of subjectivity must be removed from the conclusion

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

General comments on the draft ‘Artistic dimensions on contemporary Ukrainian prose’

Summary and introduction: The article is presented too much as ideologically driven, likeably humanistic as this ideology may be. Suggestion: delete lines 14-19.

It should be made clearer why it is this novel in particular that deserves discussion (line 73). Is it unique in its approach, or does it represent a trend in Ukrainian (or European) literature? Is it widely read or – in the author’s view – underestimated?

Most readers will not know the novel under discussion, so it is best to start with a summary of the plotline and the narrative situation and an introduction of the main characters. I still have no idea, for instance, who Marat is and how he functions in the novel (line 200, 242, 254, 465). Alternately the baron and his granddaughter are called the protagonist or the hero/heroine (line 388, 431, 440).

The terms genetic memory, collective memory and historical memory seem to be central in the argument. But they are not clearly defined or distinguished from one another. Maybe consult and refer to Routledge Handbook of memory Studies or the Sage journal Memory Studies.

An absolutely necessary source for the history of the Holocaust in Ukraine is Patrick Desbois, Porteur des mémoires or The Holocaust by bullets (2008).

The Denysenko novel has apparently already been discussed by O. Kopus and M. Krupka. This article should then discuss them more than just one sentence in line 53-56 and one in line 309.

As a literary analysis the article promises more than it delivers. It does not delve deeper into the ‘artistic role of details and symbols’ (lines 10-11, 77, 96, 498), than discussing the cross as a symbol, and contrast. The concept of contrast remains rather abstract. The effort to illustrate it with the use of colors is not convincing, because in the quote from the novel (line 305-310) mentions pink and coffee-colored for the clothes of the two characters, which do not pose a contrast at all.

Consider if paragraph 4 should not be subdivided.

Details:

For the female protagonist both the spelling of Martha and Marta is used.

Put titles of books and journal in Italics, as the scholarly convention prescribes.

line 38-39: Ukrainians did not only witness and suffer from the Nazi crimes, but the helped perpetrating them as well (see Patrick Desbois). It is exactly this mixture of roles that makes the collective memory of Ukraine such an important and fascinating case.

line 60-62: This may be true, but discussing German suffering says nothing of German willingness to confront their past as perpetrators. On the contrary: if anything, it serves to mitigate the blame.

69-70 What is ‘genetically expressed psyche’?

157-162 At this stage of the text, it is totally unclear to the reader that Von Weichen is a character in the novel (cf. my comment of adding a summary of the novel at the beginning of  § 4).

167: ‘a role model for previous generations’?? future generations?

214 In a novel it is the author who skillfully drives the plot, not a character.

221 Can one bear one’s grandfather’s unconsciousness? Or: ‘she unconsciously bears the burden of her grandfather’s past.’ ?

257, 271 The author’s name is Aleida Assman.

261, 264 What is meant by ‘the absolute past’?

266, 269, 276 Is her father a judge or a lawyer

304 ‘during the conversation’: what conversation?

311 ‘epistolary style’: in the novel as a whole, or just in the four letters from the grandfather?

324 Do I understand correctly that his mental ‘death’ is not caused by feelings of guilt but by his inability to cope with his change in social status? If so, shouldn’t that be highlighted more, as it would be very telling of the superficiality of his character.

391 The quote illustrates how he values his religion more than his military achievements, not so much his feeling of superiority. Or do you suggest that his statement is aimed at the Jews? In that case you should make that interpretation more explicit.

415-419 Can a Polish woman be an inherited item?? And is she a symbol?

428 ‘Death on the cross’ is not equal to Resurrection. In the unique case of Christ it entails or is followed by the resurrection.

470 How does she reliever herself of the burden? Just by acknowledging it? Make explicit.

476 Inherited genetic memory: isn’t ‘genetic’ always inherited?

487 Is the historical memory in this novel ‘eroded’ or purposefully covered?

491-495 is repetitive, can be deleted.

 Comments pertaining language and style

line 48: add a: a cult of violence

100: behaviors > behavior

103: a present > the present ?

124: 'the tension between national history and the international reality of the Holocaust': delete 'international' 

198: I'd suggest: '... Martha's personal ordeal: though she has got the foundation for a happy life...'

211 the esteemed > an esteemed

212 delete 'and she is a woman'. She is a lecturer, who has exprienced...

213 delete 'A': Martha is a daughter...

217 'haughty' or do you mean 'high-ranking'?

291-292 What is the grammary construction? What is the subject of 'permits'?

385 add a dot after 'response'?

394 An interpreter (as no interpreter has been introduced yet)

396 It is unclear who resembles who. In the following it becomes clear that the baron sees his own image in the interpreter's face. So 'his absolute resemblance to her'? (But in this case 'absolute' resemblance seems an overstatement. Better: 'striking'?)

427 'abolition of death'? Better: victory over death

430 awkward phrasing. I'd suggest: The first time the cross appears in the novel is at the beginning:'

458 'a deeply profound level' is double: a very profound level

485 'the significance of historical memory on individual and collective consciousness'  Significance for.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Your alterations and additions have greatly improved the article. Bravo for the summary of Debois' book.

The added summary of the novel (228-293) highly contributes to the understandability of your argument. But please look again at that part of the text as it unnecessarily mixes past and present tense.

Book titles need to be in italics in the main text (lines 37, 41, 58, 93, 347, 387, 621, 648).

Throughout the name Marta still occurs next to Martha. 

line 57 delete 'The'

58: Is the book title The Echo (as in line 58) or Echoes (elsewhere) ?

236 'having done her PhD' > after completing her PhD

237 'pyk' > her 

246 father > father's

253 delete 'who met her'

267 unworthy of > unworthy in the eyes of

269 'The Great War' is ambiguous, as this is the phrase with which WW I is indicated in the UK France, and Belgium.

278 truth > image ? tale ?

286 the dead man's > a dead man's

293 Weiner > Weichen

391-392 modern... postmodern world > contemporary ... postmodern world

409 delete 'who shares the same narrative'

421 the baron von Weichen > delete 'the'

599 her death > the interpreter's death (?)

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf