The Language of War

When everyday life becomes a state of emergency, how can yesterday''s words suffice?
''We were so happy and didn''t know it...''

A thirty-three-year-old writer lives in a quiet European suburb with his wife and his dog. His parents have bought an apartment nearby. On weekends they go out for brunch, cook and see friends. Life is good; it is normal. Then the invaders come.

The Language of War is about what happens when your world changes overnight. When you wake up to the sound of helicopters and the smell of gunpowder. When your home is hit by shells or broken into by gunmen, and you spend another night in a basement-turned-bomb shelter. When, even though you''ve never held a weapon before, you realise the only choice is to fight back. It is about things one can never forget, or forgive.

Bringing together Oleksandr Mykhed''s vivid day-by-day chronicles of the invasion of Ukraine with a chorus of other voices - his family, friends in exile, those who have fought and have witnessed unimaginable atrocities - this book is both a record, and a reckoning. Haunting and timeless, it asks how it is possible to find the words to describe a new reality; how you can still make sense of the world when the only language you can speak is the language of war.<>

Product details

• Authors: Oleksandr Mykhed
• Publisher: Penguin Books Uk
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Release: 04.09.2025
• EAN: 9781802065541
• ISBN: 978-1-80206-554-1
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 35 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Non-fiction book; Ukraine, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military, True war & combat stories, HISTORY / Military / General, military history, Memoirs, HISTORY / Essays, 21st Century, Autobiography: historical, political & military, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, Autobiography: literary, Literary essays, Autobiography: historical, political and military, Battles & campaigns, True war and combat stories, Autobiography: writers, Specific wars and campaigns, c 2020 to c 2029, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / General, HISTORY / Europe / Ukraine, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs