Donetsk, the black jewel of Ukraine - Eden and Sodom at the same time, a crucible seething with coal, an inevitable fate in Eastern Europe. In her book, Ukrainian author Svetlana Lavochkina tells the story of a heroic and sore region, created from steel and coal, with brilliant poetic vigour.
In her work, the two narrative strands of the blacksmith Alexander and the linguist Lisa entwine around a complex, mythological and hyperreal image of Donetsk, the city of coal, and its history from 1964 to the Russian invasion of Donbass in 2014.
Thriller, love story, life story, historical wind rose, craftsman's song, ontology of the East Ukrainian soul - Carbon is all of this at the same time, a prayer in polyphonic verse for the beloved, maltreated city.
