Knyzhka Corner Book Review - Orphanage 41

Although Victor Malarek has written six non-fiction books, Orphanage 41 is his first novel. It tells the story of 19-year old Mykola Yashan, who is forced into a voyage of nightmarish self-discovery.

After the sudden death of his parents in an automobile crash, his entire world falls apart, “Because everything I’ve been told, all I’ve ever known, has turned out to be a big lie.” (p. 48)

Mykola leads a very sheltered life. He is a third year student in civil engineering at the University of Alberta.

As an only child, he is the “centre of his mother’s universe,” (p. 12), but he has a very complicated relationship with his father, Dr. Stepan Yashan, “a respected scholar in the expat Ukrainian community.”

Mykola cannot understand why his father resents him so much. After his parents’ death, Mykola discovers a shocking secret. He was adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine. This discovery forces him to start a search for answers about his past. ...

Full transcript here.

Book available at Amazon.ca here.

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