Stopy na cestě – Markus Valerij (2022)

The novel Stopy na cestě is a bestseller by Ukrainian author Valerij Markus. It tells the authentic, captivating, and simultaneously raw story of a young man growing up in Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union during the difficult 1990s. His journey leads him to the Ukrainian army, which at that time suffers from post-Soviet stereotypes, bureaucracy, and semi-feudal relationships between officers and soldiers. When Crimea is annexed by the Russian army in 2014, the protagonist, as a paratrooper, is sent with his military unit to fight in Eastern Ukraine. There, he is confronted with the cruel and hard-to-understand reality of war. The author keeps readers on edge, and the story unfolds before our eyes like a film. It offers danger and relief, true reality, and strong emotions. It is a very vivid book that provides not just text but also the opportunity to see for yourself what is happening in Eastern Ukraine during the war. The book contains nearly 60 QR codes that, with the help of photographs and videos, transport readers among real people and events at the front. You will see what the soldiers' barracks look like, how Ukrainian soldiers enjoy their free time, witness military equipment, combat footage, and even a real letter from a girl that...