Mondegreen

“True to its title, Rafeyenko’s Mondegreen is a tapestry of Soviet rock lyrics, traditional folk ballads, the poems of Taras Shevchenko, and contemporary literary memes, all filtered through the ears of a Ukrainian language learner… Given the complexity of the text, it’s astonishing how much Andryczyk was able to impart in his English version. Moreover, the translation leaves the reader not with a sense of loss but with a feeling that over the horizon there is a tantalizingly rich and vibrant world that one can only access if they too learn Ukrainian… Mondegreen is truly indulgent, a lyrical celebration of words and their power, not just to express but to transform.”—Lillian Posner, Los Angeles Review of Books