Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад Quotes
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Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад Quotes
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“In childhood, overhearing everyday conversations among relatives about collectivization, famine, war, and political repression, I perceived these stories as curious — sometimes frightening — episodes my loved ones had endured.
Although they belonged to a past not so distant, I felt them as something that had happened long ago, almost like events that occurred only slightly later than the fairy tales I loved so much.
Much of what I heard I did not yet understand, but my young memory — still largely unfilled — carefully recorded these fragments of history, preserving events and facts deep within its silent annals.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One. Author's foreword
Context note:
This reflection from the author’s foreword shows how the collective trauma of the early twentieth century entered a child’s consciousness indirectly — through family conversations, half-understood words, and inherited memory. What first felt distant and almost mythical would later reveal itself as lived history, shaping both the author’s worldview and the moral foundation of the novel.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
Although they belonged to a past not so distant, I felt them as something that had happened long ago, almost like events that occurred only slightly later than the fairy tales I loved so much.
Much of what I heard I did not yet understand, but my young memory — still largely unfilled — carefully recorded these fragments of history, preserving events and facts deep within its silent annals.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One. Author's foreword
Context note:
This reflection from the author’s foreword shows how the collective trauma of the early twentieth century entered a child’s consciousness indirectly — through family conversations, half-understood words, and inherited memory. What first felt distant and almost mythical would later reveal itself as lived history, shaping both the author’s worldview and the moral foundation of the novel.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
“I’ve already learned the poem! I have! Listen!”
And five-year-old Peter recited it boldly, without a single pause.
His parents were stunned. Danylo considered himself a well-educated man. He had once completed a parish school, later pursued self-education diligently, and through natural intelligence and perseverance had become a skilled accountant. Yet to memorize such a poem casually, in play, having heard only fragments of it? No — such heights had always been beyond him.
With a mingled feeling of joy, pride, and astonishment, the father studied his son. For the first time, he saw in this mischievous boy an heir — one who had inherited the best traits of his ancestors and might one day surpass even his boldest expectations.
“Maria,” Danylo said to his wife, “let’s send Peter to school, even if it’s still early — let him study alongside his older brother Nick. He’s capable, he’s bright, he’ll manage. After all, no one knows what the future may bring.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
In a fragile post-war society where education was uncertain and the future unpredictable, a father recognizes early brilliance in his son — a moment when hope quietly overcomes fear, and destiny begins to take shape.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
And five-year-old Peter recited it boldly, without a single pause.
His parents were stunned. Danylo considered himself a well-educated man. He had once completed a parish school, later pursued self-education diligently, and through natural intelligence and perseverance had become a skilled accountant. Yet to memorize such a poem casually, in play, having heard only fragments of it? No — such heights had always been beyond him.
With a mingled feeling of joy, pride, and astonishment, the father studied his son. For the first time, he saw in this mischievous boy an heir — one who had inherited the best traits of his ancestors and might one day surpass even his boldest expectations.
“Maria,” Danylo said to his wife, “let’s send Peter to school, even if it’s still early — let him study alongside his older brother Nick. He’s capable, he’s bright, he’ll manage. After all, no one knows what the future may bring.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
In a fragile post-war society where education was uncertain and the future unpredictable, a father recognizes early brilliance in his son — a moment when hope quietly overcomes fear, and destiny begins to take shape.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
“I have quite a few of ‘my own’ people now,” Stalin concluded, “but the very first day of the war revealed a lack of proper organization and coordination among them. Worse still, among these ‘my own’ there are plenty of fools — and traitors lying low. This filth must be eliminated as quickly as possible, because a new system of power can be built only if I do not fear for my rear.”
He turned back to the sheet of paper and wrote decisively:
“Immediately neutralize all spies and potential enemies.”
The General Secretary of the Communist Party raised his eyes to the ceiling. Images of former comrades — now exposed as traitors — flashed before his mind’s eye. Blood rushed to his face; beneath his habitual vigilance, rage began to surface.
Yes, I too had erred for too long, following the lead of Leninist–Trotskyist lackeys who believed the revolution could be exported by financing foreign anti-imperialist movements. Through these empty talkers, colossal resources had vanished abroad like water into sand — resources that should have gone into armaments. And time? Years lost. Years that were desperately needed now.
These double-dealers should have been destroyed immediately after Trotsky’s defeat — a barren breed capable only of parroting outdated ideas of long-dead leaders. At least now they were no longer underfoot, no longer pulling in opposite directions and tearing the system apart.
“Stop,” Stalin ordered himself. “I must not descend into emotion. That is unacceptable. What matters is drawing conclusions from my own miscalculations.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
An internal monologue of Joseph Stalin during the first days of the German–Soviet War, a later and decisive phase of World War II. The passage reveals the core logic of Stalinist power: paranoia, purges, and the conviction that absolute control — rather than human life — is the true foundation of victory. It exposes how fear, repression, and ideological obsession shaped decision-making at the highest levels of the Soviet state.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
He turned back to the sheet of paper and wrote decisively:
“Immediately neutralize all spies and potential enemies.”
The General Secretary of the Communist Party raised his eyes to the ceiling. Images of former comrades — now exposed as traitors — flashed before his mind’s eye. Blood rushed to his face; beneath his habitual vigilance, rage began to surface.
Yes, I too had erred for too long, following the lead of Leninist–Trotskyist lackeys who believed the revolution could be exported by financing foreign anti-imperialist movements. Through these empty talkers, colossal resources had vanished abroad like water into sand — resources that should have gone into armaments. And time? Years lost. Years that were desperately needed now.
These double-dealers should have been destroyed immediately after Trotsky’s defeat — a barren breed capable only of parroting outdated ideas of long-dead leaders. At least now they were no longer underfoot, no longer pulling in opposite directions and tearing the system apart.
“Stop,” Stalin ordered himself. “I must not descend into emotion. That is unacceptable. What matters is drawing conclusions from my own miscalculations.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
An internal monologue of Joseph Stalin during the first days of the German–Soviet War, a later and decisive phase of World War II. The passage reveals the core logic of Stalinist power: paranoia, purges, and the conviction that absolute control — rather than human life — is the true foundation of victory. It exposes how fear, repression, and ideological obsession shaped decision-making at the highest levels of the Soviet state.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
“Soon after the birth, Maria was shown her son. He was no longer crying.
The baby was tiny, frail, his skin wrinkled — yet his bright, restless eyes darted stubbornly in every direction, as if he were trying to take in this vast, unfamiliar, and beautiful world as quickly as possible.
“You did well, Maria! You have a son! You did well!” Irina kissed her daughter’s hand joyfully. “Everything will be all right now.”
Seeing her child, Maria felt relief wash over her. She longed to take him into her arms, to press him to her chest — but the baby was taken away.
After the necessary procedures, the midwife quietly pulled Irina aside.
“Breastfeeding is dangerous,” she whispered. “The baby could contract typhus. But he is premature, weak — and if he does not receive colostrum now, I fear he will not survive. The previous woman gave birth a week ago and has no colostrum left. I believe we must take the risk: newborns contract infection from sick mothers in only about a third of cases.”
Irina looked at her grandson lying in her arms. He jerked his tiny hands and feet at random — then smiled clumsily.
“God’s will be done,” she said firmly. “A child must drink his mother’s milk.”
When the alcohol-sterilized breast was offered to the baby, it turned out his mouth was too small to take the nipple. Fortunately, the other breast was smaller — and the boy latched on with determined urgency.
Holding the flesh of her flesh to her chest, feeling her son’s gentle sucking, Maria experienced a moment of pure euphoria. The terrible illness receded, making way for the overwhelming joy of motherhood.
Neither Maria nor the newborn knew of the danger of infection. They were simply following the ancient law of nature.
And Irina spent the rest of the day in prayer, asking God to spare two souls — her daughter and her grandson.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
During the Ukrainian Civil War of 1920, amid epidemics, hunger, and collapsing authority, a premature child is born into a world where survival depends on instinct, faith, and impossible choices. This moment captures motherhood and mercy standing against historical catastrophe.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
The baby was tiny, frail, his skin wrinkled — yet his bright, restless eyes darted stubbornly in every direction, as if he were trying to take in this vast, unfamiliar, and beautiful world as quickly as possible.
“You did well, Maria! You have a son! You did well!” Irina kissed her daughter’s hand joyfully. “Everything will be all right now.”
Seeing her child, Maria felt relief wash over her. She longed to take him into her arms, to press him to her chest — but the baby was taken away.
After the necessary procedures, the midwife quietly pulled Irina aside.
“Breastfeeding is dangerous,” she whispered. “The baby could contract typhus. But he is premature, weak — and if he does not receive colostrum now, I fear he will not survive. The previous woman gave birth a week ago and has no colostrum left. I believe we must take the risk: newborns contract infection from sick mothers in only about a third of cases.”
Irina looked at her grandson lying in her arms. He jerked his tiny hands and feet at random — then smiled clumsily.
“God’s will be done,” she said firmly. “A child must drink his mother’s milk.”
When the alcohol-sterilized breast was offered to the baby, it turned out his mouth was too small to take the nipple. Fortunately, the other breast was smaller — and the boy latched on with determined urgency.
Holding the flesh of her flesh to her chest, feeling her son’s gentle sucking, Maria experienced a moment of pure euphoria. The terrible illness receded, making way for the overwhelming joy of motherhood.
Neither Maria nor the newborn knew of the danger of infection. They were simply following the ancient law of nature.
And Irina spent the rest of the day in prayer, asking God to spare two souls — her daughter and her grandson.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
During the Ukrainian Civil War of 1920, amid epidemics, hunger, and collapsing authority, a premature child is born into a world where survival depends on instinct, faith, and impossible choices. This moment captures motherhood and mercy standing against historical catastrophe.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
“The prisoners, feral and maddened by thirst, tried to snatch discarded watermelon rinds lying along the road or to drink from muddy puddles nearby. At first, the NKVD guards simply shot those who dared rush toward the water. But soon the situation slipped out of control.
When a small puddle flashed in the sun, all the prisoners surged toward this miserable source of water, ignoring fear of death, desperate shouts, and gunfire from the guards. They fought wildly, beating one another for the right to press their lips to the life-giving moisture.
Peter reached the puddle among the first, but several men were already lying in it, gulping greedily and blocking others. In a fit of rage, Peter grabbed one of them by the clothes, flung him several meters aside, collapsed into his place — and fused his mouth to the water. He drank frantically. For the first few minutes, he felt nothing but a dizzying mix of rapture, pleasure, and joy as his thirst was quenched. Only when mud replaced water in his mouth did awareness of what was happening slowly begin to return.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
During a prisoner transport in Stalin’s USSR in the early years of World War II, extreme thirst drove Gulag inmates to the edge of madness. Even filthy puddles became objects of violent struggle, exposing how wartime Soviet repression reduced human survival to pure instinct.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
When a small puddle flashed in the sun, all the prisoners surged toward this miserable source of water, ignoring fear of death, desperate shouts, and gunfire from the guards. They fought wildly, beating one another for the right to press their lips to the life-giving moisture.
Peter reached the puddle among the first, but several men were already lying in it, gulping greedily and blocking others. In a fit of rage, Peter grabbed one of them by the clothes, flung him several meters aside, collapsed into his place — and fused his mouth to the water. He drank frantically. For the first few minutes, he felt nothing but a dizzying mix of rapture, pleasure, and joy as his thirst was quenched. Only when mud replaced water in his mouth did awareness of what was happening slowly begin to return.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
During a prisoner transport in Stalin’s USSR in the early years of World War II, extreme thirst drove Gulag inmates to the edge of madness. Even filthy puddles became objects of violent struggle, exposing how wartime Soviet repression reduced human survival to pure instinct.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
“The hospital’s long-time cook, Iryna, mechanically peeled potatoes as usual — breakfast had to be prepared for the patients.
Work was work, and she was now the only breadwinner in her family.
Yet today her thoughts were entirely at home. There, her pregnant daughter Maria had been struck down by typhus and had lain alone in critical condition for a week. To make matters worse, no one was with her.
Normally, Iryna would visit her sick daughter during the day. But today the hospital was in emergency mode — another convoy of wounded from the civil war had arrived. A mother’s heart was tearing itself toward her child… though what could she really do?
Wiping her hands on a towel, Iryna approached the small icon depicting the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus. She knelt, folded her hands to her chest, fixed her gaze on the immaculate face of the Mother of God — and began to pray.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
Set during the chaos of the Ukrainian Civil War and a typhus epidemic, this scene shows the quiet suffering of civilians. While the hospital is overwhelmed with wounded, a mother torn between duty and fear turns to faith — highlighting the human cost of war beyond the battlefield.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
Work was work, and she was now the only breadwinner in her family.
Yet today her thoughts were entirely at home. There, her pregnant daughter Maria had been struck down by typhus and had lain alone in critical condition for a week. To make matters worse, no one was with her.
Normally, Iryna would visit her sick daughter during the day. But today the hospital was in emergency mode — another convoy of wounded from the civil war had arrived. A mother’s heart was tearing itself toward her child… though what could she really do?
Wiping her hands on a towel, Iryna approached the small icon depicting the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus. She knelt, folded her hands to her chest, fixed her gaze on the immaculate face of the Mother of God — and began to pray.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
Set during the chaos of the Ukrainian Civil War and a typhus epidemic, this scene shows the quiet suffering of civilians. While the hospital is overwhelmed with wounded, a mother torn between duty and fear turns to faith — highlighting the human cost of war beyond the battlefield.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
“Silence!” the NKVD captain snapped, raising his voice sharply before dropping it to a barely audible, growling bass.
“We cannot allow enemies of the people to be captured by the Germans — they are far too valuable material for enemy sabotage units.”
The State Security officer’s hard stare turned icy.
“Therefore, I order this: without delay, together with my men — select the healthy prisoners capable of continuing the march.
All the wounded and the sick — shoot them.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
During a prisoner transport in Stalin’s USSR at the outbreak of World War II, Soviet security officers order the execution of wounded and sick prisoners to prevent their capture by German forces. The quote reflects the brutal logic of Stalinist repression, where human life was treated as expendable in the name of state security.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
“We cannot allow enemies of the people to be captured by the Germans — they are far too valuable material for enemy sabotage units.”
The State Security officer’s hard stare turned icy.
“Therefore, I order this: without delay, together with my men — select the healthy prisoners capable of continuing the march.
All the wounded and the sick — shoot them.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One
Context note:
During a prisoner transport in Stalin’s USSR at the outbreak of World War II, Soviet security officers order the execution of wounded and sick prisoners to prevent their capture by German forces. The quote reflects the brutal logic of Stalinist repression, where human life was treated as expendable in the name of state security.”
― Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.