Book review. Donovan V (2025) Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East

This is a review of a recent monograph by Victoria Donovan entitled Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Publishing, 2025). The book focuses on the Ukrainian South, also known as the Donbas macroregion. The Donbas is among the most complex and under-researched areas of Ukraine, long relegated to the periphery of scholarly and public attention. Drawing on fieldwork and employing methods of urban and oral history, Donovan seeks to dismantle the colonial and Soviet-era clichés that have shaped perceptions of the region. Her work reimagines the Ukrainian South through a nuanced lens, foregrounding the local knowledge holders.