Why a Booktrail?
2023: An author attends a book fair in Ukraine – then the Russians invade….
Ahora y en la hora
What you need to know before your trail
In mid-2023, barely recovered from open-heart surgery, Héctor Abad Faciolince accepts an invitation to a book fair in Ukraine. The bookish trip, however, soon turns into tragedy: along with a group of people he has met at the fair, they are sitting down to dinner in Kramatorsk when a missile explodes in the centre of the city killing 13 and injuring many more.
Travel Guide
Kramatorsk – Ukraine
The attack described in the book is a real life event which took place as the novel suggests. Ukrainian novelist Victoria Amelina became a symbol of the war – her work included unearthing the diary of Volodymyr Vakulenko, a fellow writer who was illegally detained and killed by Russian soldiers in the city of Izium in early 2022. The diary, which was buried in his garden, served as a real-time document of Russian atrocities.
Thirteen people were killed, including Ukrainian novelist Victoria Amelina, a 17-year-old girl, a pair of 14-year old twin sisters and Ian Tortorici, a US Marine Corps veteran, while 61 were injured in the explosions. Another missile hit a village on the outskirts of Kramatorsk, injuring five more people.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Ahora y en la hora
Destination/location: Kramatorsk Author/guide: Héctor Abad Faciolince Departure Time: 2023
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