The Ukrainian night An intimate history of revolution

Shore (Yale) offers a vivid depiction of the excitement of being caught up in a popular revolution--the protests on Kyiv's Maidan Square in the winter of 2013-14, that brought down the government and triggered a war with Russia. Most of the other books on this topic focus on the international dimension, but Shore reports impressions of the events of those who were involved, based on some 30 interviews. Unlike the revolutions that toppled communism in central Europe in 1989, the Ukrainian story does not have a happy ending. It was Ukraine's third revolution in as many decades, and the allure of romantic nationalism is wearing thin. Shore was living in Vienna during the events described, visiting Kyiv for just a couple of weeks, so the book does not represent firsthand reporting. Instead, Shore provides historical and philosophical depth. The book may be too episodic to assign to undergraduates lacking background knowledge of the Ukrainian case. Summing Up: Optional. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University

ASYMMETRY, by Lisa Halliday. (Simon & Schuster, $26.) This stunning debut comprises two novella-like sections, one about a young editor's affair with an older author and the other about an Iraqi-American economist detained at Heathrow. The result is transgressive, shrewd and politically engaged. HOW TO STOP TIME, by Matt Haig. (Viking, $26.) Tom Hazard, the protagonist of Haig's new novel, is old - old "in the way that a tree, or a quahog clam, or a Renaissance painting is old," he tells us. He has a condition that causes him to age more slowly than others, but on the cusp of his 440 th birthday he appears to be suffering a midlife crisis. THE UKRAINIAN NIGHT: An Intimate History of Revolution, by Marci Shore. (Yale, $26.) Shore draws evocative portraits of the Ukrainian demonstrators who braved beatings and even death in 2013 to protest the government of President Viktor Yanukovych. Still, the revolution they sparked remains unfinished. THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World, by Bart D. Ehrman. (Simon & Schuster, $28.) A best-selling scholar of the Bible explores how a small group of despised believers made their faith the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, thereby overthrowing an entire culture. DIRECTORATE S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, by Steve Coll. (Penguin, $35.) Coil's is a dispiriting tale of a 16-year war that has cost a trillion dollars and more than 2,400 American lives to little end. "The United States and its allies went barreling into Afghanistan," Coll writes, "because they felt that they had no alternative." DOWN THE RIVER UNTO THE SEA, by Walter Mosley. (Mulholland/ Little, Brown, $27.) A new private eye, an ex-cop named Joe King Oliver, makes his debut in this atmospheric crime novel, set in New York and featuring, as always with Mosley, an array of distinctive characters. PECULIAR GROUND, by Lucy Hughes-Hallett. (Harper/ HarperCollins, $28.99.) Agreat house in the English countryside, seen in both the 1600s and the mid-20th century, is the venue for a historical novel that uses walls, both actual and metaphorical, as its presiding metaphor. THE MAZE AT WINDERMERE, by Gregory Blake Smith. (Viking, $27.) Set in Newport, R.I., this novel intersects five stories from different eras, from the 17th century to the present day. Among the more notable characters is the young Henry James. BABY MONKEY, PRIVATE EYE, by Brian Selznickand David Serlin. Illustrated by Brian Selznick. (Scholastic, $16.99, ages 4 to 8.) Selznick's lavish pencil drawings enhance this early reader book about a detective who happens to be an adorable monkey. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books

Intimately personal accounts of the experiences, choices, and thoughts of those who took action during the EuroMaidan protests, revolution, and ensuing war in Ukraine are woven together by Shore (history, Yale Univ.) to create a page-turner similar to a fiction thriller though one that's terrifyingly all too real. With a focus on the author's network of well-educated subjects and not reflective of everyday Ukrainians, the work explores the current revolution within the context of the failures of the 2004 Orange Revolution, broader Ukrainian and Soviet history, hopes for the future, and languages. Surzhyk, a mix of Ukrainian and Russian, which would further emphasize how nothing is clear-cut, is noticeably absent given how Shore intertwines throughout the complexity of languages in Ukraine. Other recent publications, such as Tim Judah's In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine or sections of Sophie Pinkham's Black Square, will provide a comprehensive overview of present-day Ukraine when available along with this title. Verdict Interspersed with expert historical context, this fast-paced, personal history lays bare the hopes and fears of those present for Ukraine's EuroMaidan revolt and aftermath and will appeal to anyone trying to gain a better understanding of the past, present, and future of the current situation in Ukraine.-Zebulin Evelhoch, Central Washington Univ. Lib., Ellensburg © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.