Jaroslav Melnik

Yaroslav Yosypovych Melnyk (, ; born 6 February 1959) is a Ukrainian and Lithuanian novelist, philosopher, and literary critic.

Early life Melnyk was born in Smyha in 1959 and holds an undergraduate degree from Lviv University and a postgraduate degree from Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow.

In 1997, the novel Les Parias d’Eden (The Pariahs of Eden) was published by Robert Laffont Publishers in Paris. It received accolades from France's literary critics and was praised by the country's press.

Critics call him a mystic and existential writer.

His work is in the compulsory curriculum of secondary schools in Ukraine.

Career Melnik's books have been among the best Lithuanian and Ukrainian books of the year several times. The End of the World, Distant Space, and Masha, Or Post-fascism were all included in the Top Five Lithuanian Books in their respective publication years. Kelias į rojų (The Road to Paradise) was also named one of the Top Twelve Most Creative Lithuanian Books in 2010 and was nominated for the Europe Book Prize. His book, The Paris Diary (2013), became a bestseller in Lithuania.

Melnik's dystopian novel "Remote Space" (Distant space) won BBC Book of the Year in 2013. It was published in French in 2017 as Espace lointain (Agullo editions, translated from Lithuanian). The novel was awarded a prize for the Book of the Year in France (LIBR'A NOUS 2018, and became a bestseller. "In a futuristic novel with a sharp plot titled “Masha, or the Fourth Reich”, which was described by critics as a “shocking work about Nazis and intense love”, the author develops anti-utopian genre and analyzes the sins of humanity" (Planet News review). In 2020, the novel was published in France by Actes Sud.

In 2019, the "Scandinavian" detective Adata Needle by J. Melnik was released, in which the investigation of an unusual sexual crime is accompanied by penetration into the depths of the human psyche. The novel raises the problem of religious sects and Freudian complexes. he book has received a number of nominations.

His work is characterized by its constructivist and philosophical approach, by existential problems and intriguing combinations of science fiction and realism. This is typical for the book Rojalio kambarys (The Grand Piano Room - Last Day).

Critics call him “a Neo-Symbolist of Lithuanian literature”

"Yaroslav Melnyk is the most cosmopolitan Ukrainian writer of the 21st century" (British Library, London)

All of his books in Ukrainian prose were finalist's books of the “BBC Ukrainian Book of the Year” (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 ).

Personal life He divides his time between Lithuania and France.

Selected works Freedom, or Sin (Laisvė ar nuodėmė): philosophical essays. Vilnius: Petro ofsetas, 1996. The Pariahs of Eden (Les Parias d’Eden): novel. Paris: Robert Laffont, 1997. The Grand Piano Room (Rojalio kambarys): long and short stories. Vilnius: Lithuanian Writers' Union publishers, 2004 The End of the World (Pasaulio pabaiga): long and short stories. Vilnius: Lithuanian Writers' Union publishers, 2006 A Very Strange House (Labai keistas namas): 88 novels: philosophical miniatures. Vilnius: Lithuanian Writers' Union publishers, 2008 Remote space (Tolima erdvė, in Lithuanian): novel. Vilnius: Lithuanian Writers' Union publishers, 2008 The Road to Paradise (Kelias į rojų): surrealistic novel, long and short stories. Vilnius: Baltos lankos, 2010. Phone me, talk to me (Телефонуй мені, говори зі мною): novel, long and short stories. Kiev: Tempora, 2012. The Paris Diary (Paryžiaus dienoraštis): essays. Vilnius: Alma littera, 2013 Remote Space (Далекий простір, in Ukrainian): novel. Charkiv: Family Leisure Club, 2013 Masha, or Post-fascism (Maša, arba Postfašizmas, in Lithuanian): novel. Vilnius: Alma littera, 2013 Why I Do Not Get Tired of Living (Чому я не втомлююся жити): long and short stories. Charkiv: Family Leisure Club, 2014 Anorexia (Anoreksija): 22 short stories. Vilnius: Alma littera, 2013 Masha, or Post-fascism (Маша, або постфашизм, in Ukrainian): novel. Lviv: The Old Lion Publishing House, 2016 Lords of heaven: novel. Vilnius: Alma littera, 2016 Remote space (Espace lointain, in French): novel. Paris: Agullo editions, 2017 Last day (in English, translated from Lithuanian): Noir Press, 2018 Remote space (Espace lointain, in French, Pocket Edition): novel. Paris: Livre de Poche, 2018 Masha, or Post-fascism (Macha ou le IV Reich, in French, Actes Sud), 2020 Remote space (Der weite Raum, in German, Klak Publishing House): novel. Berlin: 2020