Oles Gonchar is a Soviet and Ukrainian writer, public figure, publicist. The writer is one of the largest representatives of Ukrainian fictional prose of the second half of the 20th century. Academician of the Academy of Sciences and Hero of Ukraine was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. He is a laureate of the Lenin, State and two Stalin prizes.
From the first days of the war, Alexander Terentyevich (Bilychenko) Gonchar volunteered for the front. It was there that his writing career began. He wrote down poems, his observations, thoughts, emotions. Only by a miracle the wounded soldier who was taken prisoner survived. He was awarded the Orders of the Red Star and Glory.
The beginning of creativity
The biography of the future writer began in 1918. He was born on April 3 in the village of Lomivka near Yekaterinoslav (Dnipro). A two-year-old baby and his sister were left without parents and were brought up by their grandparents in the Poltava region. Sashko went to school under the name of his mother, Gonchar, since the child's documents were lost.
During his studies, the first compositions of the talented boy were published in the regional newspaper. They received positive reviews. He decided to receive further education at a newspaper college in Kharkov, while working in the editorial office of a regional newspaper.
Then Oles became a correspondent in the regional youth team. At the age of 28, Oles began his "Standard Bearers" trilogy. Work on the novel went on for three years after the war. He studied at the university, constantly visited the library. His poems were published. At this time, there was an acquaintance with the future wife.
At first, Valentina Danilovna did not pay attention to the serious student who never spoke to her. The romance began unexpectedly. The wife spent almost half a century with her husband. The family has two children, daughter Lyudmila and son Yuri.
Standard Bearers
The first part of Oles' trilogy in the Dnepropetrovsk publishing house "Promin" refused to publish. The publication took place in the Kiev magazine "Vitchizna". The success was enormous. In 1948 there were queues for the last part, "Zlata Praha". By 1948 the whole country knew the work of Oles Honchar.
In his book there were references to the horrors of war, humiliation of a person. But there was also a creative life-affirming force, compassion, selfless actions that did not require recognition. According to the author's convictions, this is much stronger than death. The liberator cannot be a punisher, he has no such right.
The postulates of revenge and the "eye for an eye" principle are not for him. It is very difficult, but imperative to prevent a recurrence of the horrors of wartime. The heroes of the book are scout Kozakov, captain Ostapenko, Chernysh. These principles are in their souls. They believe in the forces of good and justice.
The writer's humanism allowed the author to create a romantic epic that became epic and polyphonic. A novel was written in memory of a deceased friend, an officer of a mortar company. The prototype of the protagonist was Yuri Bryanskiy. We met the essay with approval. "Alps", "Blue Danube" were awarded two prizes in 1948 at once. The award was also given to Zlata Praha in 1949.
The creation of the thirty-year-old author has been translated into many languages, reprinted 150 times. Few can boast of such recognition.
Iconic works
Potter moved to Kiev. He entered a literary institute, began social activities, traveled a lot around the country and went abroad.
The writer did not leave the military theme throughout his life. The past captivity, the horrors of the camp and miraculously survived the Potter found himself at the forefront as a mortarman. He went through Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic with battles. In 1960 his novel Man and Weapon was published. In it, the author wrote about the creative power of the human spirit.
The autobiographical work tells the story of a student battalion that found itself on the front line right from the classrooms, without skills, in the thick of the battle for Kiev. The book shows the spiritual resilience of people in a military environment. Cyclone became the thematic continuation of the book.
It closely intertwines the military theme and the theme of peaceful labor. The essay considers thoughts about the harmony of being, peace, human happiness, the vocation of art. The main idea of the book was the strength of the human spirit.
The novel "Coast of Love" shows the fate of the old master from the sailing ship "Orion" Andron Yagnich and his niece Irina, a nurse, her love story.
Successes and difficulties
There are 12 complete stories in the novel "Tronka". They are not connected with each other by the storyline. The author showed himself in the composition as an amazing stylist, a master of the landscape, unobtrusively and subtly telling about the human soul. His mastery is confirmed by his work. The novel smelled of the steppe and the sea, it contains the wisdom of simplicity, the love of life. The book was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1964.
The first criticized was the novel "Cathedral". The book was initially well received and translated into Polish and German. Then they were banned. The publication took place again only two decades after it was written. The plot revolves around the cathedral that fell under the demolition. Instead, it is planned to build an entertainment complex.
The author translated the problem into the field of morality and ethics, he made it clear to the reader that the destruction of the temple leads to the destruction of the temples in the soul. Potter is an amazingly versatile writer.
Among his works are "Tavria" and "Perekop" and "Cyclone" and "Coast of Love". Among the works there are literary critical articles and diaries. They will remain relevant in the future. Many of the author's creations have been translated into foreign languages, some have been filmed.
Filled with love for people, Alexander Terentyevich's books tell about life in its simplest forms. The author died on 14 July 1995.
