Theodore Odrach (March 13, 1912 – October 7, 1964), born Theodore Sholomitsky, was a Ukrainian (Belarusian) writer of novels, short stories and memoirs. He is generally known as the "songbird of the

Pinsk Marshes __NOTOC__ The Pripet Marshes or Pripyat Marshes (), also known as Pinsk Marshes (), the Polesie Marshes, and the Rokitno Marshes, are a vast natural region of wetlands in Polesia, along the forested basin of the Pripyat River and its tributaries ...

." The Pinsk Marshes are mostly in southern

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It is one of the largest

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

in Europe, half the size of Germany. Odrach's love of the Marsh is depicted in much of his writing.

Odrach's writing

Odrach captures life during

World War Two World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisi ...

in a deceptively simple style. His writing moves quickly and is memorable and realistic. Much of it is based on eyewitness accounts. “Odrach has a very precise style. He’s not interested in expanding the event. He has almost a journalistic eye for the story he wants to tell.” “Odrach’s prose is deft and beautifully structured. Through masterful uses of humor and irony, as well as myth and the

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

, Odrach guides us through his extraordinary narratives. He is a genuine storyteller. Through compelling incidents and with piercing insight, he gets us inside his stories and makes us a party to the many layered struggles of a world he knows only too well. This is a writer who is clearly focused and obviously in touch with his characters, landscapes, and events. The prose style is spare, controlled, and polished.” ~ Richard Lush,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

“Odrach’s most obvious literary debts are to

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

and

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel ( – 27 January 1940) was a Soviet writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' and ''Odessa Stories'', and has been acclaimed as "the greatest prose write ...

. He uses irony and humor in similar ways as he captures the internal drama of his characters with psychological concision.” ~ T. F. Rigelhof,

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

“ 'Wave of Terror''serves as a stern warning against adopting socialism in America.” ~ J. Conrad Guest

Early life

Odrach was born in the village Misiatichy, outside of

Pinsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of t ...

, to an impoverished noble family ("shliahta"). His parents were Demian and Olha Sholomitsky, of Ukrainian and Belarusian background. The youngest of seven children, Odrach was extremely devoted to his mother. An unruly child, at the age of nine, he was sent by Polish authorities, who then controlled the area, to a

reform school A reform school was a Prison, penal institution, generally for teenagers, mainly operating between 1830 and 1900. In the United Kingdom and its colonies, reformatory, reformatories (commonly called reform schools) were set up from 1854 onward f ...

for boys in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. His parents were never informed of his whereabouts and did not learn what had happened to him until years later. After serving his time, doing odd renovation jobs around town, at the age of eighteen, Odrach enrolled in the

Stefan Batory University Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

(now

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

), where he went on to earn a degree in ancient history and philosophy. The family coat of arms depicts Hippocentaurus, and the family name dates back to the 16th century, when the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

was powerful. The Sholomitsky estate was located in the village of Sholomichy, near

. The Church of Saint Paraskeva in Misiatichy, which was founded in the 18th century, figures prominently in Odrach's short story "''The Icon''". The Polissian local word "odrach" means "meadows near the

Styr The Styr (; ; ) is a right tributary of the Pripyat, with a length of . Its basin area is and located in the historical region of Volhynia. The Styr begins near Brody, Lviv Oblast, then flows into Rivne Oblast, Volyn Oblast, then into Brest ...

river at Misiatichy".

World War II

With the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

invasion of

in 1939, Odrach fled to his native

, landing a position as headmaster of a grammar school in the village of Soshna (near Pinsk). Denounced by the Soviets and briefly imprisoned, he then headed south to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(

Volyn Oblast Volyn Oblast () or simply Volyn (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. It borders Rivne Oblast to the east, Lviv Oblast to the south, Poland to the west and Belarus to the north. Its Capital city ...

), where he edited several

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rece ...

s. Still pursued by the Soviets and ultimately forced into hiding, he changed his name from Sholomitsky to Odrach and managed to escape to

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

by way of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

Personal life

With the war's end, Odrach traveled around Europe for several years. In 1948, after meeting Klara Nagorski in Germany, the two moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, where they married. They lived in Manchester for approximately five years and worked as weavers in a linen factory. In 1953, both Odrach and his wife boarded an ocean liner and sailed for Canada. With the birth of their two daughters, Ruta and Erma (who later translated his work into English), they settled into a Victorian-style house on a small, quiet residential street in

. Working by day in a nearby printing house, Odrach returned home at night to focus on his writing. Odrach produced novels, short stories, and articles for local Ukrainian newspapers. As his books were banned in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, he depended on the small Western immigrant community for his readership. Odrach's major works were written in his Toronto home. Odrach suffered a fatal

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1964.

Books translated into English

''Wave of Terror'', Chicago Review Press, 2008, detailing the horrors of living under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. It was Odrach's first novel to appear in English. Translated by his daughter, Erma Odrach. "Odrach's delightfully sardonic novel about Stalinist occupation...is rich with history, horror and comedy." ''The Village Teacher and Other Stories'', Glagoslav Publications, 2022. The stories are set during WW2, with unexpected glimpses of civility and humaneness against backgrounds of conflict. Translated by his daughter, Erma Odrach. "Cataclysmic events are placed alongside everyday ones to great effect."

Bibliography

* ''В Дорозі'', 1955 * ''Щебетун'', 1957 * ''Півстанок за Cелом'', 1959 * ''Покинута Оселя'', 1960 * ''На Непевному Грунті'', 1962 * ''Вощадь'', 1972 (published posthumously) * '' Wave of Terror'', 2008 * '' The Village Teacher and Other Stories'', 2022

References

External links

About Misiatichy - Media-Polesie

* DianaHicksBooks.com, free in English
''Wave of Terror'' by Theodore Odrach
* RuLit.me (Russian literature site), free in English

* YouTube:
Book Trailer. Wave of Terror by Theodore Odrach - Chicago Review Press
' (0:47) ~ Books books books, 2020-10-14 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odrach, Theodore 1912 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian short story writers Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers People from Pinsk district People from Pinsky Uyezd Soviet emigrants to Canada Ukrainian male writers Vilnius University alumni