Home for Home by Victoria Amelina – Ukrainian Hardcover

Home for Home (Ukrainian: Дім для Дома) is a poignant and inventive contemporary novel by Victoria Amelina, narrated through the voice of a funny poodle named Dom. Set in 1990s Lviv, Dom chronicles the lives of an aging Soviet colonel and several generations of women as they grapple with displacement, identity, and the search for belonging. Both dog and humans struggle to feel at home in a small apartment once owned by Polish-Jewish author Stanisław Lem—it’s a tale about memory, rootedness, and unexpected connections.

Published in 2017 by Old Lion Publishing House (Видавництво Старого Лева), this hardcover edition spans 384 pages in a compact format (130 × 200 mm) and weighs approximately 400 g—making it both eminently readable and collectible. Amelina’s prose blends warmth, humor, and existential reflection. Dom’s canine point of view offers an intimate and unconventional lens to explore Ukraine’s post-Soviet transformation, creating a unique literary voice that intertwines history and domestic life.

Thematically rich and emotionally layered, the novel addresses themes of homecoming and alienation, the intergenerational transmission of trauma, and the quiet resilience of ordinary lives. Ideal for readers of literary fiction, Ukrainian cultural history, and animal-narrated narrative, this edition has received critical acclaim as part of Amelina’s legacy. The story's gentle absurdity, deep empathy, and lyrical observation make it a compelling gift, especially for readers seeking fresh voices in Ukrainian literature.