Description
The FLOOD: A Clockwork Story is a work of narrative non-fiction that documents the aftermath of Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in June 2023.
At its center is a fictional Clocksmith who settles in Kherson and meets dozens of people drawn from real survivors and witnesses of the Russian occupation and flooding. Among them are locals who endured the disaster and later escaped occupation, volunteers who rescued animals, employees of the Kherson Art Museum, and soldiers who engaged in resistance or helped mitigate the catastrophe’s impact.
Through vivid portraits and firsthand accounts, the book traces Kherson’s collective trauma and links the horrors of recent years to those of the past. Elderly residents recall being displaced by the Soviets in their youth — only to flee their homes again decades later because of Russia’s aggression.
The FLOOD captures the beauty of Ukrainian South while underscoring the urgency of preserving its cultural memory. The flood, a result of Russia’s ecocidal war tactics, destroyed countless homes and erased irreplaceable works of art, including the murals of Polina Raiko.
By documenting lived experiences of locals, soldiers, and volunteers, Yevhen Lyr gives a powerful account of Ukrainian endurance, reminding us yet again that we should document Russian war crimes and amplify the voices of Ukrainians often left unheard.
Bio
Yevhen Lyr is a Ukrainian writer, translator, volunteer, and drone pilot in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is a co-founder of Nedopysani, a memorial project dedicated to literary figures killed by Russian forces, and of the YouTube channel and publishing house Your Underground Humanitarian.
Yevhen’s best-known book is Stepovy Boh (The God of Steppes), a mystical novel set in the South of Ukraine. He was part of a volunteer rescue team that arrived in Kherson the day after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed by the Russian military. Later, he served as a soldier in the Kherson region for half a year. The FLOOD is his first novel written in English.
