Cover Image: Calling Ukraine

Calling Ukraine

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

The book is relatively well-written, but it is highly offensive when it comes to the representation of Ukraine and Ukrainians. Ukraine emerges as this exotic place where a privileged white man from the USA goes to prove his manhood. I do not recommend it.

Was this review helpful?

I was excited to pick up Calling Ukraine - it has an interesting premise and I was intrigued to read a book set in Ukraine. I really enjoyed the side characters in this novel, and the plot twist about John's neighbors (I didn't see it coming at all). Unfortunately, I just didn't connect with John much as the main character, and that made the book a bit less engaging for me at points. That being said, this was my first Johannes Lichtman novel, and if you enjoy the author's other works, I suspect you will enjoy this one as well.

Was this review helpful?

I'm not sure what to say here except that this book has much the same feel as Licthman's first book - the "white male savior comes and tries to fix it" trope. There were aspects of the book that I really enjoyed, such as the side characters (Dima!), explanations of Ukrainian history, and the occasional send-ups of American wealth, but that wasn't enough to save the overall clunky narrative.

Was this review helpful?

I always say a good book is one where instead of having days where reading the book was an event it feels more like for that period of time you are reading a book and in between events like sleeping, eating, and going to that lecture occur.
I wanted to learn more about Ukraine in a narrative that includes the ordinary every day and not a sensationalized news story. While I admit it was the current news of Ukraine and Russia that gave me the initial attraction to the book, the amazing writing is what sucked me into this book. The thoughts of John, Anthoy, and Natalia were so human and relatable and the events so real. This book could be a memoir as much as it is a fiction.
I loved both the twists of Anthoy’s death with John and Natalia attempting to kill him and the ending which in my opinion reveals Natalia to be the main character and not John. I enjoyed the descriptions of the little details of the Ukraine that paint a vivid image; the sculptures, the water jugs, the stuffy buses, the furniture-crowded apartments like my old neighbor’s, the dirt-covered buildings, the repeated responses of yes, yes, yes.
To summarize, my longest review ever I think, this is a book I enjoyed and think many other would enjoy if they read.

Was this review helpful?

The world has learned a lot about Ukrainians following Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of their country in 2022. Their response has shown them to be a proud, strong, and resilient people. The word Ukraine means “borderland”, and its strategic location between powerful countries has indeed led to repeated invasions. When foreigners praise their land, Ukrainians respond ironically. “You should meet the neighbors.” As this joke implies, Ukrainians also have a good sense of humor. After all, they elected a comedian as their leader, and he turned out to be anything but a joke.

Lichtman sets his novel not in the tumultuous Ukraine of 2022 but in the more sedate year of 2018. This was a heady time because the country had recently staged a successful revolution that resulted in the expulsion of their corrupt president. Lichtman’s nuanced characterizations shrewdly capture some Ukrainian traits that only became more evident in 2022. They have a powerful work ethic, pride in their country, and are willing cooperators.

The protagonist/narrator is John Turner, a 30-year-old failed journalist whose former college roommate talks him into taking a job managing a call center in Lutsk. John’s father has recently passed away and his romantic life is on the skids. So, he sees the job offer as a chance for adventure, a break from his romantic entanglement and an opportunity to gather material that may revive is journalism career.

Unfortunately, John knows nothing about Ukraine—its language and culture—or managing people. Thus, he is comically ill equipped for this job. He simplistically diagnoses the center’s problem as language. Its five employees are great with a stilted form of English, but they fail miserably at imitating American small talk on the phone. Lichtman shrewdly uses John’s attitude toward his employees as one example of American ugliness. Despite being goodhearted, he can be brash and condescending. Notwithstanding his flaws, John is sensitive to other cross-cultural shortcomings of Americans. He tends to downplay his wealth relative to the typical Ukrainian. Also, he decides to remain celibate during his stay as a response to the unappealing image of all the American men traveling to Ukraine to hook up with beautiful women. Likewise, he shuns an American Peace Corp volunteer because she talks too loud in public. We are hopeful that American support for the Ukrainian cause may have temporarily put some of these stereotypes to rest.

John’s journey turns dark when he overhears a clear case of severe spousal abuse coming from an adjoining flat. He is shocked to discover that the victim is Natalia, an attractive woman who works at the call center. After discovering that Ukrainian police tend to ignore this type of behavior, John decides to take matters into his own hands with disastrous consequences. Lichtman reveals this misadventure with a delicious use of foreshadowing, plot twists and cultural irony that can only be fully appreciated by reading the novel.

Lichtman treats his clueless, well-meaning expat narrator with a light and satirical touch. Regrettably, most of the call center’s employees are stereotypes. However, two chapters, not narrated by John, give a more nuanced view of Ukrainians. Anatoly, Natalia’s abusive husband, also is a failed journalist. He struggles with chronic back pain and low self-esteem while working as a water delivery man. Natalia shows remarkable courage with her marital problems and by urging John to return to America without her. One can only speculate whether her decision was wise considering subsequent events in Ukraine.

Using healthy doses of dark humor and irony, Lichtman explores the pivotal role that language plays in identity and culture in this intriguing novel.

Was this review helpful?

Published by Simon & Schuster on April 11, 2023

I knew little about Ukraine until former president Trump tried to blackmail the country into making damaging statements about Biden in exchange for receiving military aid that Congress had already mandated. Even after Trump explained his “perfect” telephone call to Zelensky, I didn’t trouble myself to learn much about Ukraine. Zelensky changed that by forcing the world to understand and condemn Putin’s unlawful aggression. The setting of Calling Ukraine gives readers a chance to learn a bit more about Ukrainian culture, although the novel is far from a travel guide.

The “Calling” in the title refers not to Trump’s imperfect call but to a small call center in Lutsk. Davey, a college friend of John Turner, started a business that is similar to Airbnb, except it focuses on apartment buildings that already have hotel licenses. Davey hired a bunch of Ukrainian programmers to build the business because they’re smart and less expensive than American programmers. To save money, he decided to offer customer service from the same building that houses the programmers and hired a small team of English-speaking Ukrainians to deal with his angry customers. He discovered that the customer service agents don’t know how to set American customers at ease with the kind of small talk they expect. Davey wants to hire Turner to teach the agents the skills they need to communicate with Americans.

Turner has spent the eight years since college trying, with little success, to establish himself as a freelance journalist. Davey is offering a modest salary, but Turner can live like a king on almost nothing in Lvov. Feeling the need for a change in his life after losing his father, Turner takes the job. He initially notices that most Americans and Europeans in Ukraine are sex tourists who are attracted to the nation’s beautiful women. Then he realizes that the most useful Ukrainian language program is geared toward sex tourists, emphasizing phrases like “Would you like to have a drink with me?” and “I can give you money but not that much.”

Much of the story addresses Turner’s observation of Ukrainian people, who are more direct and less optimistic than Americans. He finds them to be friendly but not outgoing. They need help making small talk with customers because they don’t understand the point. Nor do they understand why “I can’t help you with that” or “You should have read the user agreement” are less appropriate responses than “I completely understand why you feel that way but I’m afraid I don’t have the authority to change the agreement you made with the company.” Turner doesn’t understand why Americans need small talk and obsequious responses, but he devises a strategy for coaching the agents in the fine art of bullshit.

Turner is attracted to an agent named Natalia. He doesn’t want to act on his desire because she’s married and a subordinate. In any event, Turner is avoiding relationships because he doesn’t want to come across as a sex tourist.

Natalia and her husband Anatoly happen to live in an apartment across from Turner’s. They have loud arguments. Sometimes the arguments end with Anatoly hitting Natalia. Turner doesn’t know how to deal with the violence. He wants to intervene but Natalia doesn’t want his help. Turner is told that the police won’t interfere. He finally hits upon a scheme that does not end well. Saying more would give away a plot that depends on the element of surprise.

Most of the story is told from Turner’s point of view. Since Turner engages with few Ukrainians and doesn't travel much, his observations of Ukraine are minimal and not particularly insightful. Johannes Lichtman doesn’t paint a detailed image of Ukraine, although he offers a quick take on the nation's history. Turner is invigorated by Zelensky’s election, given that Turner “tried to disengage from politics back home, as much as such a thing was possible, to get away from the doomy hopelessness of Trump’s America.” By discussing politics, Russia, life in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union, and life in Ukraine under Zelensky’s predecessor, Turner comes to appreciate some of the differences between Ukraine and the United States. As Natalia tells him, Americans get second or third chances, as many as they want. Ukrainians are lucky to get one.

The last and best part of the novel is told from Natalia’s point of view. Her grounding in reality contrasts with Turner’s American attitude that people can make the life they want. She isn’t an oligarch so she doesn’t expect to live an indulgent life. She’ll settle for a life that allows her to use her mind and to survive in reasonable comfort. She does not need to be in a perfect relationship but she does not want to be punched or choked by the man in her life. She’s a strong woman who makes unexpected choices that might not reflect well upon her character, but it would be difficult for a reader not to wish her well.

Calling Ukraine finds humor in an office setting and in the cultural ignorance of an American abroad. Both Turner and Natalia learn something about themselves. The story ends before Russia invades Ukraine, although the drums of war are beating.

A plot twist that might seem forced in a thriller is underplayed in Calling Ukraine and is all the more effective because it comes almost as an afterthought that explains a turning point in Natalia’s life. The balance between humor and drama, between Turner’s perspective and Natalia’s, makes it seem as if the reader has been treated to two different books blended into one. Neither story is satisfyingly complete, but this might be one of those times when it is best to leave the reader wanting more.

RECOMMENDED

Was this review helpful?

John Turner knows nothing about the hospitality industry or call centers or how to teach the fine art of small talk. He doesn’t speak Ukrainian, has never been to Ukraine, and knows zero about its culture. But he took a job in Ukraine anyway as a supervisor in an Airbnb call center.

As the odyssey unfolds, we learn that Turner is a worrywart who second guesses himself, grinds through negative thoughts, and constantly sidenotes excuses for an action or inaction in case we might perceive a politically correct oversight. Instead of this lending a thoughtful aspect to his character, he comes across as lacking conviction or fearing what readers might think. Who cares if he enjoys watching Friends reruns? We’re not judgy, are we?

The Ukrainian characters are a balancing foil to Turner’s neuroses, which makes their practical approach to situations seem enlightened by comparison. The service agents Turner is supervising have not had the luxury of indulging in thin skin, so have no toolkit to manage the orchids among us who expect customer service representatives to know how lightly to mist our petals. Trained to patiently wait in line and stoically respond to disappointment, they are baffled by the need for superfluous small talk to manage callers. Even more so when Turner repeatedly apologizes for something he didn’t do. Herein lies the humor of this book, even if it is with a bit of a blush as we see ourselves through the eyes of another culture.

Ukraine is in our hearts and minds right now, and for that reason I’m glad to have a glimpse of their world before the invasion. It is especially fun to see Ukrainians react to things we see as normal, such as the need for and style of our small talk. Why are we so obsessed about the weather, anyway?

Was this review helpful?

John Turner takes a job in Ukraine (in 2018) almost on a whim and finds something there he didn't expect. He's meant to be training call center workers on colloquial English but honestly, he spends as much time subtly making fun of them as anything else because he doesn't have Ukrainian. And that's how he get himself into trouble. A crush on one of his workers who has an abusive husband leads him down a dark road. He's not a very likable character. Things are changing in Ukraine during John's time, even though he doesn't recognize it. I wonder how this would have been read and received had it been published pre-invasion. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read for fans of literary fiction.

Was this review helpful?

John Turner is a man at loose ends. His longest romantic relationship is over. His father—his only family—has passed away. His job is going nowhere. Still, it’s surprising that John takes up a wild offer from an old college friend, Davey. His mission is to go to Lutsk, Ukraine, and teach the agents in this friend’s call center to sound more American. (Apparently, Ukrainians don’t do American-style small talk and it’s putting off the customers.) In Calling Ukraine, Johannes Lichtman tells John’s story, from his days as a stranger in a strange land to the day he has to say goodbye to people and places he has found himself in love with.

Calling Ukraine is set in 2018, before Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president. (In a brief note at the beginning of the advanced reader’s copy I received, Lichtman explains his decision to not change much of the text in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.) Turner speaks no Ukrainian or Russian when he arrives in the country. He’s also been told that it’s no problem to overstay his visa when it runs out or pay taxes, although he worries a bit about the legalities. Taxes and visas are the least of Turner’s problems, we soon learn. So many things are different in Lutsk that, until he starts to make friends who deign to explain how water delivery or the public toilets etc. work, Turner spends a lot of time worried about doing the wrong thing.

Turner’s mystification matches the bafflement of his friend Davey’s employees over American small talk. I’m really glad I listened to Lingthusiasm‘s episode on phatics before I read this book. It’s really handy background on a practice that, if you start to think about it, is really hard to explain. Culture is so deeply embedded into small talk that Turner really has to work to explain to the call center agents why Americans talk about the weather, ask about weekend plans, and chat about nothing to fill the silence. I was hugely entertained by Turner’s flailing. I know I wouldn’t have done any better, of course, but it’s hilarious to watch someone else struggle to explain something we do unconsciously all the time.

I enjoy fish-out-of-water stories, especially when there’s a linguistic element. So I enjoyed much of Calling Ukraine. I felt for the anxious, lonely Turner as he navigates American English and Ukrainian and the vast differences between the two languages and cultures. I especially enjoyed the deadpan Ukrainians who, once they get used to the American in their midst, transform into warm, lively people. There were some elements of the novel that didn’t work for me (two chapters narrated, for some reason) by other characters, but this might be nitpicking on my part. Readers who would like to so some armchair traveling to western Ukraine will like this one.

Was this review helpful?

This was a super intense read not only on the setting being in it's current situation, but the depth of the story was heartbreaking.

Was this review helpful?

A novel I enjoyed with a very honest voice, particularly in both its humor and its depiction of grief. John, the narrator, is a former journalist who moves to Ukraine to work for his friend's new business, to help train Ukrainian call-center employees to better deal with American customers (to "sound more American," etc.). He's mourning his recently-deceased father and has also just ended a long-term romantic relationship, making the 'break' with America easier. It's notable that the novel was written before the 2022 escalation of the Russian war on Ukraine. The resulting portrait of life there as an American is an interesting one.

The novel's conflict ends up revolving around John's feelings for a married co-worker; things end up taking dramatic turns that I definitely didn't anticipate when I got into the novel, which for me took me out of things, a bit—I felt like I wound up in a different frame of reference than the one I started with. Lichtman's writing is good—he's very funny, and the way the narrator talks about his grief for his father was at times really moving.

Was this review helpful?

Super fun book! John Turner moves to the Ukraine essentially on a whim to assist Ukrainians working in a call center. His only role is to assist the workers on sounding "more American" so that they can be . John's POV is wry and humorous as he notices the differences between the cultures. Still reeling from the death of his father and the breakup of his relationship, he looks for happiness within his office.

When he gets too involved with a woman in the call center a cascade of events causes everything in his life to unravel. This book is a brilliant look at cultural differences, grief and the Ukraine in general. If you like a witty novel, love an unusual plot, or just enjoy a humorous look at cultural differences, Calling Ukraine is for you! #Scribner

Was this review helpful?

I would like to start by noting that "Calling Ukraine" begins with a letter from the author explaining that this book was written prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and captures that Ukraine, rather than depictions of war. It's part of what I appreciated most about this book - the intimate look at Ukrainian culture, and how that contrasts with the culture and assumptions of our main character, an American who has relocated there for a job. Unfortunately the story and characters fell a little flat for me; the characters' motivations were clear but a little single-faceted, and I never really bought into the love story that the entire arc hangs on. An good read, but not great for me.

Was this review helpful?

This novel is timely, relevant , and so well depicts life in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk in 2018-2019.

Thirty-year-old John is at a crossroads. His father has recently died, and he has split up with his girlfriend . When his friend offers him a job in Ukraine to teach American small talk to a team at a business call center , John is hesitant at first, but then decides to accept the offer. As he attempts to learn the language, teach the team of fie to lighten up, joke, and smooth out any issues the callers might have, he acclimates to the living conditions, makes friends, and even falls in love.

Leichtman captures the mood of the people, their tempo of life, and the reality they face, be it economic or political. It is also the time when Volodymy Zelensky decides to run for president and, to everyone's amazement , wins.

This is a well-written novel, where the main character is realistically portrayed . John is full of doubts, is self-deprecating, and always ready for a good joke.

Was this review helpful?