Uno sguardo al passato: Dinamiche identitarie nel contesto ucraino post-sovietico

In this article the author focuses on the dynamics related to the role of cultural memory in post-Soviet Ukraine. In order to understand the complex and fragmented processes of self-identi cation in the area, the author outlines the main features of the identity pa ern of the region. Through the lenses of contemporary literary production, it is possible to observe the rise of a new path towards processing the Soviet past. In this paper the author analyzes some excerpts from Andrej Kurkov’s works Pik Nik na l’du (1996; Death and the Penguin) and Dobryj angel smerti (1997; The Good Angel of Death), showing the writer’s devices aimed at the depiction of the di cult relationship with the ‘absurd’ features of the contemporary Ukrainian society.