Don't speak words to me that offer no warmth, Aliaksandr Charnukha

What distinguishes a strong book from a weak one?

A strong book evokes emotions: you smile, cry, get angry, freeze. You can't tear yourself away from "The Dead Don't Hurt": you don't know what awaits the characters. From a weak one, nothing remains in memory, nothing is remembered.

Thanks to a strong book, we learn something new — as from the historical works of Yuval Noah Harari. Or we re-evaluate something, start looking at something with different eyes, as after the works of Aleh Latyshonak. 

A strong book makes you want to re-read it: you look at the characters of "War and Peace" differently at 16, and differently at 40. It doesn't age quickly. A weak one — you read it and forget it.

From a strong one, quotes, paradoxes, characters are remembered. The swapped Ihnasik from "Two Souls": do genes matter? In a weak one, nothing particularly sticks in memory — although everything might be correct.

And one more thing distinguishes a strong book from a weak one: language. Lively, like in Eva Viežnaviec, expressive, even if simple, like in the mature Bykaŭ. 

Strong books are often — the result of passion, great affection or great love, when «you write because you cannot not write», when «you carried this within you all your life». Weak books — are like the imitation of passion by porn actors on webcam platforms, «when your heart does not burn with fire».

In fact, Adam Rusak's poem — is a mega-instruction for every creator (and why hasn't it been re-sung by Palina Respublika or Nasta Rydleŭskaja yet?)

Don't speak words to me,
That don't warm with heat,
Don't speak, don't speak.
If your heart
Doesn't burn with fire, —
Don't speak, don't speak.

Aliaksandr Charnukha — a one-man orchestra: journalist, music critic, YouTube blogger, writer. His first book «Pigs» was published in 2022 in Russian, and later in Belarusian translated by Aleś Plotka. Charnukha wrote the new book directly in Belarusian — for this, respect.

The collection contains ten stories, and most of them have a decent concept. All of them effectively impact the reader: if not painful, then unpleasant. But one wants literature to be not only painful, but also beautiful. Or unusual. Or captivating. One wants style, form, language — together or at least separately.

Everything that is in «Violence» — has already been somewhere and more than once: be it a living or dead leader for whom there is no replacement; and a person of contradictory nature who yearns to fly and creates wings for himself; and an attempt to make children better people than themselves through perverse methods. Moreover, the classic BelLit division of the piglet, which reveals the miserable characters of those involved in it.

Charnukha keenly feels what triggers Belarusians: including inventive sadism and the subtle mental organization of security forces representatives. 

«Sasha, your main export product is not potash and not BelAZ trucks. Not tractors and not potatoes. And not even weapons. But tears. Without them, you are and will be useful to no one. Do you understand? You are interesting only when you cry, and the world watches this with deep concern. Only this way can you be monetized».

In the last two texts, Charnukha addresses typical BelLit plots: a stranger comes to a village and adult children come to their mother in a village. And you expect that, surely, something unexpected will happen, because the theme itself is too hackneyed. But.

The story about the village of Kociki, into whose life a visiting stranger gradually immerses himself, according to the author, stands out from the general mood. Because it gives hope. However, it also promises to become a thriller — but it won't. The same goes for the story «The Division of the Piglet». The reference (to Viktor Karamazau's already classic story) is right in the title, but the only original thing here is what replaces the piglet. The rest is slightly more exaggerated and slightly more modern than in the original. 

Aliaksandr Charnukha said even before the book's release that it would not be funny. But the most successful stories in «Violence» — are those where he still allows himself sarcasm. As in the story «Jellied Meat».

«— Are there cases where a person wasn't canceled? Like, people read the problem description and concluded: this post's author — is an asshole.

— Please, let's not use such vocabulary. It's not to your benefit. As for your question, I don't have such statistics. But I'll tell you honestly: if you've already hit the blocker, it means there's a certain danger to society, and reacting appropriately is simply necessary».

You seem to understand what the author is leading to, but there's no clarity. He seemingly tells you: «Well, you understood the general idea, right? So I won't explain further». And I wouldn't mind if they explained to me exactly how the tears of Belarusian prisoners are monetized and what exactly could be seen in the windows of Lisuchikha from Kociki.

From Borges, we already know that new plots cannot be invented, but one still wants something more unexpected than simply moving events to Belarus.

My main impression of Charnukha's «Violence»: the author really wanted to write another book. And considering that he already has a funny and angry book, he decided to write an angry and scary one. It turned out forced.

Aliaksandr Charnukha. Violence — Warsaw: Janushkevich, 2025

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