Reception
 |
- In The Washington Post, Talya Zax wrote that the collection is "more interested in the human than the heroic" and that many of its pieces focus on "average people" and everyday pressures rather than battlefield experience. [4]
- In the Los Angeles Review of Books, Kate Tsurkan described the collection as a "heartfelt ode" to Ukraine and to the lives of ordinary Ukrainians. [5]
- The Wall Street Journal described the collection as portraying everyday Ukrainian life across small towns and cities, combining fictional sketches and travel- and reportage-like nonfiction. [6]
- In an interview with The New Yorker, Chapeye said the story was inspired by travel through non-touristic towns and villages in late 2017 and written shortly afterwards. [7]
