Beautiful Disaster By Alexander Dovhal
Special Project of the Library of Ukrainian Art
Illustrations to first Ukrainian “Zombie novel”
“Beautiful Disaster” – trilogy by Ukrainian writer Yuri Smolych, one of the first fiction in Ukrainian literature and clearly the peoneer the world of “walking dead” literature.
Trilogy consists of three novels “The household of Dr. Halvanesku” (1928), “What happened next” (1934), “Another beautiful disaster” (1932). Synopsis: Ukrainian woman Yulia Sakhno made a adademic trip from Berlin Academy to Romania to study successful agricultural work of Dr. Halvanesku. Local villagers believe that evil lives in Dr. Halvanesku estate. The doctor, as it later turned out, was not investigating agricultural problems, but conducting experiments on human beings. Julia Sakhno enters the unequal struggle with the evil genius …
“Beautiful Disaster” stands among great science fiction novels of the time – “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by HG Wells and Soviet science fiction works of Alexander Belyaev. The book was published in 1956 in publishing house “Molod” in the series “Adventure and science fiction library” with illustrations by Ukrainian artist Alexander Dovhal. they are connected with anouther work – illustrations to the Ukrainian edition of “Professor Dowell’s Head”.
Alexander Dovhal made detailed illustrations to “Beautiful Disaster” by George Smolich. You can see frog legs with electrodes attached, process of reviving the corpses, and a human eye in a glass jar. Pictures are dynamic, and the characters real and vivid. Over 30 illustrations created by Alexander Dovhal cover this fiction trilogy and the novel still has not lost its relevance.
Beautiful Disaster, Illustrations by Alexander Dovhal
