FANTASY NOVEL "WOLF LANDS" BY NATALIIA ZARUDNIUK: STRUCTURE, TOPOS, CHARACTERS

The article focuses on the structure of the novel and the specifics of place modeling and imagery in Nataliia Zarudniuk’s fantasy novel Wolf Lands. In her debut novel, published by Vikhola as part of the Beyond the Other Side series, the author creates an unreal world – a medieval topos characteristic of the genre – populated with characters from folklore and mythology, primarily Slavic and Norse myths. However, in this parallel world of magic and sorcery, the characters face the same moral dilemmas as in real life: the eternal struggle between good and evil, which includes betrayal and self-betrayal, self-discovery, overcoming past traumas, and self-forgiveness. It is noted that the plot of the novel is a unique blend of adventure and heroism, featuring obligatory journeys and wars. The story follows a young man who has lost his memory and finds himself at the Border – a place that offers him refuge from both humans and elves. There, he encounters Alvakh, a blind kharkterytsia (a type of sorceress), seer, and princess. On one hand, this meeting draws him into the whirlwind of a state coup and magical intrigues; on the other, it gives him a chance to shed his status as a fugitive and traitor. Nataliia Zarudniuk skillfully intertwines two narrative threads, stretching events over time and maintaining intrigue. The story of the runaway boy is outlined in the prologue, but the characters' fates do not intertwine until the middle of the first chapter. In the subsection Where the Path Leads, the author introduces a textual repetition from the prologue, linking the two narrative threads, which subsequently merge into a single central storyline. The novel is noted for its well-structured composition, including three chapters – The Border, Wolf Lands, and Home – each marking a specific topos. A map preceding the narrative allows readers to visualize the setting. The locations are not merely places of action but a logically constructed system that serves a central goal: the protagonists must reclaim what was lost – whether it be individual memory or a home. This idea is further emphasized by the author’s dedication: Dedicated to the lost and found. The epigraphs preceding each chapter and subsection also deserve attention, as they highlight (and, to some extent, decode) the novel’s narrative lines. Nataliia Zarudniuk leaves traces of intertextual references that seamlessly blend into the overall structure of the story.