My book The Rooster House was selected as “Book of the Week” by BBC Radio 4. In anticipation, my book is featured twice in their latest issue – in their ‘On Our Bookshelf’ section and also in their weekly highlights section. I’m thrilled that my work is recognized this way, and I’m beyond delighted to be on the same page as Hercule Poirot.
Starting today, you can listen to The Rooster House being read by the British-Ukrainian actress Vera Graziadie via https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001p6rk. A new chapter will be aired each day this week. Vera’s reading is masterful and it’s going to be a treat. I hope that you will enjoy it.
You can find the list upcoming broadcasts via BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001p6rk/broadcasts/upcoming
40 Comments
Marianne: I just finished reading your book and I loved it. You really drew me into the story and made me feel like I too met all of the people you did. Congratulations, Victoria! It’s an impressive accomplishment. July 31, 2023 at 9:08am
Victoria: Thank you for your kind words, Marianne. This means a lot to me. July 31, 2023 at 9:33am
James: I just read a review of your book in The Guardian and I ordered my copy. Can’t wait to receive it! July 31, 2023 at 9:12am
Victoria: Thank you very much! I hope that you will enjoy it. July 31, 2023 at 9:33am
Karen A: Many many congratulations! July 31, 2023 at 9:27am
Victoria: Thank you very much, Karen! July 31, 2023 at 9:32am
PrincessTonk: Preordered at Amazon and the COVRR is amazing. I am waiting for the summer rush of activities and outdoors to slow and will cuddle with you and your relatives soon. July 31, 2023 at 9:34am
Victoria: Thank you very much. Did you order the US or the UK copy? The UK cover with red roosters is based on a photograph I took of an antique rushnyk in Poltava. July 31, 2023 at 9:40am
AndreaR: Bravo Victoria! I read your book as soon as it came out in the USA. The Rooster House captured my heart and imagination.Your depiction of your family’s life during Soviet times was eye opening. I thought I knew, but didn’t really understand the impact of enduring those terrible times for many generations.
I was planning to reread it this week, but now I can listen to it on BBC. July 31, 2023 at 9:49am
Victoria: Thank you very much, Andrea! July 31, 2023 at 12:04pm
Klaas: Wow, Victoria! Book of the week on the BBC!! That’s fantastic!! I hope you are enjoying your well deserved success!! July 31, 2023 at 10:49am
Victoria: Thank you for your kind words! July 31, 2023 at 12:05pm
Deanna: I look forward to listening to this on BBC!
How great to be chosen as Book of the Week,
So many people here will get to enjoy it. July 31, 2023 at 10:59am
Victoria: Vera reads it so well. July 31, 2023 at 12:05pm
Darinka D: Yes! congratulations! “Rooster House” was also reviewed in The Guardian yesterday. July 31, 2023 at 11:44am
Victoria: Thank you, Darinka! July 31, 2023 at 12:05pm
Samantha: Congratulations Victoria! July 31, 2023 at 12:27pm
Victoria: Thank you, Samantha! July 31, 2023 at 1:16pm
Caitlenn: Congratulations, Victoria! I am so glad you, and your story, are receiving the recognition that you well deserve. Best always… July 31, 2023 at 2:28pm
Victoria: Thank you very much! August 3, 2023 at 8:04am
Kayliz: What fantastic news! Congratulations:))) July 31, 2023 at 2:57pm
Victoria: Thank you very much! August 3, 2023 at 8:05am
WARA: VICTORIA, FELICITACIONES!!!!!!!
Your hard work and the love and pain of UKRANIA is in all our hearts, thanks to your libro💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛 August 14, 2023 at 5:30pm
Victoria: Thank you so much! August 28, 2023 at 5:53am
Marsi: Congratulations! I’ve just listened to the first episode and am happy to be learning how to pronounce all those names and places that were in your beautiful book. July 31, 2023 at 3:48pm
Victoria: Thank you, Marsi. I also enjoyed Vera’s reading. August 3, 2023 at 8:05am
Aurora: It will be a treat to listen. I found your book very moving, the end made me cry but overall the story was uplifting, knotting back the loose threads of history. July 31, 2023 at 4:10pm
Victoria: Thank you very much! I’m so glad to hear that it resonated with you. August 3, 2023 at 8:05am
Joan Rosasco: Congratulations, Victoria! Such a vivid heartbreaking story. The tragedy of history affecting so many lives. The BBC reading is beautifully done. July 31, 2023 at 10:22pm
Victoria: I also enjoyed it. Thank you, Joan. August 3, 2023 at 8:05am
Mel: Reading it now, Victoria. So immediate. So urgent. Such an important contribution to the unfolding story of Ukraine, the power of place, the experience of loss, and the touchstone of memory. Congratulations on this beautiful accomplishment which, of course, is being recognized. July 31, 2023 at 11:34pm
Victoria: Thank you very much, Mel. I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying my book. August 3, 2023 at 8:06am
Gabriela: Congratulations, Victoria. Such a need these days, a book about memory, familiy, loss and love.
I saw your book at the library here in Barcelona, it has been translated into Catalan and Spanish. August 1, 2023 at 4:04am
Victoria: Thank you, Gabriela. Yes, there are both Spanish and Catalan translations. August 3, 2023 at 8:07am
Michele Brown: I finished reading The Rooster House, Victoria. It made me want more of the history of your family and Ukraine. Really had a difficult time stopping to accomplish tasks. It brought back memories and made me miss my Momma Clark, my mother’s mother, and her house with the big front yard and pasture in back. We live on a street that ran from south, outside of town, through the middle and on to the north side of our town. I swore I’d buy it when I grew up. Alas, it is no longer there. My grand mother passed away too young from cancer and because my mother’s youngest sister needed a guardian, all was sold to take care of her. Their father had left them all for another woman, so he was out of the picture. My mother and her siblings never spoke his name again nor allowed him to see any of them ever again.
My mother had 4 sisters and one brother. She was the oldest. I was born just before my dad left for England and the war. He went straight to England and the channel crossing to the beaches of Normandy.
My dad was in the DDay invasion of France on Omaha beach. He sustained severe injuries after they took the beach and were on high ground. He never talked about the war or his near crippling injuries that took multiple surgeries to repair. I think it was because of that happening to my father, I wanted to know everything I could about the beach envision of Normandy. I think I became of lover of history for this reason. My mother told me what I know of my father’s experience.
I hope you will consider writing another book, maybe about your travels. I love your writing style and the way you pull your readers into the experience with you. I will read The Rooster house again, this winter, when it is so cold outside and with a cup of hot chocolate. I hope my comment wasn’t too long. Please take care of yourself and husband. God Bless Ukraine 🇺🇦 🦋🌻 August 1, 2023 at 1:27pm
Victoria: Thank you so much for sharing your story, Michele. It touched me to read it, to imagine how deep and intertwined the roots of these stories are. That realization is what prompted me to write my book. August 3, 2023 at 8:08am
Maya: Dear Victoria,
I am 20% in according to Kindle and savoring every paragraph. The characters are so familiar to me and -while particularly and intimately drawn- universally recognizable. I am so happy you wrote it. Thank you. August 2, 2023 at 8:10am
Victoria: So delighted to read this. Thank you, Maya! August 3, 2023 at 8:09am
Glenda Fraser: I listened to this beautifully told story on the radio, and have just bought the book. Growing up under apartheid in South Africa we were banned from reading anything to do with USSR or Communism, so I am horrified at my ignorance on the years of cruelty Ukraine has had forced on them because of their deluded, bullying neighbour. Such a poignant, personal story illustrating how the first casualty of war is the truth, and bullies rewrite history. August 3, 2023 at 7:37am
Victoria: Thank you very much, Glenda. It means a lot to me to read all of these comments and responses to my work. August 3, 2023 at 8:11am