P’yat′ mayortsiv dlya moho neznayomtsya

Poeziya i istoriya nachebto i ne mayut′ nichoho spil′noho. Ale tse v akademichnomu sensi chy v zvychaynomu zhytti. Ale inodi vony mozhut′ zustritysya i navit′ poyednatysya, stvoryvshy dyvovyzhnoyi chuttyevosti i krasy materiyu, yaku mozhna bulo b nazvaty poetychnoyu istoriyeyu. Same tse vyznachennya naybil′she pidchodyt′ chudoviy knyzi Mari-Frans Kler, frantsuzhenky z ukrayins′kym korinnyam, yaka v romanniy, poetychniy formi rozpovidaye nam istoriyu svoyich predkiv, scho zalyshyly ridnu Ukrayinu pislya revolyutsiyi 1917 roku i znayshly sobi novu bat′kivschynu u Frantsiyi. Davnye i neschodavnye mynule sim’yi holovnoyi heroyini tsiyeyi knyhy Natali staye zhyvym i blyz′kym, koly vono vbyrayet′sya v slova, zrozumili i dityam, i doroslym. Knyhu tsyu treba chytaty do kintsya. Vona napevno vyklyche u vas bahato dumok i pochuttiv i, mozhlyvo, pidshtovchne vas do toho zh, scho ne daye spokoyu holovniy heroyini — do poshuku nevidomych poky detaley doli yiyi ne takych uzhe y dalekych predkiv.