After a month of traveling through Spain and Portugal, the project “Traveling Books” by the publishing house “CHAS ZMIN INFORM” concluded its European journey in France. A car with Ukrainian plates, filled with books and stories, traveled thousands of kilometers to bring Ukrainian words to those who were eagerly waiting for them.
Over thirty days, the initiative visited dozens of cities, met hundreds of Ukrainians, and hosted literary presentations, readings, and discussions. For many participants, these events became a true taste of home — warmth, familiar voices, and the language of their country. After the last meeting in the Pyrenees, a light melancholy lingered in the air, but ahead lay Paris — and there, a sense of a new beginning was born.
The French capital welcomed the Ukrainian publishers with the magical tension felt before a first date: excitement, anticipation, fear of being unaccepted — and an overwhelming desire for closeness. Paris immediately revealed its charm: the aroma of coffee, the old facades, the autumn air steeped in culture. Yet the greatest impression came from the Ukrainian literary club, where among books and readers, a true piece of Ukraine came alive again.
Here, excerpts from “The Tale of Kozak Stepan”, “The Adventures of the Wonderful SIMka”, “Love, War, and Other Deviations”, and “Modest’s Science” were read aloud. In the hands of the audience were new releases — “Who Are You, Mr. Military Attaché?”, “Why Didn’t Heinrich Come?”, “Not the Last Day”, “The Adventures of Karasik Balabasyk”. Ukrainians living in Paris read them with enthusiasm and gratitude, as if touching something deeply personal — a living thread connecting them to home.
It is particularly symbolic that some of these authors had visited the French capital before the publishers themselves. This confirms what is obvious: Ukrainian literature is a bridge connecting continents, generations, and lives.
King Henri once said, “Paris is worth a mass.” Today, one can add: Paris is worth Ukrainian “Traveling Books” returning here again and again — as a reminder of the living power of words, capable of bridging distances and restoring life.
