German Publisher Pulls Debut Novel Amid Ukraine-Russia War Backlash

Molino Verlag, a German publishing company, has recently cancelled the release of Wer ich bin, wenn du mich siehst (Who I Am When You See Me) almost two weeks out from its official release date of November 1st, over claims and protests of romanticizing the ongoing Ukraine-Russian War.

Chytomo, a German media company, first reported on the controversy, stating the novel was set to be the debut of Juna Liebrecht who has since been scrubbed from Molino’s author directory along with her soon to be title. The novel is set in 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine. It follows the tumultuous love affair between a Russian soldier, whom we never learn the name of, and a Ukrainian woman, Lyusiya. 

The protagonist Lyusiya has been a victim of the war and has lost many people close to her. As she tries to continue on with her day to day after numerous tragedies, she is one of the victims of an ultimate attack, an explosion, when she is rescued by a masked savior who turns out to be a Russian soldier. The pair meet again after the attack and decide to start a secret relationship.

A blurb from the publishing site, which has now also been deleted, shows a closer glimpse into the end of the plot, as "The closer Lyusiya gets to the man behind the mask, the clearer it becomes that love can neither dissolve violence nor guilt." This wouldn't be the first time a plot as such has taken over shelves; however, the timing is a painful reminder that more war is happening than love in their respective countries. It begs the question: is now a time for such a narrative when the war is still ongoing and is this a part of a marketing and propaganda push from the popular publishing company. 

 Even readers questioned Molino’s motives. One asked how they were going to handle talking about Ukrainian experiences and the level of sensitivity that was going to be given to them as well as how stories of this war were going to be depicted in the future, especially when it was being marketed as more of a love story. 

Molino company head and publisher Matthias Slunitschek defended the book to dpa saying "The author's idea was that two people meet, and that this human encounter proves stronger than external circumstances. In fact, it is a novel that stands for humanity and peace and against war," Slunitschek said.

Yet, Liebrecht is neither of Ukrainian or Russian descent and claims further she didn't try to recreate real events from the war itself. She made a public statement to dpa apologising for offending anyone and said, "I did not want to romanticise the war. That was never my intention."

Further Wer ich bin, wenn du mich siehst was awarded a grant from the Association for the Support of Writers in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany and was even set to be presented formally on November 7th at the Bücherfestival Baden-Baden, the state's annual book festival. 

Many are relieved this book wasn’t released such as an anonymous voice dpa reported said “Portraying a Russian soldier as a rescuer and romantic partner of a Ukrainian civilian in occupied Kherson risks romanticizing the reality of military occupation, violence and suffering faced by Ukraine's civilian population.” This shows just how uncomfortable this narrative is for many actually living the before and during of the war, hoping for the after.