The World of Conversations in Short Prose by Oleksandr Osadko (Based on the Collection To Live (Is) Impossible to Die)

Abstract

The article examines the short prose of Oleksandr Osadko, a representative of the New Executed Renaissance who was killed in the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022. The analysis focuses on the texts from his collection To Live (Is) Impossible to Die, with particular attention to the characterological and semantic features of the characters’ conversations, which often play a key role in shaping the narrative. Verbal interaction among the characters in Osadko’s short stories serves as an important tool for constructing conflict, creating psychological tension and narrative dynamism, and revealing the individuality of the protagonists. The study identifies the main typological features of the characters and shows how, through humor, irony, satire, and sarcasm – both in authorial descriptions and in dialogues – episodes of (un)ordinary life of (un)ordinary people are presented: individuals who suddenly find themselves in unusual situations and seek ways out in accordance with their own value systems and orientations. It is established that the system of character conversations in Osadko’s works has a multilayered functionality, ranging from character development and conflict construction to the creation of a humorous and ironic background and modelling worldview collisions. The article demonstrates that dialogization is a key structural principle of his short stories, determining their rhythm, dynamics, and semantic richness. The study highlights that Osadko’s artistic world is based on a synthesis of the everyday and the fantastic, the tragic and the ironic, which together shapes a unique discourse of life affirmation and memory.