Juri Andruchowytsch draws from the rich reservoir of stories from his homeland and tells them so compellingly that one would almost want to follow his protagonist Karl-Joseph Zumbrunnen, an Austrian photographer with Galician roots, on his journey. He is fascinated by the stark contrasts of contemporary Ukraine - between brutally tasteless commercialization and folklore, between re-Sovietization and Habsburg nostalgia. He is equally captivated by his interpreter, whom he accompanies on an adventurous trip to the Carpathians.