In ‘The Sunflower Boys,’ a 12-year-old boy comes of age during war in Ukraine

Summary

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Podcast Summary: NPR’s Book of the Day

Episode: In ‘The Sunflower Boys,’ a 12-year-old boy comes of age during war in Ukraine
Host: Andrew Limbong
Guest: Sam Walkman, author
Air Date: September 4, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the novel The Sunflower Boys by Sam Walkman, which tells the story of 12-year-old Artem coming of age during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Walkman joins NPR’s Scott Simon to discuss the inspiration behind the book, the meaning of childhood amid trauma, and the deeper mission of writing about contemporary Ukraine.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Life on the Cusp of War

• The story begins with Artem and his younger brother Yuri enjoying summer days on their grandfather’s sunflower farm. Their peaceful life is disrupted by the onset of war.
• Excerpt Reading: The interview features a poignant passage (02:12–02:57) in which Artem hurriedly packs for their escape after hearing sirens and explosions. The sensory details—like a cracked mirror and child’s belongings—highlight the immediacy and confusion of their flight.

Origins of the Novel

• Walkman began writing The Sunflower Boys before the 2022 Russian invasion. He stresses the importance of preserving images of a pre-war Ukraine:
  • “I wanted to show the English speaking world Ukraine. It's a country that's very close to my heart, both ancestrally and also in terms of modern Ukraine.” (08:07)
• Walkman, who taught English in Ukraine, explains that the inspiration stemmed from time spent with Ukrainian children displaced by the war. One of his students playfully tasked him to write their story:
  • “One of my kids, who was 13 at the time, said, ‘We're busy. You do it.’” (03:40)

Themes of Escape and Survival

• Artem and Yuri’s escape is driven by hope to reunite with their father, but mostly by a basic instinct for survival:
  • “Their goal was just sort of to make their way west because west is away from Russia.” (04:15)
• The novel explores the impact of panic and the disjointed sense of time and place that comes with fleeing war.

Memory and History in Ukrainian Youth

• Walkman discusses generational amnesia with regard to Ukraine’s tumultuous past under Soviet rule. The novel’s protagonist, like many young people, is largely unaware of these deeper histories:
  • “Young people around the world are often not particularly familiar with their own national history, not just 12 year olds.” (04:52)
  • The issue resonates in other cultures, as Simon notes that “astonishing number of Americans don't know their history.” (05:05)

Personal Identity and Coming of Age

• Amid external chaos, Artem is also processing his emerging sexual identity and feelings for his friend Viktor:
  • “He's trying to come to terms with his sexuality, his attraction to another boy in a country that has not always received that in a particularly kind or understanding way.” (05:45)
• The scarcity of male role models, particularly the father’s absence, plays a significant role:
  • Memorable quote: “His absence sits on our couch.” (06:12)

The Role of Art and Expression

• Artem’s sketchbook, a gift from his absent father, becomes a critical outlet:
  • “Drawing gives Artem a creative outlet and a way to express himself... not just a distraction and an art to hone, but also it's a way for him to process what's going on around him.” (06:36)

Resilience and Sacrifice

• The episode emphasizes the extraordinary resilience Walkman witnessed in Ukrainian children and youth:
  • “The resilience and the drive to keep moving forward that I personally observed among... Ukrainian kids... is just truly stunning.” (07:23)
  • Artem’s driving motivation throughout the novel is to protect his younger brother, Yuri.

The Author’s Mission

• Walkman articulates a deep sense of mission fueling his writing:
  • “I wanted to show the English speaking world Ukraine… when the full scale invasion began, I put the novel on hold... and eventually I got back to writing the book largely because of my students. I do still feel a great sense of mission toward bringing Ukraine, both in its peaceful form and in its current state, into one book.” (08:05)
  • He believes literature should serve peace and collective memory:
    • “Good literature should always be antithetical to violence. So I believe in literature as a force for peace and solidarity, and I'm trying to write toward that.” (09:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:40] Sam Walkman: “One of my kids, who was 13 at the time, said, ‘We're busy. You do it.’”
• [06:12] Sam Walkman: “His absence sits on our couch.”
• [06:36] Sam Walkman: “Drawing gives Artem a creative outlet and a way to express himself and to process things.”
• [07:23] Sam Walkman: “It's just truly stunning... the drive to keep moving forward.”
• [08:07] Sam Walkman: “I wanted to show the English speaking world Ukraine. It's a country that's very close to my heart.”
• [09:13] Sam Walkman: “Good literature should always be antithetical to violence... I believe in literature as a force for peace and solidarity.”

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Key Timestamps

• 00:02 – Introduction to episode and novel
• 02:12–02:57 – Dramatic excerpt: Artem packing to flee
• 03:12 – Sam Walkman’s background and connection to Ukraine
• 03:40 – The student’s challenge: “You do it.”
• 04:05 – Reasons behind the brothers’ escape
• 05:42 – Artem grappling with identity and absence
• 06:36 – The importance of art for Artem
• 07:23 – Themes of resilience and protection
• 08:05 – The author’s evolving motivation and mission
• 09:13 – Vision for literature as a force for peace

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Tone & Language

The tone is empathetic, reflective, and sincere, mirroring both Walkman’s affection for Ukraine and his commitment to honest storytelling. Walkman’s humility and warmth come through as he discusses his hopes for the book’s impact.

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Conclusion

The Sunflower Boys uses the lens of one family’s odyssey to explore larger themes of history, identity, survival, and hope. Walkman’s conversation offers both a window into the realities of children in war and an impassioned belief in literature’s power to connect, heal, and preserve memory. If you missed the episode, this summary captures its essential moments, insights, and emotional resonance.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Growing up is hard enough. Growing up during a war is, well, nearly unimaginable. Sam Walkman's novel the Sunflower Boys centers around a 12 year old Ukrainian boy during the Russian invasion. And he doesn't have to just keep himself alive, but those around him too. Now we've been thinking about Ukraine in the context of this ongoing war for years, but Wachmann actually started writing this book before Russia invaded in 2022 and he tells NPR Scott Simon about why it was important to keep and preserve an image of pre war Ukraine. With this book that's coming up.

[B]

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[C]

Today, Artem is 12 and likes to spend summer days on his grandfather's Sunflower farm, swimming with his younger brother, Yuri, and sketching in a book his father has sent him from America. But on a February night in 2022, they heard a wail of sirens and bomb blasts, and after a night in the basement, they risk taking 10 minutes to pack up what they can into backpacks and flee for their lives.

[D]

My reusable water bottle and Yuri's reusable water bottle, which has a Minecraft sticker on the bottom to distinguish it from mine. Yuri's stuffed crocodile, Arcadi, the framed photo of me and Tato on top of Javierla. My phone, our headphones, my sketchbook. I go to the bathroom to collect our toothbrushes and toothpaste. Our three toothbrushes sit together in a cup. Mom's pink electric one, Yuri's red one. My blue One evidence that all three of us are here in the mirror. I see that my shirt is on inside out. I start to take it off and there's another explosion. Mama shouts my name. Yuri's name. My reflection jumps, then splits down the middle, right across my neck, as the mirror cracks in half.

[C]

The Sunflower Boys is the first novel from Sam Walkman, who's from a Ukrainian family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and taught English in a small primary school in Ukraine. He joins us now from our member station, wbur. Thanks so much for being with us.

[D]

Thank you so much for having me. It's an immense honor.

[C]

I gather this novel, in many ways, begins with a story told you by a young boy.

[D]

It very much does, yes. This was about a year into the war, and I was volunteering at a camp for Ukrainian kids just over the border in Romania. I used to tutor English in Ukraine, and all of the kids that I tutored somehow made it to this camp in Romania. And I hadn't seen them in at least two years. So we were sitting around way past their bedtimes, way past my bedtime, exchanging stories of the war, and I made an offhand comment like, you guys need to write a book. And one of my kids, who was 13 at the time, said, we're busy. You do it.

[C]

Artem and Yuri, his brother, have to flee. Where do they think they're going?

[D]

Toward their father. They think that they're going toward their father when they flee. But I think that they are also thinking in a sort of a fight or flight state. I'm not sure that they're thinking more than one or two steps ahead of where they currently are. The shock of the first weeks of the war induced a lot of panic in a lot of people. And their goal was just sort of to make their way west because west is away from Russia. And even though it's obviously a very long way from where they live in the central part of Ukraine, they're still trying to make their way west.

[C]

When your novel opens, you get the impression that young Ukrainians didn't know a lot about Ukraine's history, particularly under Joseph Stalin.

[D]

Artem was very, very young in this story. I mean, the oldest that he becomes in this book is 13. And I think that young people around the world are often not particularly familiar with their own national history, not just 12 year olds.

[C]

Astonishing number of Americans don't know their history.

[D]

I don't. I've done those tests online where it's like, can you pass the American citizenship exam? And I fail every time. But I, in particular, did want to capture some of the amnesia that comes with the generation of Ukrainians born long after the dissolution of the ussr, born into a very young nation that is trying to find its place in the world geopolitically. So that was a part of it.

[C]

And when the war strikes, Artem is also trying to come to terms with something else in his life, isn't he?

[D]

Yes. He's grappling with his nascent feelings for his best friend, Viktor. He is trying to come to terms with his sexuality, his attraction to another boy in a country that has not always received that in a particularly kind or understanding way. And he's trying to discover himself with very few role models and very few people to talk to, especially very few male role models. His father is kind of scarce.

[C]

You have a phrase that I mark down. Their father. You're right. His absence sits on our couch.

[D]

Oh, yeah? Yeah. It's funny because occasionally I hear these phrases and I go, oh, that's good. Who wrote that?

[C]

It's a good one. Yeah. His father sends him sketchbooks. What does drawing put into Artemes life?

[D]

Well, drawing gives Artem a creative outlet and a way to express himself and to process things. It occupies the same place in Artem's life that writing occupies in my life. That's why I wrote him that way. And so drawing is a way, not just a distraction and an art to hone, but also it's a way for him to process what's going on around him, which is often distressing and confusing and traumatic.

[C]

You're struck several times in the novel by the fact that Artem is trying to stay alive. He's trying to survive. He's trying to keep his brother alive. They're both trying to find their father. And of course, he suffered great loss, and he is just 12 years old.

[D]

Yes. The resilience and the drive to keep moving forward that I personally observed among not only the Ukrainian kids who I taught, but also among other young people from Ukraine who I have known and befriended and worked with. It's just truly stunning. And I think that it is really a testament. And something that I wanted to convey in this book was the drive not only to survive, but also to protect. Artem's main goal in all of this is to keep his little brother Yuri, safe.

[C]

I know it's fiction and you're a literary figure, but do you feel a sense of mission?

[D]

Absolutely. I started writing the book long before the war. This book started out as sort of a love letter from diaspora to ancestral homeland. I wanted to show the English speaking world Ukraine. It's a country that's very close to my heart, both ancestrally and also in terms of modern Ukraine. And, and then when the full scale invasion began, I sort of put the novel on hold for about a year. Writing felt like a frivolous thing to be doing with my time, and I was volunteering as a translator and volunteering with refugee families and eventually I got back to writing the book largely because of, because of my students. And I do still feel a great sense of mission toward bringing Ukraine, both in its peaceful form and in its current state, into one book. So I suppose that my sense of mission is that I want to convey what has been lost and what still must be salvaged. And you know, most of all, I'm, I'm always trying to write toward peace. I think good literature should always tap into the shared undercurrent of human experience. Good literature should always be antithetical to violence. So I believe in literature as a force for peace and solidarity, and I'm trying to write toward that.

[C]

The Sunflower Boys is the first novel from Sam Walkman. Thank you so much for being with us.

[D]

Thank you so much for having me.

[B]

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[E]

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