Siva zozula Stachwiuk Viktor Every village has its history, customs, songs and language. Common speech in one village is different from another. Women and girls sitting on the bench by the fence seem to sing the same song, but every village has its peculiar version different from others. Siva zozula is a story of Podlasie as a whole and a story of a single village. This is a thorough analysis, a collection of customs, traditions, festivals and foolklore of the village of Trystianka, Bialystok region. The book has been written in the local dialect using the Latin alphabet, which makes it interesting but difficult to read for Belarusians. The use of common speech is a good way to document the local dialect that is on the verge of extinction as older villagers die while the younger are reluctant to speak the local language. What makes this book especially valuable is songs from Trystianka with accurately notated music. It should be of particular interest to culture scholars, historians, linguists, researchers and people keen to learn more about local history. (N.G.)