“A vivid, moving and sometimes funny account of the reality of life during Russia's invasion,” Marc Bennetts, The Times “Uplifting and utterly defiant,” Matt Nixson, Daily Express “No-one with the slightest interest in this war, or the nation on which it is being waged, should fail to read Andrey Kurkov,” Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail A collection of Andrey Kurkov’s writings and broadcasts from Kyiv – an unmatched record of a brilliant, distinguished writer reporting from throughout his war-ravaged country. Kurkov writes: “Despite the struggle to maintain a semblance of a normal life, despite the anguish of losses and anxiety about a future that is impossible to imagine, Ukrainians are trying to prove to the world that they are OK, to prove to the world that they can survive and that they will win this war. “I too am sure that we will win. We have already won once, when we prevented Russia from capturing our capital Kyiv. We won again when we liberated almost all of the Kharkiv region from the invaders and prevented them from taking the city of Kharkiv. We won once more when we freed Kherson. How many more victories do we need to end the war once and for all?” Andrey Kurkov – “Ukraine’s greatest novelist,” in the words of Giles Harvey in the New York Times – “is fighting for his country.” He listens to his countrymen everywhere, and in Our Daily War, as in his previous work about the current conflict, he tells the world about the barbaric practices of the Russian army, about the relentless courage of the Ukrainian military and people – in the face of terrible privations, throughout winters of the bitterest cold – and about the indomitable spirit of his countrymen. The determination of the Ukrainian armed forces and entire population of the country have won the admiration of the civilised world. They are often forced to live without water, without electricity; schools and kindergartens are frequently held below ground, whole cities have been shattered by artillery fire, by drone assaults; fields and towns have been changed forever by an almost unthinkable quantity of mines. But what is beyond question is that Ukraine will not be defeated by the Russian forces, will never give in, and will, in time, rebuild their peoples’ shattered lives. Known first for his genius as a comic novelist, Kurkov’s second diary of the Russian invasion, Our Daily War, is, unsurprisingly, riddled with piercing humour. It provides insight and inside understanding of the politics and the complexities of the Ukrainian culture and is a book that could only have been written by a scholar who has spent a lifetime in Ukraine. Weaving his own personal story with that of his countrymen, those fighting the war on land, sea and air, and other displaced Ukranians, Our Daily War is a deeply personal and profound account of the war in Ukraine, and a portrait of a defiant, irrepressible nation facing immeasurable crisis. “Andrey Kurkov [is] one of the most articulate ambassadors to the West for the situation in his homeland,” Sam Leith, Spectator “Immediate and important … From the grim incredulity at Russians massing on the border to the displacement of millions of people, this is an insider's account of how an ordinary life became extraordinary. It is also about survival, hope and humanity,” Helen Davies, The Times “Ukraine’s greatest novelist is fighting for his country,” Giles Harvey, New York Times “The author's on-the-ground account is packed with surprising details about the human effects of the Russian assault ... His voice is genial but also impassioned, never more so than when deploring Putin's efforts to erase Ukrainian culture and history. Ukraine, he says, "will either be free, independent and European, or it will not exist at all". That's why the war has to be fought, with no concession of territory. And he remains quietly hopeful that it will be won,” Blake Morrison, Guardian
