Andrey Kurkov

Ukraine's most famous novelist dramatises the conflict raging in his country through the adventures of a mild-mannered beekeeper. "A warm and surprisingly funny book from Ukraine's greatest living novelist" Charlie Connelly, New European Books of the YearLittle Starhorodivka, a village of three streets, lies in Ukraine's Grey Zone, the no-man's-land between loyalist and separatist forces. Thanks to the war, only two residents remain: retired safety inspector turned beekeeper Sergey Sergeyich and Pashka, his "frenemy" from his schooldays.With little food and no electricity, under ever-present threat of bombardment, Sergeyich's one remaining pleasure is his bees. As spring approaches, he knows he must take them far from the Grey Zone so they can collect their pollen in peace. This simple mission on their behalf introduces him to combatants and civilians on both sides of the battle lines: loyalists, separatists, Russian occupiers and Crimean Tatars. Wherever he goes, Sergeyich's childlike simplicity and strong moral compass disarm everyone he meets.But could these qualities be manipulated to serve an unworthy cause, spelling disaster for him, his bees and his country?Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk

U tsij veselij kaztsi vidomogo ukrajinskogo pismennika Andrija Kurkova rozpovidajetsja pro prigodi pilososika Goshi, pro jogo druzhbu z didkom-Pilovichkom, jakij navchiv Goshu propiljuvati kvartiru, pro te, scho stalosja, koli pislja remontu povernuvsja tato Goshi - starij, perevirenij chasom pilosos, i scho vreshti-resht dovelosja zrobiti pilososiku, abi zberegti druzhbu didka-Pilovichka.A originalni maljunki chudovoji khudozhnitsi Dashi Vernovoji prekrasno dopovnjujut tsju istoriju i bezumovno spodobajutsja malenkim chitacham.

U romani Andrija Kurkova "Sadivnik z Ochakova" neprimitne, na pershij pogljad, tatujuvannja na plechi odnogo z gerojiv prizvodit do rozgadki tajemnitsi, jaku ponad pivstolittja zberigav budinok v Ochakovi. Varto 30-richnomu Igorju naditi znajdenu tam staru militsejsku formu, jak tsja forma perestaje buti staroju, i vin opinjajetsja v 1957 rotsi v Ochakovi, de na nogo chekajut sjurprizi z minulogo...

This powerful story written by Andrey Kurkov and illustrated by Tania Goryushina is about lonely Hedgehog who feels bad because nobody strokes him opens to a reader important questions about care, self acceptance and friendship. The rich in color pastel drawings, created by Tania Goryushina using special "prickly" techniques will leave no child indifferent. During 2013 this book was among the top 10 bestsellers in Ukrainian book stores. In 2018 it was published in Swedish language. Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian novelist and scriptwriter. Andrey is the author of 20 novels and 10 books for children. He also regularly writes articles for various publications worldwide. Andrey lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. Tania Goryushina is an artist with roots in Kyiv, Ukraine who lives in Stockholm, Sweden. Her creative path spans a variety of projects, from illustrating books and designing public spaces to developing initiatives that promote reading through immersive artistic activities. Tyanachu is an artist-run studio based in Stockholm, dedicated to creating and publishing beautiful and high-quality Ukrainian children's books. Other books from the same publisher: "A Different Horse", "Why Nobody Strokes Hedgehogs", "Igelkotten och presentmysteriet", "Den första resan", "Best Days of the Year".

21 grudnja 2007 roku opivnochi Litva prijednalasja do Shengenskogo prostoru. U tsju nich tri molodi pari, jaki podruzhilisja na rok-festivali, zibralisja na khutori Pijenagalis, schob vidsvjatkuvati "Shengensku nich" i podilitisja odne z odnim planami na majbutnje. Ingrida ta Klaudijus govorili pro svij perejizd do Londona, Andrjus i Barbora zbiralisja do Parizha, a Renata i Vitas - do Italiji. Voni ne znali i navit pripustiti ne mogli, chim jim dovedetsja tam zajmatisja. Voni dovirjali Jevropi i buli vpevneni, scho vona jikh ne pidvede. Voni buli molodi j samovpevneni. I poki voni sidili za stolom i ochikuvali na "shengensku pivnich", daleko vid Pijenagalisa do shlagbauma, jakij perekrivaje dorogu na litovsko-polskomu kordoni, pidijshov starij z derev'janoju nogoju, jakij znav Jevropu jak svoji p'jat paltsiv. Vin dochekavsja pivnochi i, jak tilki prikordonniki pidnjali nazavzhdi smugastij shlagbaum, stav pershim litovtsem, jakij perejshov kordon bez pred'javlennja pasporta. Pered nim tezh lezhala daleka doroga, a v skhovantsi jogo derev'janoji nogi virushili v podorozh razom zi svojim vlasnikom shist jogo pasportiv. I vse na odne im'ja - Kukutis...

Catch-22 meets The Brothers Karamazov in the last great satire of the Soviet EraThe Great Patriotic War is stumbling to a close, but a new darkness has fallen over Soviet Russia. And for a disparate, disconnected clutch of wanderers - many thousands of miles apart but linked by a common goal - four parallel journeys are just beginning.Gorych and his driver, rolling through water, sand and snow on an empty petrol tank; the occupant of a black airship, looking down benevolently as he floats above his Fatherland; young Andrey, who leaves his religious community in search of a new life; and Kharitonov, who trudges from the Sea of Japan to Leningrad, carrying a fuse that, when lit, could blow all and sundry to smithereens.Written in the final years of Communism, The Bickford Fuse is a satirical epic of the Soviet soul, exploring the origins and dead-ends of the Russian mentality from the end of World War Two to the Union's collapse. Blending allegory and fable with real events, and as deliriously absurd as anything Kurkov has written, it is both an elegy for lost years and a song of hope for a future not yet set in stone.Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk

The unusual gardener who lives in his mother's shed keeps disappearing, his best friend has blackmailed the wrong people, and Igor has fallen in love with a married woman in a time before he was born.

Going beyond the headlines, this title gives an insight into what it's like to live through - and try to make sense of - times of intense political unrest.

"No summary can do justice to the strange appeal of this unusual, short book, which is at once a crime novel, a comic novel and a serious political satire on contemporary Ukraine." --Anne Applebaum, The Wall Street Journal With the collapse of the Soviet Union, newly-free Ukraine is a shell-shocked land . . . In poverty-and-violence-wracked Kyiv, unemployed writer Viktor Zolotaryov leads a down-and-out life with his only friend, Misha, a penguin that he rescued when the local zoo started getting rid of animals it couldn't feed. Even more nerve-wracking for Victor: a local mobster has taken a shine to Misha and wants to borrow him for events. But Viktor thinks he's finally caught a break when he lands a well-paying job at the Kyiv newspaper writing "living obituaries" of local dignitaries--articles to be filed for use when the time comes. The only thing is, the time always seems to come as soon as Viktor finishes writing the article. Slowly understanding that his own life may be in jeopardy, Viktor also realizes that the only thing that might be keeping him alive is his penguin.

"Sudba popugaja" - vtoraja kniga fantasticheskoj trilogii Andreja Kurkova "Geografija odinochnogo vystrela", v kotoroj so znakomymi uzhe chitatelju personazhami proiskhodjat neverojatnye sobytija v nekoj sovetskoj virtualnosti.

Ukrainalaisen Andrei Kurkovin teokset ovat Euroopassa ja Venäjällä hyvin suosittuja. Ukrainassa kukaan ei lue niitä, koska ukrainalainen Kurkov kirjoittaa venäjäksi! Uusi romaani kertoo nykyaikaisista tapahtumista ja maasta, absurdisuus ja elämän kauneus tuntuvat joskus jopa fantasiasta.

'Kurkov is hugely talented. Truly very funny' Time OutMarital troubles? Sick of life? Suicide the answer? Why not get yourself a contract killer? Nothing easier, provided you communicate only by phone and box number. You give him your photograph, specify when and where to find you, then sit back and prepare to die. Murdered, you will be of greater interest than ever you were in life. More to him than met the eye will be the judgement. A mysterious killing lives long in the popular memory. Our hero meticulously plans his own demise, except for one detail: what if he suddenly decides he wants to live?

Two investigators are put on the case of a murdered Russian general. Their stumbling researches take them all over Europe until eventually it dawns on them that they are merely pawns in a game in which the KGB are the key players.

Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a newspaper. But when he opens the newspaper to see his work in print for the first time, his pride swiftly turns to terror.