Andrey Kurkov

Ukraine

About

Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian novelist, journalist, and screenwriter, born near Leningrad in 1961. He moved to Kyiv during childhood and graduated from the Kyiv Institute of Foreign Languages in 1983. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a journalist, served as a prison guard in Odesa, and worked as a film cameraman and screenwriter. Kurkov is internationally recognised for his distinctive blend of dark humour, absurdism, magical realism, and social commentary. His best-known novel, Death and the Penguin, follows a struggling Kyiv writer who adopts a penguin from a struggling zoo and becomes entangled in the strange realities of post-Soviet society. The novel became an international bestseller and has been translated into more than thirty languages. Other notable works include Grey Bees, which portrays life in eastern Ukraine during the conflict following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv, which was longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2023. His nonfiction books, including Ukraine Diaries and Diary of an Invasion, document Ukraine’s political upheavals and Russia’s full-scale invasion. Through fiction and reportage, Kurkov explores the absurdities of political life, the resilience of ordinary people, and the complexities of Ukrainian identity. He has become an important international voice on Ukrainian literature, culture, and the realities of war.

Books on TheBookRoads

All genres Historical Fiction Non-Fiction Mystery Fiction Crime

All themes War & Conflict Society & Class Solitude & Exile

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Death and the Penguin

Death and the Penguin

In post-Soviet Kyiv, struggling writer Viktor Alekseyevich Zolotaryov lives a quiet, lonely existence with his unusual companion, Misha, a king penguin rescued from a zoo that can no longer afford to feed its animals. When Viktor secures a job writing obituaries for a local newspaper, he believes his fortunes may finally be changing. His editor, however, has an unsettling request: the obituaries must be written for prominent people who are still alive. Soon, the subjects of Viktor’s obituaries begin dying under mysterious circumstances, drawing him into a dangerous world of political corruption and organised crime. As he tries to understand his role in these events, his apartment becomes a refuge for a young girl and her nanny, bringing unexpected responsibilities into his isolated life. Blending dark humour, absurdism, and political satire, Death and the Penguin offers a haunting portrait of a society struggling to find its footing after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through Viktor’s unlikely bond with Misha, Kurkov explores loneliness, moral compromise, and the quiet struggle to remain human in a world where violence has become ordinary.

Grey Bees

In a deserted village in eastern Ukraine, deep inside the so-called Grey Zone between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists, only two residents remain: Sergey Sergeyich, a retired mine safety inspector and devoted beekeeper, and Pashka, his former schoolmate and longtime rival. With no electricity and the constant threat of shelling, Sergeyich finds comfort in tending to his bees, whose orderly world offers a fragile contrast to the violence surrounding him. As spring approaches, he decides to transport his beehives to safer pastures, embarking on a journey across a war-torn landscape. Along the way, he encounters soldiers and civilians on opposing sides of the conflict, including Russian occupiers and Crimean Tatars. His encounters reveal the human consequences of political division while challenging the boundaries between enemies and neighbours. Combining dark humour, quiet compassion, and political insight, Grey Bees is a moving portrait of ordinary life amid extraordinary violence. Through Sergeyich’s devotion to his bees, Kurkov explores the persistence of humanity, the absurdity of war, and the possibility of finding common ground in a fractured world.

The Silver Bone

The Silver Bone

Kyiv, 1919. The city is caught in the turmoil of revolution, with Soviet forces controlling its streets while White armies threaten from the west. Amid political violence, shifting loyalties, and widespread lawlessness, young Samson Kolechko witnesses the brutal murder of his father by Cossacks. He survives the attack but loses his right ear, becoming an orphan in a city where survival is increasingly uncertain. When Red Army soldiers take over his apartment, Samson inadvertently uncovers their secret plans. His attempt to expose their activities draws him into a dangerous world of murder, espionage, and political intrigue. Soon recruited into the local police force, he begins investigating crimes that reveal the bizarre contradictions of life under revolutionary rule. The first novel in Kurkov’s Kyiv Mysteries series, The Silver Bone blends historical crime fiction with magical realism and dark humour. Through Samson’s investigations, Kurkov portrays a society where political upheaval has transformed ordinary life and the boundaries between justice, absurdity, and survival have become dangerously blurred.

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