What can I say? I have a bias for Russian satire, and I freely admit that. I've been thinking about this for a couple of days, about why this particular genre speaks to me. I think a big part of this is because I feel like I, and my entire generation, cannot bear to hear the truth in its pure form. It needs to come to us as a parody, even a caricature, of itself, and that is why satire is so forceful and stays with us long after we've finished reading. The premise is ludicrous. Tolya decides tha...

A satirical novel from a former Soviet writer carries with it a huge burden of expectation; anything of that nature from the part of the world that we used to loosely call 'Russia' (actually, the Ukraine in Kurkov's case) is always going to be measures against masters of the form like Gogol and Bulgakov, who happen to also be two writers whom I hold in very high esteem. This particular novella certainly falls short of such illustrious exemplars, but is quite a diverting read on its own. It follo...

I discovered Andrey Kurkov's 'A Matter of Death and Life' recently. I haven't heard of Andrey Kurkov before and this book was slim and so I thought I'll read it.The narrator of the story is going through a difficult phase in life. His marriage is collapsing, it appears that his wife is having an affair with someone, he is unemployed, his bank balance is low, he doesn't seem to have any friends. One day he decides to do something which he thinks will be spectacular. He decides to hire a hitman to...

The premise of this novel was a lot more promising than it turned out to be. The idea of arranging to have yourself assassinated because you are so sick of life, yet not able to commit suicide, is very appealing. And also very easy to relate to I think. Many of us have at one point or another given it a thought or two, perhaps not seriously, but fleetingly. Murdered, you will be of greater interest than you ever were in your life. Murdered, your memory will last forever.Yet, for Tolya, things do...

This was my first book by this author and I loved it. The theme life doesn't count but at least the death should is not new, not even in this comedy setup. The book covers very well the hesitations of the main character, his reasoning, the preparations for his own death, the projection of this action in the news. Will he succeed to die in a meaningful way?The story is somehow similar to the plot in Romanian movie Tache. The characters have different reasons to die, but they both want their death...

An almost satirical take on post-Communist Kiev, as seen through the eyes of an unemployed man whose wife is having an affair who seeks to end it all, by hiring a hit-man… for himself. Simple, yet powerful with literary influences and some clever wit and satire. 6 out of 12

A melancholy, sardonic read. I much prefer the one with the penguin by this author. I appreciate the humour, but ... it's just so miserable.

Funny story: I saw the movie version of this book (A Friend Of The Deceased) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival years before I picked up this book in 2006, but I didn't make the connection – I just kept thinking the story in this novella seemed awfully familiar (depressed cuckold in Kiev doesn’t have the nerve to commit suicide, so he hires a contract killer to kill him. Then, life gets better and he changes his mind. Black comedy ensues). I double-checked afterwards, and yep, same guy...

After Death and the Penguin I'd been eager to read more from Kurkov, despite having The Good Angel of Death sitting on my shelf it was the pleasure of finding an attractive and slim novella of this title on the non-fiction shelf of a local bookstore that finally got me enthused enough to take a second helping of the king (tsar? something else more relevant?) of post-Soviet literature.The jacket compares Kurkov to Nikolai Gogol and Fyodor Dostoyevsky but with no experience of either of those auth...

I picked up the book because of its bizarre plot and because I wanted to entertain myself with something other than philosophy/science. I barely remember the last time I read fiction so this was a pleasurable experience for my brain :)The book is a page-turner, flows nicely, has a wildly creative story and is completely immersed with dark humour!

1 StarsBit disappointed with this one. I loved the last Kurkov I read but this was very 'meh'. Very much a 'boring average man suffers from ennui but women fall for him at first sight anyway' sort of book. And the premise of the blurb had so much potential too.

This book might be one of those very touching books , somehow ..

You never know what's going to happen when you plan to commit suicide.... Strange story that leads to all kinds of unexpected outcomes. Some of it seemed realistic but the guy seemed so casual about the plan from the beginning. I didn't get the impression that he was serious enough to go through with it, and he also seemed far too casual about the aftermath. No matter what happened, he seemed pretty blasé about it all. I suppose all the alcohol he was drinking contributed to that....

Actually not a review, but a question: who is the translator? Part of what made The Bickford Fuse a very, very good read was the very natural translation by Boris Dralyuk. Loved the Penguin books, but too many clunky passages via George Byrd; he took liberties with actual translations, too. (E.g. "crosses" altered to "obelisks".)Would enjoy another Kurkov, but prefer to pick one which is better translated.

Small but perfectly formed tale from the Kurkov universe where everything is "stripped back" and seems so simple, but has hidden depths (similar to Magnus Mills in that respect). Simple ideas of desire and identity are explored in a hypnotic fashion, with highly dramatic elements woven in with the mundane in seamless, restful procession. A joy to read :o)

A thoughtful novella with a melancholy tone in a nicely evoked Ukraine winter. It never quite rises above its quirky premise but has plenty of satisfying details and the post Soviet drift lends an otherworldly note.

Starts well, with a darkly humorous premise, but unfortunately the plot falls somewhat flat after the half way mark. Story does not live up to its potential and I can only imagine what writers such as Richard Hull and Anthony Berkeley could have achieved with it.