Author: Andrey Kurkov
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1848666055
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 393
Book Description
Catch-22 meets The Brothers Karamazov in the last great satire of the Soviet Era The 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
Death and the Penguin
Author: Andrey Kurkov
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1935554557
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
"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.
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1935554557
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
"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.
The Bickford Fuse
Author: Andrey Kurkov
Publisher: MacLehose Press
ISBN: 1848666055
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 395
Book Description
Catch-22 meets The Brothers Karamazov in the last great satire of the Soviet Era The 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
Publisher: MacLehose Press
ISBN: 1848666055
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 395
Book Description
Catch-22 meets The Brothers Karamazov in the last great satire of the Soviet Era The 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 Red Army's Do-It-Yourself, Nazi-Bashing Guerrilla Warfare Manual
Author: Lester Grau
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612000207
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 460
Book Description
The WWII Soviet guerilla training manual that became an essential text for freedom fighters across the globe—complete with illustrations. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II, the Red Army began recruiting local partisans to help mount a resistance. This edition of The Partisan’s Companion is the last and best Red Army manual used to train these men to fight Nazi invaders. Besides field craft, it covers partisan tactics, German counter-guerrilla tactics, demolitions, German and Soviet weapons, scouting, camouflage, anti-tank warfare, and antiaircraft defense for squad and platoon-level instruction. It contains the Soviet lessons of two bitter years of war and provides a good look at the tactics and training of a mature partisan force. While this handbook was a vital part of Soviet victory over the Nazis, its usefulness outlived the Second World War. It was later used to train guerrilla groups in the developing world during their wars of national liberation in the 1950s–70s. Even the fedayeen guerrillas who fought US and coalition forces in Iraq relied on this manual for training, tactics, and general approach to combat. A selection of the Military Book Club.
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612000207
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 460
Book Description
The WWII Soviet guerilla training manual that became an essential text for freedom fighters across the globe—complete with illustrations. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II, the Red Army began recruiting local partisans to help mount a resistance. This edition of The Partisan’s Companion is the last and best Red Army manual used to train these men to fight Nazi invaders. Besides field craft, it covers partisan tactics, German counter-guerrilla tactics, demolitions, German and Soviet weapons, scouting, camouflage, anti-tank warfare, and antiaircraft defense for squad and platoon-level instruction. It contains the Soviet lessons of two bitter years of war and provides a good look at the tactics and training of a mature partisan force. While this handbook was a vital part of Soviet victory over the Nazis, its usefulness outlived the Second World War. It was later used to train guerrilla groups in the developing world during their wars of national liberation in the 1950s–70s. Even the fedayeen guerrillas who fought US and coalition forces in Iraq relied on this manual for training, tactics, and general approach to combat. A selection of the Military Book Club.