 The second novel in Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov’s Kyiv Mysteries series.
It’s 1919, Ukraine. There is much upheaval in the capital city, Kyiv, as the political fallout from World War I is felt. Most notably, the Russian secret police, or Cheka, wields its arbitrary yet terrifying power. Employed as a policeman by the Workers’ and Peasants’ Militia, Samson Kolechko has been assigned a peculiar case. He must investigate the slaughter of a pig and the selling of its parts as meat. Apparently, and no one seems to know this, the selling of meat is now deemed illegal. Higher up bureaucrats call it “speculating”, a nefarious capitalist practice. Samson’s investigations lead him into all sorts of strange encounters in Kyiv’s back alleys and underground markets. While these Byzantine inquiries are going on, Samson, who is a young man, is trying to get on with his personal life. He intends to marry his fiancee, Nadezhda, who has troubles of her own working as a census taker. Andrey Kurkov is considered one of Ukraine’s finest contemporary writers, and it’s not difficult to see why, going by this second installment of the author’s “Kyiv Mysteries” series. The novel is permeated with a wonderfully earthy tone, full of detailed descriptions of Ukrainian life in 1919. There are many memorable scenes: Red Army soldiers that mysteriously vanish at a sauna, an eccentric atheistic wedding and buffoonish interrogation lessons, where students are told how to blow smoke in a subject's face. The Stolen Heart has a rich vein of humour that runs through it, as we follow the naive Samson’s bungling in his strenuous attempts to keep his superiors happy. But beneath this comic surface there lies the grinding, tectonic plates of state, a bloodthirsty and mindless government bureaucracy inexorably taking its victims. The final scenes of the novel are shocking, where Samson is forced to make a terrible decision. It’s hard to imagine you’ll read a better novel this year. A richly absorbing tale of the absurdity and terror that is totalitarian government. The Stolen Heart, by Andrey Kurkov. Published by MacLehose Press. $34.99 Review by Chris Saliba  Renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe provides an instructive short history.
The decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict is complicated and often highly contested. Enter Israeli historian Ilan Pappe with this accessible short history. Zionism, we learn, began as a European Christian movement in the 16th Century. It was believed the return of the Jewish people to Zion would fulfil God’s promise in the Old Testament. Hence many religious groups were emotionally and spiritually invested in Palestine. Modern Zionism took off in earnest in the 19th Century, and once the Ottoman Empire collapsed during the First World War and Britain controlled Palestine, they promised the establishment of a Jewish homeland there. The Palestinians, also, had been promised their own state, just as had happened with neighbouring territories such as Jordan and Egypt. The main problem was how Britain juggled these two promises. As Jews bought more and more land, with income from around the world, they were allowed to displace Palestinians from their villages and farms. Fast forward to the wars of 1948 and 1967, and all of Historical Palestine came under Israeli rule. Two refugee camps were set up - the Gaza Strip and West Bank, still in existence today. The conflict as Ilan Pappe portrays it is basically one of power imbalance. Britain and the US sided with Israel, providing arms and money. Palestinians were disenfranchised and removed from their lands (Pappe constantly refers to this process as ethnic cleansing.) The solution (obviously what should have happened from the start) is to give full citizenship to all Palestinians. That is, a one state solution. With such entrenched division, this seems impossible. But so does the continuation of the current situation, with Palestinians as a disenfranchised, stateless people. Into this mix, Pappe adds that Israel is not stable itself, and at the time of the Hamas attacks the country was on the verge of civil war, with deep seated divisions between secular and religious Jews. An excellent primer that clarifies much, but leaves a despairing portrait. A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, by Ilan Pappe. Published by Oneworld. $24.99 Review by Chris Saliba  A middle-aged woman experiences her daughter’s wedding as an emotional roller coaster
Sixty-something Gail Baines has a lot going on in her life. Instead of being in line for a promotion as school principal, she’s been sidelined by a complete stranger. In fact, she’s been asked to quit her position as deputy altogether. Rubbing salt into the wound, her boss has told her she has poor people skills. This discombobulating news comes the day before her daughter Debbie’s wedding. Her ex-husband, Max, has arrived, armed with a stray cat that needs looking after. Then there is news - gossip, really - that makes Gail wonder if Debbie’s betrothed, Kenneth, is such a good match after all. With so much going on over three days - dealing with in laws, an ex-boyfriend that turns up at the wedding and a pushy cat that is making itself at home - it’s no wonder that life seems to have been turned upside down. Three Days in June makes for an easy to read social comedy about middle-class life. Anne Tyler’s peerless gift for realistic dialogue and situations is everywhere evident. Indeed, often it feels like you’ve been invited to listen in and comment on intimate family discussions. The narrator, Gail, is often unconsciously funny, knocking back social invitations because she’s simply not interested and sometimes finding that the world’s image of her doesn’t match her own. But she plods on, like we all do, and finds life’s not as bad as all that, even surprisingly good at times. An enjoyable, light read from the master of the craft. Three Days in June, by Anne Tyler. Published by Chatto & Windus. $32.99 Review by Chris Saliba  An eighty year old with a dark, wartime past goes on a quirky road trip with her son.
In this work of autofiction, narrator Christian Kracht, famous for his novel Faserland as well as other works, reunites with his octogenarian mother on a road trip of sorts through the Swiss Alps. Middle-aged Christian’s mother - we don’t learn her name - has invested heavily in the arms industry and reaped a whirlwind. Taking her medication with good swigs of vodka, and sporting a colostomy bag that needs frequent changing, she has withdrawn tens of thousands from her bank account and stuffed the cash in cheap plastic bags, determined to indiscriminately give it away. As the two take taxi rides around the Swiss Alps, they go over their past together, trudging through a murky and shameful family history. Christian’s grandfather - his mother’s father - was a member of the Nazi’s SS. Eurotrash is a dark, rancid comedy about wealth and privilege. Kracht provides a razor sharp skewering of decadent, self-regarding elites, whose money has come from a long line of misery. There is a sense of ennui and terribly bad taste that goes hand in hand with this ruling class, who don’t do introspection. Rather they live gaudy lives of depressing excess. Worse still, when their pasts are excavated the skeletons of fascism and dirty capitalism are found. Christian Kracht is a Swiss writer. Eurotrash was first published in 2021 and now gets an English translation by Daniel Bowles. A novel that is short and acerbic, with a powerful underlying morality. Eurotrash, by Christian Kracht. Translated by Daniel Bowles. Published by Serpent's Tail. $26.99 Review by Chris Saliba  Three office workers find themselves caught in some weird office politics.
Ashikawa is a sweet natured young woman who likes to bake treats for her co-workers, sickly sweet cakes and tarts with intricate icing work and dainty decorations. Her arrival at her office job with these elaborate confections are almost mini-events. Co-workers gather around and await specially cut slices and must then ooh and ahh at every mouthful. Nitani is in a half-hearted relationship with Ashikawa. He likes to eat instant noodles, almost as a staple. He hates to fuss with food and prefers the quickest route to a full stomach. Despite his relationship status with Ashikawa, he finds her annoying. Worse still, he secretly doesn’t like her sweet treats she bakes for the office. Oshio, another workmate, often hangs out with Nitani for beers and is the complete opposite of Ashikawa. In fact, she can’t stand Ashikawa. The truth is, Ashikawa is high maintenance, and she is coddled by her co-workers, receiving special treatment. She regularly goes home early, or has sick days, due to recurring headaches or simple bouts of fatigue. Co-workers hover around her, asking that she’s alright, even suggesting she go home. The irony is, Ashikawa is portrayed as the weak one, yet she somehow, innocently enough, manages to manipulate those around her. Junko Takase is an award winning Japanese novelist. May You Have Delicious Meals, as the title suggests, is a quirky, out-of-the box look at office work and the interpersonal politics it spurs. This is a not too happy crew of workers, grudgingly attending ‘fun’ office lunches and other get-togethers, but not unhappy enough to seek work elsewhere or make serious career changes. They are trapped in comfortable but uninspiring, unambitious lives. This may sound bland enough, but Takase lifts the subject matter with brilliant comic touches and a careful anatomising of modern workplace culture and manners. A strange, oddball little novel for readers of Convenience Store Woman and There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job. May You Have Delicious Meals, by Junko Takase. Translated by Morgan Giles. Published by Hutchinson Heinemann. $34.99 Review by Chris Saliba  A new biography of King James VI and I.
King James VI and I (1566 - 1625) is perhaps best known as the successor to Queen Elizabeth. His mother was the ill fated Mary Queen of Scots, a mother he barely knew, who was sent to the block to be executed. She wore a wig to the event, and when the executioner lifted her dismembered head up by the hair, it fell and hit the ground, revealing a close cropped grey crown. His most lasting fame rests with the official translation of the Bible, which is still read widely today as the King James Bible. Historian and novelist Steven Veerapen has written a spirited and often juicy biography of the king, somewhat trying to rescue his reputation as a coward, fearful of war, while also striving to paint a truthful portrait of his reign. They were politically tumultuous times when James was established on the Scottish throne, with interminable wars raging between Catholics and Protestants. Staying on the right side of these hostilities was a high wire act. Many participants came to a grisly end. When reading about this period, it’s always a shock to realise how young the key players were. King James VI and I loathed war and conflict, and so did his best to stay out of harm’s way. In this he was fairly successful, however he could have played the politics better. He spent lavishly and was always in debt, and he had a strong distaste for his subjects, avoiding them at all costs. He could have made his reign run a bit smoother if he had paid more attention to public opinion, and run his finances more responsibly. He was also overly fond of alcohol and rich foods. One wonders if these vices contributed to his death at the age of 58. The King’s lovelife is examined in considerable detail. He sired nine children with his wife, Anne of Denmark, with many of them dying young. He also kept a string of male lovers on the side, and showed little interest in keeping his affections for them private. (Probably a hard feat to achieve, as a King’s life had little to no privacy.) An entertaining and instructive history covering the reigns of three fascinating royals, whose lives intertwined in all sorts of fraught and complicated ways - Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth and King James VI and I. The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I, by Steven Veerapen. Published by Birlinn. $39.99 Review by Chris Saliba  A clinically diagnosed sociopath tells her story
Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas (a pseudonym, as you can imagine), was first published in 2012 and is now re-issued in a Picador paperback. Thomas, whose clinical diagnosis as a sociopath prefaces the book, wrote Confessions as part explainer of her condition and part plea (this may sound strange) for more tolerance of sociopaths. Despite the alarming subject matter, and the author’s openness about her abilities to manipulate and ruin people (it is worth noting here that she is non-criminal and non violent), Confessions makes for a gripping, insightful and often darkly amusing read. M.E. Thomas writes with wit and precision about the psychology of sociopaths and examines whether they are born or made. The author’s work as a lawyer and academic comes through in her razor sharp analysis and highly original view of the world. She also makes many interesting references to literature and science when making her points, discussing sociopathic characters in the great novels. Sociopaths are renowned for their lack of remorse, guilt or negative emotions. As M.E. Thomas slices and dices how we all behave - our guilt, vulnerabilities and weak spots, also our aggressions and tendency to try and manipulate the world - it feels like a confronting therapy session. Strangely enough, Confessions could almost double as a self-help manual. The book prompts self-analysis. It does seem unlikely that a sociopath should write a book and essentially give the game away (sociopaths like to work in the shadows.) But Thomas hopes that by explaining her condition, that sociopaths might be able to live more in the open. She lists all the types of work that sociopaths are good at, such as the law and high level business. They see more clearly because they’re less likely to get emotionally involved. She also argues (backing this up with research) that sociopaths brought up in good homes, given structure and an education framework, are less likely to offend criminally. (Thomas was brought up Christian and still practices her faith, writing that religion gives her a rulebook that keeps her out of trouble.) Confessions of a Sociopath is an unforgettable book. A true original. It rips the mask off the world, showing a side we rarely contemplate in nuanced detail. A must read. Confessions of a Sociopath, by M.E. Thomas. Published by Picador. $24.99 Review by Chris Saliba  A frustrated minor official finds he is not as perfect as he thought he was
In the District of Zlotogrod, during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Anselm Eibenschütz is appointed the inspector of weights and measures. His job is to make sure traders are dealing fairly with the public and not short changing or acting otherwise fraudulently. Eibenschütz is not a particularly happy man. He has left the regimented life of the army, which he found quite to his liking, as it took away the need for him to really make choices in life, and now finds himself dealing with petty, small town problems. Everyone, it seems, is an adversary. His wife doesn’t help matters, as she is mostly indifferent to Eibenschütz's plight. She makes things even worse when she embarks upon an affair and becomes pregnant to another man. Meanwhile, in the village of Szwaby, Eibenschütz comes across tavern owner Leibusch Jadlowker as a part of his travels. Jadlowker is a dark, shadowy figure with a dodgy past and another dangerous adversary to deal with. A complicating factor to this animosity is Jadlowker’s mistress, Euphemia Nikitsch. Despite Eibenschütz’s high moral standing, he starts up an affair with Euphemia and soon becomes obsessed, causing him to pursue a path that is hypocritical and possibly compromising. Joseph Roth (1894 - 1939) was an Austrian-Jewish journalist and novelist famous for his novel The Radetzky March. Weights and Measures is a later novel by Roth, now re-published by Pushkin Press from a 1982 translation by David Le Vay. Despite the novel’s cast of rogues and chancers, cretins and fraudsters, Weights and Measures is a slyly humorous look at the depravity of human nature, written in a crisp, simple prose. The book is set out in a series of episodic misadventures, with short chapters, and the action keeps at a pleasant clip, never boring the reader for a minute. The upstanding Eibenschütz, his constant frustrations and self-deceits, acts as a mirror for the reader, making us confront our own ambitions and unpalatable secret desires. A clever and concise study of life’s darker undercurrents. Weights and Measures, by Joseph Roth. Published by Pushkin. $24.99 Review by Chris Saliba  Peril for Penelope the Pug when she gets lost in Puggleton Park. Can she find her way home again?
“It’s a truth everyone knows that all dogs need a forever home,” opens Puggleton Park, the first in a series of Regency-era chapter books for emerging readers. Poor Penelope the Pug has found herself lost in Puggleton Park. Whilst relaxing with her Lady, she eyed a dreadful squirrel and decided to chase it. Bad move. Now she finds herself a stray. All is not lost, however. Good fortune manifests in the person of the kindly Lady Diggleton, who takes it upon herself to find Penelope’s Lady. This turns out to be no easy task, further complicated by Lady Diggleton’s friend Lady Picklebottom, who finds stray dogs quite horrid and wants Penelope sent away. Can Penelope be reunited with her Lady and live happily ever after? Deanna Kizis (with delightful illustrations by Hannah Peck) has written a fun and often funny take on the Jane Austen classics. The story is full of society balls, high teas and proper decorum (Penelope is put through her paces by the fastidious dog trainer Mr Weeby), ending with a surprise disclosure by the dowager Lady Foxwise. A spirited and amusing frolic that doesn’t disappoint. Readers 7-10 years Puggleton Park, by Deanna Kizis. Published by Penguin. $11.99 Review by Chris Saliba  How an illegal government program slowly unravelled.
Robodebt was a harebrained scheme hatched by a group of public servants hoping to make happy their political masters. Welfare recipients have never been popular with the electorate, easily demonised, and so here was some low hanging fruit. The scheme, as imagined, would reap a whirlwind of budget savings by recouping badly guesstimated debts from those unlucky enough to receive a letter. The problem was it was illegal from the get-go, and blind Freddy could have told you so. Debts were worked out with a fundamentally incorrect model, by trying to squeeze the square of tax office data into the circle of the fortnightly centrelink payment system. Rick Morton tells the sorry story of senior public servants watering down or hiding legal advice and their political masters who didn’t want to ask too many questions, preferring to pursue a tough on welfare cheats rhetoric. Mean Streak provides a valuable document of how disastrous public policy is made, with a jaw dropping cast of bunglers, sycophants, careerists and cowards. It was only for the heroic acts of a few who took the Commonwealth to court that the system collapsed. A cautionary tale of government overreach. Mean Streak: A Moral Vacuum, a Dodgy Debt Generator and a Multi-billion Dollar Government Shake Down, by Rick Morton. Published by Fourth Estate. $35.99 Review by Chris Saliba |
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