 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 |
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