This journal of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a collection of Andrey Kurkov's writings and broadcasts from Kyiv, is a remarkable record of a brilliant writer at the forefront of a twenty-first-century war. Andrey Kurkov has been a consistent satirical commentator on his adopted country of Ukraine. His most recent work, Grey Bees, in which only two villagers remain in a village bombed to smithereens, is a dark foreshadowing of the devastation in the eastern part of Ukraine.

Diary of an Invasion By Andrey Kurkov | Used | 9781914495847 Diary of an Invasion By Andrey Kurkov | Used | 9781914495847

Once again, for the third time this century, Ukraine has won the Eurovision song contest. Each of the country’s victories in this competition has come in the wake of historical upheaval. I want to believe that this year’s victory will be the last for many years. I don’t usually watch the Eurovision and I missed this one too, but I’ve listened to the winning song and I like it. Most of all, I like the solidarity of the Europeans who voted for Ukraine.Andrei Kurkov is a Russian and Ukrainian writer who writes in Russian (fiction) and Ukrainian (non-fiction) languages. We found our children disoriented and sad. Not far from the house they were renting, I noticed a gun shop. It was still closed, but there was a line of people in front of it. There were men, young boys and girls in the queue, waiting for opening time.

Andrey Kurkov: from novelist to Ukraine’s travelling spokesman

These anecdotal curiosities prove far more engaging than the close attention given throughout the diary to some of Kurkov’s closest friends and family. Repeat mentions of the author’s brother who lives near an aircraft factory along with lengthy descriptions of the decisions that friends and neighbors have to make attempt to provide the continuity of a story line (Will they get out? Will they stay?) without building upon themselves or progressing in ways that feel like a plot. The real story here isn’t with these characters, but with Kurkov’s own feelings towards how the war he observes is transforming the people and places he knows so well. The cover note for Kurkov’s book, courtesy of the New York Times, states that “Ukraine’s greatest novelist is fighting for his country”. But if the pen is a weapon, like a rifle, then – like a rifle – it is moA vivid, moving and sometimes funny account of the reality of life during Russia's invasion' -- Marc Bennetts, The Times Taken together, this is not only a chronicle of Russian aggression in Ukraine but a chronicle of how the war imposed by Russia – and Russia’s attempt to destroy Ukraine as an independent state – have contributed to the strengthening of Ukrainian national identity. The army is now the most trusted institution in Ukraine," he says. "Something like 85 percent of Ukrainians believe in the army and only 60-something percent believe in Zelensky. The army is more important than the presidential office." The fact that the crimes of the Gulag… are not a historical trauma for Russia today proves that Russia has not yet recovered from the past — Andrey Kurkov

Diary of an Invasion - Andrey Kurkov - Google Books Diary of an Invasion - Andrey Kurkov - Google Books

Surprisingly perhaps to a British audience, he is not an unalloyed supporter of Zelensky, whose leadership has won worldwide praise, drawing comparisons to Winston Churchill. Although he does believe the president has proved himself under fire. Despite the destruction, morale remains good, he says. His 25-year-old daughter recently returned to Kyiv from London to join her brother, and is now looking for a job. This erasure of history, memory and fact is, Kurkov says, key to the enduring power of the Kremlin, whoever may be lodged there, whether Czar, Stalin or Putin. Most Russians, he says, don’t want to know what the Kremlin did to Ukraine: they don’t even want to know what it did to Russia.

Summary

one historic trauma that of forced deportations, gave rise to another historic trauma, the fear of hunger. “