The Silver Bone

Kyiv, 1919. The Soviets hold the city while White armies threaten from the West, and nobody trusts their neighbour. Samson Kolechko's father is murdered, and his last act saves his son from a falling Cossack sabre. Samson loses his right ear instead of his head and is left an orphan with his father's collection of abacuses. Then two Red Army soldiers requisition his flat, and he can hear their secret plans with remarkable clarity. Wanting to stop them, he is pulled into a world of murder and intrigue.

Why You Should Read?

• Follow Samson from a lonely orphan to a young man caught up in a dangerous plot.
• Experience Kyiv in 1919, a city where suspicion runs high and any spark could become rebellion.
• Enjoy a crime story that mixes humour and magical realism with a fast, driving pace.
• Discover rich historical detail drawn from the real archives of crime enforcement agencies in Kyiv.

About the Author

Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian writer and public intellectual, born on 23 April 1961. He writes in both Russian and Ukrainian. He has produced 19 novels, among them the bestselling Death and the Penguin, and he has also written books for children and about 20 scripts for documentaries, fiction films and television films. International media, especially in Europe and the United States, have long turned to him for comment on Ukraine, and he has contributed articles to many publications around the world. Black comedy, post-Soviet life and touches of surrealism run through his books.