The first in a series of crime mysteries by Ukraine’s most famous writer has a rattling plot and a torrent of enjoyable absurdities
Andrey Kurkov’s latest novel to be translated into English, The Silver Bone, has begins in dramatic fashion. Its hero, Samson Kolechko, is walking in the streets of revolutionary Kyiv. It is the spring of 1919. Suddenly, two Russian Cossacks appear. They chop off his ear with a sabre before riding off. “Hot blood poured down his cheek and seeped under his collar,” Kurkov writes. Samson’s unfortunate father is cut down and killed.
The severed right ear – recovered and placed in a tin – plays a central role in Kurkov’s surreal and wildly enjoyable story. Although no longer attached to its owner’s head, it hears things. Samson can listen remotely to the conversations of two Red Army soldiers who billet in his home. He is an electrical engineering student, but becomes a detective. The ear is an ingenious investigative tool he can use to solve riddles and shaggy plots.
The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov (translated by Boris Dralyuk) is published by MacLehose Press (£20). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
