Peace-loving beekeeper Sergey is one of only two residents remaining in a village in the 'grey zone' between warring Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces (back then...). Worried for his bees he decides to take them away from the noise of shelling and sets off into peaceful Ukraine and thence to (Russian) Crimea. Unobtrusively, Kurkov uses Sergey's very human adventures to denounce the painful socio-political realities of that complex region. I absolutely loved this eye-opening bitter-sweet saga.
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 105 Summer 2022 ) |
