If you’re Ukrainian and you’re reading it, you’ll be able to go through all the significant events that happened during that time and be reminded of the iconic myths that already mark this iconic era. Kurkov’s thoughts on an extremely important question for Ukrainians, as well as many Eastern Europeans, regarding the historical memory and historical trauma are compelling and important. Even the multiple typos I came across didn’t have enough weight this time to result in a reduction in the rating! In recent interviews, Kurkov likens his frequent articles, podcast appearances, and lectures to other non-military efforts that contribute to the multi-dimensional war effort. Of his older grandfather’s silence about these relatives, Kurkov says, “It turned out that I was protected from the dangerous past.

Invasion by Luke Harding and Diary of an Invasion by Andrey Invasion by Luke Harding and Diary of an Invasion by Andrey

At the end of the book, end of Summer 2022, Kurkov promises a Part 2 – I would definitely read that. When he resigned there were lots of jokes on Ukrainian Facebook saying we should ask Boris to come and be our Prime Minister.

The year before Dmitry Medvedev, Putin’s former puppet prime minister and president, had stated bluntly that Ukrainians were Russia’s “vassals”. Ukraine has lost probably 50,000 people already - 30,000 in Mariupol alone - so in every village there are now widows and orphans. Some concepts are polished and smoothed, some ideas are made more prominent while others are played down.

Diary of an Invasion – Deep Vellum Diary of an Invasion – Deep Vellum

She used Tik Tok to publicise the difference between a tank and a self-propelled cannon and to announce her dream of painting her combat vehicle in "pink camouflage". Later he describes the absurdities of red tape: people receiving reminders about gas meter readings and payments for homes that have been obliterated by missiles.While the atrocities of the war described in this book did not come as a surprise having followed the extensive news coverage of the invasion of Ukraine, what really stuck me was how little we comprehend from afar the ‘small’, almost what feel like insignificant things in normal life, that are lost during war. As if by some divine joke, in the Ukrainian National character, unlike in the Russian one, there is no fatalism.

Diary of an Invasion by Andrey Kurkov review - The Guardian

Similarly, they have bought tickets to zoos they cannot visit, so the animals can be fed, and crowdfunding campaigns pay for everything from armoured cars to bullet-proof vests. Most chillingly, her accounts of underground abortion services before Roe vs Wade in 1973 – provided by groups such as the Army of Three and the Jane Collective – now seem an indication of what is to come. A week goes by, and all the news is suddenly of the miles and miles of territory Ukraine has liberated in the east, and of the Russian army’s hurried departure. But then, Ukraine is a country of many shades of political opinion - there are some 400 registered parties - and this rampant individualism, Kurkov says, is at the heart of the nation's steadfast opposition to Russia.The day before the start of the war, our children, including our daughter who had flown in from London, had gone with their friends to the beautiful city of Lviv in western Ukraine.