World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Ukraine
Translated from Russian
4.10/5 As I sought out my first read for the World Tour Stellar Reading Challenege (SRC), I wanted a book set in Ukraine, written by someone from Ukraine, and in Ukrainian. In the end, I discovered Andrey Kurkov’s Grey Bees. While actually translated from Russian, Kurkov’s residency and sympathies fall onto Ukraine’s side.
Check out these SRC by clicking on the following phrases:
“49-year-old safety inspector-turned-beekeeper Sergey Sergeich, wants little more than to help his bees collect their pollen in peace… But Sergey lives in Ukraine, where a lukewarm war of sporadic violence and constant propaganda has been dragging on for years… His simple mission on behalf of his bees leads him through some the hottest spots of the ongoing conflict, putting him in contact with combatants and civilians on both sides of the battle lines: loyalists, separatists, Russian occupiers, and Crimean Tatars… Grey Bees is as timely as the author’s Ukraine Diaries were in 2014, but treats the unfolding crisis in a more imaginative way, with a pinch of Kurkov’s signature humour. Who better than Ukraine’s most famous novelist – who writes in Russian – to illuminate and present a balanced portrait of this most bewildering of modern conflicts?”
When I read Grey Bees, I felt the term “grey” appropriate. Sergey Sergeich and much of his backdrop remained in between black and white, a neutral area. The one passion, though, which drove Sergeich happened to be his bees. It took me a good while to warm up to Grey Bees but I eventually wanted to know what would become of Sergeich and his bees. Then, the book sped up and I slammed hard into the back cover. Kurkov captured the sense of “grey” and “isolation” well throughout the book. Due to the slow start and some dissatisfaction with the book’s resolution, I sliced off part of a star. Still, I recommend this to readers wanting to learn more about the situation in Ukraine from a resident’s perspective.
Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.
Starry Night Elf 