The Good Angel of Death

Description

The Good Angel of Death is a classic, first-rate Kurkov yarn which is sure to delight old and new fans alike. When Kolya moves into a new flat in Kiev, he discovers an annotated manuscript hidden inside a copy of War and Peace and decides to track down its author, even if it means digging up the grave of a Ukranian nationalist who died in mysterious circumstances. An exhumation reveals that an item of great national importance is buried near a fort in Kazakstan so when, during his night shift as a security guard, Kolya is threatened with mysterious phone calls, he sets off on what turns out to be a very bizarre journey. Along the way he meets a host of unlikely characters including Bedouins, ex-KGB officers and a spirit-like companion in the form of a chameleon. From the author of cult bestseller, Death and the Penguin.

Andrey Kurkov was born in St Petersburg in 1961. Having graduated from the Kiev Foreign Languages Institute, he worked for some time as a journalist, did his military service as a prison warder in Odessa, then became a film cameraman, writer of screenplays and author of critically acclaimed and popular novels, including the cult bestseller Death and the Penguin.

Packs a lot of plot into this deadpan satire... Strange and tantalising * Metro * Flits between dark and light exploring the twilight zone between fantasy and reality -- John Thornhill * Financial Times * Kurkov is hugely talented, truly very funny * Time Out * Kurkov's style is spare and effective, drawing us with deceptive ease into a dense, complex world full of wonderful characters -- Michael Palin A rather beautiful dreamlike journey -- Victoria Moore * Daily Mail *