Audiobooks by Andrey Kurkov

Our Daily War

The determination of the Ukrainian armed forces and entire population of the country have won the admiration of the civilised world. They are often forced to live without water, without electricity; schools and kindergartens are frequently held below ground, whole cities have been shattered by artillery fire, by drone assaults; fields and towns have been changed forever by an almost unthinkable quantity of mines. But what is beyond question is that Ukraine will not be defeated by the Russian forces, will never give in, and will, in time, rebuild their peoples' shattered lives. Weaving his own personal story with that of his countrymen, those fighting the war on land, sea and air, and other displaced Ukrainians, Our Daily War is a deeply personal and profound account of the war in Ukraine, and a portrait of a defiant, irrepressible nation facing immeasurable crisis.

Andrey Kurkov (Author), Andrey Kurkov (Narrator)

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Death and the Penguin: A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation

A penguin is all that stands between one man and murder by the mafia Sit back and enjoy this darkly comic full-cast adaptation of Andrey Kurkov’s bestselling novel set in mid-90s Ukraine, plus a bonus interview with the author. Viktor Alekseyevich Zolotaryov is an aspiring writer in Ukraine, with only his pet king penguin, Misha, for company. After Viktor gets a job writing obituaries for a local newspaper, he soon finds that his articles are being used as a hit list by some unknown organisation. Feeling as lost and unhappy as his penguin, Viktor’s life takes a complicated turn when he takes in Sonya, the young daughter of an old friend, and hires Nina to be her nanny. Can Viktor protect everyone and keep himself (and his penguin) alive, or is he destined to become the subject of the paper’s latest obituary? A blend of Gogol’s absurdist humour and Kafka’s alienation, this tragi-comedy is set in the wild west atmosphere of a newly independent Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union. At its heart, this is a story about surviving and enduring in perilous times. Starring Tom Basden (After Life) as aspiring writer Viktor, and BAFTA winner Jason Watkins (The Crown) as the mysterious Lyosha. This release also includes an episode of BBC Radio’s World Book Club, in which Kurkov discusses his darkly funny tale with Harriett Gilbert. Recorded live in his native Ukraine, at the historic Mikhail Bulgakov Museum in Kiev, he responds to listeners' questions from around the world. Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian author who writes in Russian. He has written 19 novels and is a respected commentator on Ukraine, regularly appearing on Radio 4 with his ‘Letters from Ukraine’ series. Death and the Penguin is Kurkov's most famous work, translated into more than 30 languages. ©2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd Death and the Penguin Written by Andrey Kurkov Translated by George Bird Adapted by Hattie Naylor Directed by Gemma Jenkins Viktor - Tom Basden Lyosha - Jason Watkins Igor - David Hounslow Sonya - Blythe Arbery Nina - Chloë Sommer Misha-non-Penguin - Roger Ringrose Sergey - Tom Kiteley Natasha - Fiona Skinner Dr Pidpaly - Joanna Monro First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 January 2023 World Book Club: Andrey Kurkov - Death and the Penguin Presented by Harriett Gilbert First Broadcast BBC World Service, 5 September 2015

Andrey Kurkov (Author), Blythe Arbery, Chloë Sommer, David Hounslow, Full Cast, Jason Watkins, Tom Basden (Narrator)

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Diary of an Invasion

One of the most important Ukrainian voices throughout the Russian invasion, the author of Death and the Penguin and Grey Bees collects his searing dispatches from the heart of Kyiv. This journal of the invasion, a collection of Andrey Kurkov's writings and broadcasts from Kyiv, is a remarkable record of a brilliant writer at the forefront of a twenty-first-century war. Andrey Kurkov has been a consistent satirical commentator on his adopted country of Ukraine. His most recent work, Grey Bees, is a dark foreshadowing of the devastation in the eastern part of Ukraine in which only two villagers remain in a village bombed to smithereens. The author has lived in Kyiv and in the remote countryside of Ukraine throughout the Russian invasion. He has also been able to fly to European capitals where he has been working to raise money for charities and to address crowded halls. Kurkov has been asked to write for every English newspaper, as also to be interviewed all over Europe. He has become an important voice for his people. Kurkov sees every video and every posted message, and he spends the sleepless nights of continuous bombardment of his city delivering the truth about this invasion to the world.

Andrey Kurkov (Author), David Aranovich (Narrator)

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