Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv
Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023
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- 25,00 kr
Publisher Description
"Both a pleasure and a testament to life in Ukraine, before" Sunday Times
"Ukraine's greatest living novelist" New European
"A Ukrainian Murakami" Guardian
A love letter to the beautiful city of Lviv, by the author of Death and the Penguin and Grey Bees.
Strange things are afoot in the cosmopolitan city of Lviv, western Ukraine. Seagulls are circling and the air smells salty, though Lviv is a long way from the sea . . .
A ragtag group gathers round a mysterious grave in Lychakiv Cemetery - among them an ex-KGB officer and an ageing hippy he used to spy on. Before long, Captain Ryabtsev and Alik Olisevych are teaming up to discover the source of the "anomalies".
Meanwhile, Taras - who makes a living driving kidney-stone patients over cobblestones in his ancient Opel Vectra - is courting Darka, who works nights at a bureau de change despite being allergic to money.
The young lovers don't know it, but their fate depends on two lonely old men, relics of another era, who will stop at nothing to save their city.
Shot through with Kurkov's unique brand of black humour and vodka-fuelled magic realism, Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv is an affectionate portrait one the world's most intriguing cities.
Translated from the Russian by Reuben Woolley
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
NBCC/Barrios Prize winner Kurkov (Grey Bees) blends magical realism and absurd comedy for a charming portrait of 2011 Lviv, Ukraine. Among the endearing characters are Taras, a cab driver who specializes in helping people find relief from their kidney stones by offering bumpy rides; his kindly friend Oksana, who works at a homeless shelter; and Alik, a frequent visitor to the shelter who's not actually homeless. Alik, an aging hippie, meets ex-KGB captain Ryabtsev, a self-described "secret hippy sympathizer," who apologizes to Alik for spying on him and the city's other longhairs back in the '60s. Both remain big fans of the late Jimi Hendrix, and in one hilarious scene, they argue over who was responsible for obtaining one of Hendrix's hands after his death in 1970 and burying it in Lviv. Later, Ryabtsev recounts how the city was built on an ancient seabed and claims the sea is making its return, as evidenced by the recent appearance of flocks of seagulls and salty breezes, prompting Alik to band with Ryabtsev to save Lviv. Entertaining hijinks ensue, and their mission culminates in a satisfying denouement. Kurkov's fans will soak this up.
