The Stolen Heart

A new novel by Andrey Kurkov confirms him as the unofficial spokesperson for Ukraine’s irrepressible spirit of improvisational anarchy. * Strong Words Magazine *
Andrey Kurkov, widely regarded as one of Ukraine’s greatest writers, continues to showcase his profound and humorous storytelling in The Stolen Heart … This is a must read for fans of historical mysteries and those interested in the complexities of Ukraine’s turbulent history, and also for the general reader and those who have yet to encounter the impressive Ukrainian’s vast oeuvre. * The Irish Independent *
The novel’s surreal, black humour is an ideal lens through which to view the absurdities of living in a Bolshevik paradise in which Leon Trotsky wants to erect a giant statue of Judas Iscariot and police officers enforce barmy laws that change overnight. * The Times (Best Historical Fiction of 2025 so far) *
Kurkov writes with humour and compassion. * Asymptote Journal *

Born near Leningrad in 1961, Andrey Kurkov was a journalist, prison warder, cameraman and screenplay-writer before he became well known as a novelist. He received “hundreds of rejections” and was a pioneer of self-publishing, selling more than 75,000 copies of his books in a single year. His novel Death and the Penguin became an international bestseller, translated into more than thirty languages. As well as writing fiction for adults and children, he has become known as a commentator and journalist on Ukraine for the international media. His work of reportage, Ukraine Diaries: Dispatches from Kiev was followed by the novels The Bickford Fuse, Grey Bees, and Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv (longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023), as well as his non-fiction work Diary of an Invasion (2022).

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