'Kurkov is hugely talented. Truly very funny' -Time Out
Marital troubles? Sick of life? Suicide the answer? Why not get yourself a contract killer?
Nothing easier, provided you communicate only by phone and box number. You give him your photograph, specify when and where to find you, then sit back and prepare to die.
Murdered, you will be of greater interest than ever you were in life. More to him than met the eye will be the judgement. A mysterious killing lives long in the popular memory. Our hero meticulously plans his own demise, except for one detail: what if he suddenly decides he wants to live?
'Kurkov's eye for the absurdities of Ukrainian life is as sharp as ever' - Sunday Telegraph
“Kurkov's eye for the absurdities of Ukrainian life is as sharp as ever”
Sunday Telegraph
“A perfectly balanced read”
Scotland on Sunday
“A brilliant black comedy”
Evening Standard
“Excellent... Blackly comic. Remarkable”
New York Times
“Kurkov conjures up both Gogol and Dostoevsky... Genuinely original”
Scotsman
“Kurkov is a fine satirist and a real, blackly comic find”
Observer
“Kurkov's writing is highly addictive”
Punch
“There's a pleasing conceit at the dark heart of this novella”
Metro
“A dark humorous book that delivers Kurkov's best”
Good Book Guide