“Grey bees” by Andrej Kurkov – Reviews and recommendations

The Ukrainian author Andrej Kurkov planted himself firmly in European literature with the novel “Death and the Penguin” from 2006. This time there are bees and the style is less absurd, but the Kurkovian slant is very present and makes the reading, yes I would almost say “party”, although it is quite on the borderline when you think of the gloomy background. I will try to explain. The main enemy The year is 2017, and we are going to the village of Lille Starhorodvika. He is in the crosshairs between the Ukrainian forces and the separatists in the Donbass region, sometimes called “the Russians” out of sheer ignorance. Here, Sergej Sergeyitch lives alone in a small house. His wife divorced and took their daughter with her, he has taken early retirement due to silicosis after working in the coal mines, the electricity has been out for the third year, and everyone else in the village has fled. No, not all of them. On a tour through quiet streets, he hears a cough behind a fence and there is Pasjka, his main enemy from the public school. From such a starting point, one must work to find the bright spot, and that is what Kurkov does. NEW BOOK: Andrej Kurkov photographed in Kyiv in 2022. The Russian-speaking author has been an outspoken critic of the Russian regime since the invasion of Ukraine. Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP Kravlau’s happiness Sergej has bees. He takes up the life of a beekeeper, something he has in common with many in the country who have proud beekeeping traditions from the Middle Ages and who produce the most honey in the whole of Europe. Early retirement was highly desirable and actually cost the doctor three liters of honey. It is a little unclear whether he had silicosis at all. As responsible for HSE, he was not in the mines much, but the job seemed pointless. Sergej is a peaceful man with little demands on life. Here he is happily at home after a trip in the winter cold: The shrunken world would have been quite nice if he hadn’t lived in the middle of the snow line. The bees are frightened by it. Odyssey with bees One fine day, Sergej therefore throws his six beehives onto the trailer and drives happily and piously out into the world to find quieter places for the bees. He finds that. Home-born Sergej also meets brusque border guards, generous women and hard-pressed Crimean Tatars, to name a few. And then it’s time to come back to the reading party I mentioned in the introduction: When the war moves Sergej out of his comfort zone, many things happen. He feels that accepting a handshake and doing something good in return actually adds something to life that the bees cannot give him. SOCIALLY ENGAGED: Author Mikhail Shishkin from Russia (tv) and Andrej Kurkov in conversation about the war with Samtiden editor Christian Kjelstrup (centre) at the House of Literature in Oslo in 2022. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB He knows that he actually copes with conflicts. He could have benefited from knowing that already in his professional life, where, in fear of the coal mine operators, he put a stamp of approval on even the most wretched mines. Sergej likes people. He shows thoughtfulness and practical care. It barely started at home in Lille Starhorodvika, where the enmity with Pasjka more and more took on the character of friendship. There is good morals here and much to learn for all of us, in peace as in war. Nothing wrong with good morals, but that’s not the stuff reading parties are made of. MAKING HONEY IN WAR: Ukrainian bees photographed outside Melitopol in June 2022, where fighting has been going on between Russian and Ukrainian forces. The war-torn country is a major producer of honey. Photo: YURI KADOBNOV / AFP Reading party We have to get down to the building blocks, to the language. Taste phrases like “Five days flew by, like each other like crows.” Or this one: “Now, like any man at this time of year, he was drawn to the bottle.” With such pearls, he builds up precious personal portraits and episodes that make reading experiences as golden as the finest honey. Stories about the hand grenade that got lost, the road signs that changed places, or the clocks that stopped are exquisite absurdities from the war zone. Anything could actually have happened. “Gray Bees” is not about acts of war and heroism, but he offers dense stories about the country’s people who make the best of it when the war thunders in without asking for permission. It is both poignant and yes, uplifting. news reviewer Photo: Cappelen Damm Title: “Gray bees” Author: Andrej Kurkov Translated by: Dina Roll-Hansen Year of publication: 2023 Language: Bokmål Pages: 336 Original title: “Seryje ptsjoly” Category: Novels Publisher: Cappelen Damm



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