Grey Bees

“Sergeyich opened his eyes and peered cautiously out of his dream into the darkness of the room. Something, somewhere, was buzzing, but he couldn’t determine the cause… And then came the whistle again, now heavier, as if just above his head. And the house trembled. Sergeyich, frightened, looked up at the ceiling, but he couldn’t see it. It was dark, after all – the middle of the night. And then came the rumble, only it was louder than in his dream, and felt even closer. He got out of bed, dressed, felt around for the matches on the table, and lit a candle. Once more, the house trembled from top to bottom. The floor under Sergeyich’s feet shook so hard that he put his left leg out a little to keep his balance.” In this novel, Kurkov gives readers an unvarnished look at life in the buffer zone in eastern Ukraine, a 450 kilometer narrow strip of land where villages are pressed between two armies. Most of the villagers have fled for safer ground, but if one doesn’t have the means or the mind to give up their home, as is the case of Sergey Sergeyich, then life will be one of isolation, tedium, and want. Sergeyich is alone, having lost his wife and daughter to divorce. He is one of two holdout, along with a childhood bully named Pashka with whom he will form an uneasy friendship. One day is the same as the other—surviving on grains and honey, rationing coal, reflecting on his life, and sharing the occasional vodka glass and binoculars with Pashka. When a Ukrainian soldier arrives, Sergeyich finds a connection to the outside world, someone he can signal if things go bad. But his real constant and love is his bees. It is they who give him a sense of purpose and a reason to leave the zone. He will travel west to give them peace during the nectar flow, but the grey zone will not release him fully. “And indeed, the world has largely forgotten about Ukraine and its war, as it always forgets about “quiet”, unfinished conflicts.”