Four New Books: Kurkov, Elan, Zipes, Ylvisåker
The New Yorker's Briefly Noted section reviews four recent publications. Andrey Kurkov's 'The Lost Soldiers' (HarperVia, translated by Boris Dralyuk) is a madcap detective story set in 1919 Kyiv during the Bolshevik takeover, where investigator Samson Kolechko uses a supernatural severed ear to solve the disappearance of twenty-eight Red Army soldiers. Portia Elan's début novel 'Homebound' (Scribner) alternates between 1980s Cincinnati and a flooded world six hundred years later, following ship captain Yesiko and a teen-ager named Beck. Jack Zipes' 'Once Upon a Time There Was Truth' (Yale) is an erudite essay collection on the Western literary fairy tale, its history, and its social functions. Line Nagell Ylvisåker's 'My World Is Melting' (Wisconsin, translated by Kelsey Camacho) is a memoir documenting climate change in Svalbard, the world's northernmost inhabited region, including the 2015 avalanche in Longyearbyen and the impact of last-chance tourism.
Key facts
- The Lost Soldiers by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk, published by HarperVia.
- Set in 1919 Kyiv during Bolshevik takeover, investigator Samson Kolechko searches for 28 missing Red Army soldiers.
- Kolechko uses a supernatural severed ear to detect dialogue.
- Homebound by Portia Elan, published by Scribner, is a début novel set in 1980s Cincinnati and a flooded future.
- Characters include ship captain Yesiko and teen-ager Beck; themes of dystopian sci-fi and lesbian self-discovery.
- Once Upon a Time There Was Truth by Jack Zipes, published by Yale, explores Western literary fairy tales.
- Zipes examines classics like Hansel and Gretel and commercial empires like Disney.
- My World Is Melting by Line Nagell Ylvisåker, translated by Kelsey Camacho, published by Wisconsin.
- Memoir documents climate change in Svalbard, including the 2015 avalanche in Longyearbyen.
- Ylvisåker interviews a trapper and shows locals affected by last-chance tourism.
Entities
Artists
- Andrey Kurkov
- Boris Dralyuk
- Portia Elan
- Jack Zipes
- Line Nagell Ylvisåker
- Kelsey Camacho
Institutions
- HarperVia
- Scribner
- Yale
- Wisconsin
Locations
- Kyiv
- Ukraine
- Cincinnati
- United States
- Svalbard
- Longyearbyen