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A Matter of Death and Life (1996)

by Andrij Kurkow

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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2497106,346 (3.63)12
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 in which cafe 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 judgment. Our perpetually glum hero meticulously plans his own demise, expect for one detail: if he suddenly decides he wants to live, what then? This darkly funny tale is Kurkov on top form.… (more)
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English (6)  French (1)  All languages (7)
Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
Enjoyable and macabre, easy to read, lots of dialogue, the hero gets himself into a right fix. The background must be Soviet. His wife has left him and he decides to end it all by getting a hit man to kill him and not his wife’s lover. Things changes for the better and he has to enlist another hitman to kill his hitman. Women suddenly appear on the scene, a lovable prostitute and the wife of one of the hitmen. The epilogue helps tie up loose ends. ( )
  jon1lambert | Jul 14, 2021 |
Tolya's life, what there is of it, is falling apart. His wife is in the process of leaving him for another man and he can't even muster enough interest to care. Continuing to exist in a meaningless void feels less of an option the more he thinks on it but taking his own life is also out of the question. Nobody would care if he just vanished from the face of the earth. But what if he got someone else to do it for him? Would people remember him then? Would his death be more interesting than his life has been? So he sets the idea in motion by hiring a contract killer to perform such a task. The date, time and place are all set. The only thing he's forgotten is a way to call it off should he change his mind.

Like other books I've read from the author this is a black comedy and very similar in tone to Death and the Penguin. Loosely asking questions on the meaning of life with a plausible situation taken to the extreme. It's a very short novel and simply told with George Bird once again doing a fine job of the translation. A fun, quick read and I'm still on the lookout for more of this author's works. ( )
  AHS-Wolfy | Jan 30, 2016 |
Short - perhaps too short for some, though I personally enjoy a book that doesn't overstay its welcome. It's also bitter-sweet in the way I have come to expect from Kurkov after reading the Penguin series. I am looking forward to reading more from this author - though the newest Kurkov novel I'm about to read should provide some contrast as it's considerably longer. ( )
  ten_floors_up | Dec 31, 2011 |
The plot and style of this novella are very similar to Death and the Penguin. The main character, a thirty year old unemployed male whose wife has just left him, decides to contract a hit-man to kill him. He changes his mind when his life, suddenly, improves, but then he fells that he cannot cancel the killing... The narrator is the main character, a man with flat feelings, and no many hobbies or friends, who spends his time drinking coffee in a small cafe and whose life is dictated by his relationship with women much more interesting that himself. This is an easy, uncomplicated book, which nevertheless makes reference (very lightly) to a couple of important moral issues. ( )
1 vote alalba | Jun 6, 2009 |
Kurkov is a fantastic author. He writes so concisely and yet his novels are so visual. He sets up bizarre situations that appear plausible. Very dark and very funny. ( )
  CarolKub | May 26, 2008 |
Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Andrij Kurkowprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bird, GeorgeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Roll-Hansen, DinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vogel, ChristaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Zeytounian-Beloüs, ChristineTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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If I had smoked, it might have been easier
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Then each unfathomable matrimonial sulk could have been followed by a cigarette or two, smoke and nicotine becoming for a while more a distraction than the sense and savour of life - like incense burnt for its own sake - and maybe even helping me discern some glimmer of joy in continued existence. But not having smoked since a boy, to start, aged 30, would have been not only stupid but puerile.
Some there are whose absence is cause for joy, even happiness. And when your wife happens to be one of them, it's bad.
Some kindly, unseen censor having excised the grey and black of life's experience, and left me as fine and upstanding as any hero of Soviet classical literature - even if deficient in heroic spirit and deed, and totally devoid of enthusiasm for, or pride in, my native land, or a people of which I had no knowledge.
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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 in which cafe 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 judgment. Our perpetually glum hero meticulously plans his own demise, expect for one detail: if he suddenly decides he wants to live, what then? This darkly funny tale is Kurkov on top form.

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From the back cover:
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 in which cafe 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 judgment. Our perpetually glum hero meticulously plans his own demise, expect for one detail: if he suddenly decides he wants to live, what then? This darkly funny tale is Kurkov on top form.
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