A terrific set of short stories about characters connected through their place of residence before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this book offers outsiders great details about the absurdities and tragedies of life during this period, sprinkled liberally with sardonic humor in the Russian vein. For readers who have enjoyed writing by the satirical Russian masters and post-USSR fiction and memoir, this will be welcomed.

Good Citizens Need Not Fear is an absolutely fantastic collection of short stories set in and around a tenement building in Ukraine shortly before and just after the fall of the USSR. It's at turns heartbreaking and darkly humorous, with a touch of surreal beauty. I love that the characters show up over multiple stories and through different time periods, interconnected, but never quite part of a single narrative. It's also fascinating to see how they grow and change and what they have to do to survive in a crumbling infrastructure. I can't recommend this highly enough for anyone interested in the time period, or just well written shorts stories. Warning: You may get attached to these ordinary people in these seemingly outlandish situations.

This is a fun, dark, quick witted read of short stories about the lives of people in a complex in the Ukraine. I cant say I was expecting to enjoy this as much as I did so it was a pleasant surprise. I think my favorite story has to be Bone Music. At times it’s confusing but that’s part of the charm overall.

Thanks very much to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy of my ARC.

This was a really good set of short stories. I really liked how all the stories weave together and characters pop up in different stories. It definitely kept the stories themselves exciting and fresh.