I really love these books, which offer a brilliant portrait of a troubled period in Soviet history, during. the wars that followed the Russian Revolution. It was a harsh time, especially in the Russian republics, where the war was fought most intensely: a period of fear and upheaval, with old and new sitting awkwardly side by side, all of which Kurkov captures extremely well. The books have a fabular, magical realist quality that offers an clever tonal contrast to the social history. My only criticism is that they are a bit plotless, but there is a charm in this, too. Highly recommended.