The Case of the General's Thumb

Andrey Kurkov author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:4th Mar '04

£9.99

Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.

The Case of the General's Thumb cover

An international thriller, shot through with black satire and authentic detail, by the author of the highly acclaimed Death & the Penguin.

When the corpse of a distinguished general and presidential adviser is found, attached to an advertising balloon, lieutenant Viktor Slutsky is sent in to investigate.

'Kurkov is a fine satirist and a real, blackly comic, find' Observer

Discover the international thriller, shot through with black satire and authentic detail, by one of Ukraine's most highly acclaimed authors.


When the corpse of a distinguished general and presidential adviser is found, attached to an advertising balloon, lieutenant Viktor Slutsky is sent in to investigate. Meanwhile, KGB officer Nik Tsensky arrives in Kyiv for a secret mission.

A larger-than-life hitman, bombs under furniture, a hearse, a deaf-and-dumb blonde, a tortoise and a parrot all play a part as Kurkov evokes a world of secret militia not seen before in Western fiction.

An ebullient black comedy... Reminiscent of the best Soviet dissident literature * Daily Telegraph *
Full of touches of grim insight and tactful surrealism, with just enough of the absurd to suggest a cross between John le Carre's Smiley and Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita -- John Burnside * Scotland on Sunday *
Kurkov is a fine satirist and a real, blackly comic find * Observer *
Kurkov flips from mock-tragedy to comedy and back again, planting the ominous and the absurd neatly among deadpan descriptions of a daily life in denial * The Times *
Kurkov received universal praise for his debut novel Death and the Penguin... Kurkov's latest is better * Time Out *

ISBN: 9780099455257

Dimensions: 196mm x 128mm x 16mm

Weight: 140g

192 pages