*I'm back in the USA now. Customs and the TSA
are acting more congenial than usual. Perhaps
it's dawning on them that the world hates them.
*I picked up this Andrey Kurkov Russian gangster
thriller in order to have something to read at
the airport, and was stunned to find that it
ends in 1999 in the Turkish Cypriot port
of Girne, the very place and time where my
novel ZEITGEIST also set a couple of melancholy
Russian gangsters.
*The melancholy Russian gangsters in this Kurkov book
are usually either drunk, plotting against
each other, or getting killed in various
bizarre ways. It has a cloudy, surreal,
kids-book feeling. It's pretty good,
actually.
"Andrey Kurkov - Case Of The General's Thumb
"
When the corpse of a distinguished general & presidential adviser is found, attached to an advertising balloon, Lt.Viktor Slutsky is sent in to investigate. Meanwhile, KGB officer Nik Tsensky arrives in Kiev for a secret mission. Their quests eventually converge as they race around Europe becoming involved in a battle between the Russian & Ukranian secret services as they hunt for hidden treasure - a stash of KGB gold."
