In this off-beat thriller set in pandemic-era Eastern Europe a musician must go on the lam as he’s chased by fascist operatives, a story that is as much a classic escape caper as it is a chilling indictment of modern-day authoritarianism.
Yuri Andrukhovych’s Radio Night tells the story of Yosyp Rotsky, a legendary piano player who took part in a revolution in defense of dignity as a barricade pianist. On the run from both his country’s shady Regime and the insatiable Mob, Rotsky and his pal, the wise raven Edgar, traverse the repurposed labyrinths of bygone eras, stumbling upon vestiges of the ever-present past and maneuvering through today’s social media-saturated world. Enveloped in music, the novel offers several radio DJ monologues, is accompanied by a playlist, unearths a stashed-away dramatic work, and features recurring appearances by another of Yosyp’s buddies, the mysterious Servus, who always seems to roll up at the most (in-) opportune times. Written by contemporary Ukraine’s master stylist, Radio Night explores an existence that continuously reverberates between rebirth and apocalypse, between loyalty and betrayal, between heaven and hell.
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