Three Years On Fire
Published by: Open Borders Press
A chronicle of the third year of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine – capturing moments of horror, resilience, absurdity and grace with an unmatched clarity.
Children on a contested border wear hooded bulletproof vests to school; soldiers write haiku; professional clowns go to war; and the mother of a young soldier killed in battle uses his compensation money to create a rehabilitation centre for veterans. Roses bloom across Ukraine in quiet tribute to a florist and soldier killed in Avdiivka, remembered by those who once bought his flowers. In Pokrovsk, 7,500 residents refuse to leave a city that no longer exists – their homes obliterated but their will unbroken. And buried beneath a cherry tree, a murdered writer’s final diary is recovered, a haunting echo of a silenced voice.
From the home front to the trenches, Kurkov captures the rhythms of survival – the quiet rituals, joys, unexpected humour and appalling losses – in a very moving record of national endurance. Three Years on Fire is a luminous act of remembrance from a writer whose voice stands witness to everything Ukraine has lost – and everything it refuses to give up.
Read an extract from the book here.
Our judges said:
In a series of moving and compelling essays Andrey Kurkov describes life in war-time Kyiv, full of illuminating observations on how Ukrainians have adapted to the dangers and sorrows of a conflict without apparent end, combined with informed political analysis. This volume includes the return of Trump to the White House and the attempted humiliation of Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in late February 2025. Throughout, Kurkov tells the story of a people facing aggression with grace and humour, never allowing us to forget Putin’s responsibility.
