Big surge in demand for Ukrainian books

BOOKS by Ukrainian authors are flying off the shelves as British readers spark a sales surge in support of the embattled country.

And despite moves to create a backlash against Russia’s writers over the invasion, sales of Russian literature have also rocketed.

Works by Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov, best known for his 1996 novel Death And The Penguin, have seen an 848 per cent increase in sales since the outbreak of war, triggering an urgent reprint of his books.

The 60-year-old author has been forced to flee his home in Kyiv with his English wife, Elizabeth,

and their three children. British-Ukrainian author Marina Lewycka, whose book A Short History Of Tractors in Ukrainian was a 2005 hit in the UK, has seen her sales jump by 441 per cent in the past month. Works by the great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, including War And Peace – which was recently adapted for TV by the BBC and starred Lily James, left – have increased by 30 per cent.

Tom Tivnan, from publishing bible The Bookseller, said it ‘makes perfect sense’ that the public has turned to literature to support Ukraine and to learn more about ‘Russia’s often complex past’.