Ukrainian Diaries is acclaimed writer Andrey Kurkov's first-hand account of the crisis in his country. Written from his flat in Kiev, just 500 metres away from Independence Square, Kurkov can smell the burning barricades and hear the sounds of grenades and gunshot. The diaries begin on the first day of the pro-European protests in November, and are a mix of commentary on current events, Ukraine's political past, and Kurkov's personal experience of living through a time of intense political unrest.