Samson und Nadjeschda

I loved a lot about this, the characters (naïve young Samson who just lost his father, and also his ear), the setting (Kiev in chaos, after the Russian Revolution of 1919), the magical realism ear twist (just the right amount of quirky and magical), and especially Kurkov's writing. But I am conflicted, because I had a hard time staying engaged with the crime investigation, and barely could keep the involved characters apart. I wanted more of Samson and Nadjeschda (sounds like there might be)!