Death and the Penguin
Ratings21
Average rating3.7
Victor is depressed: his lover has dumped him, his short stories are too short, and the light has gone off in his dingy apartment. His only companion is Misha, the penguin he rescued from Kiev's Zoo, when it couldn't feed the animals anymore. Misha is the silent witness to Victor's despair, and joins in his celebration—fish and vodka—when Victor's luck seems to turn: he is commissioned to write obituaries. The weird thing is that the editor wants him to select subjects who are still alive, the movers and the shakers of the new, post-Communist society.
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Series
2 primary books#1 in Death and the Penguin
Death and the Penguin is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 1996 with contributions by Andreĭ Kurkov and Andrey Kurkov.
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A friend found this for 30p in an out-of-the-way charity shop and got it for me on the basis of it being a very good deal and being unsure how to pronounce the author's name (and therefore one I'd like it). It's sat on the shelf all these years, but I'm very glad he did.
Quietly absurdist, yet feels well grounded in the realities of time and place. Pacing, flow and details are excellent; exceptionally well written and translated.
Don't find out more about it, wondering what is going on is part of its appeal, just read it :)
The book is ok.
The beginning was interesting and exciting, but close to the end book got very boring ... and ending was just trivial and plain.
