Book description
'A tragicomic masterpiece' Daily Telegraph
All that stands between one man and murder by the mafia is a penguin.
Viktor is an aspiring writer in Ukraine with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a…
Why read it?
1 author picked Death and the Penguin as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I chose Death and the Penguin for its unique, intriguing plot and also because it captures so beautifully the sinister, bizarre, shadowy undercurrent of life in Ukraine in the 1990s. At times back then, I remember wondering whether the deaths of some people that I knew were really accidents, as reported, or murders. It is precisely this state of not knowing that Kurkov handles so beautifully. Viktor, the main character in the novel, begins his newspaper job innocently enough, writing obituaries of prominent Ukrainians, still alive. One by one they begin to die. I’ll leave you to read the book…
From Susan's list on Ukraine from a journalist who was based there.
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