Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov - ISBN: 9781860469459
Paperback
Man, penguin, mafia: a darkly comic Ukrainian tale of survival.

Death and the Penguin

A BBC Two Between the Covers Pick

$21.07

  • Paperback

    240 pages

  • Release Date

    14 June 2002

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Summary

In today’s Ukraine, all that stands between one man and murder by the mafia is a penguin.

Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although Viktor would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a newspaper. He longs to see his work published, yet the subjects of his obituaries continue to cling to life. But when he opens the newspaper to see his work in print for the first time, his pride swiftly turns to terror. He a…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781860469459
ISBN-10:1860469450
Author:Andrey Kurkov
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Imprint:The Harvill Press
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:240
Release Date:14 June 2002
Weight:170g
Dimensions:200mm x 129mm x 16mm
Series:Panther S.
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“Wistful but (thankfully) not whimsical. Funny, alarming, and, in a Slavic way, not unlike early Pinter.”

The deadpan tone works perfectly and it will be a hard-hearted reader who is not touched by Viktor’s relationship with his unusual pet * The Times *
A chilling black comedy * Guardian *
A striking portrait of post-Soviet isolation… In this bleak moral landscape Kurkov manages to find ample refuge for his dark humour * New York Times *
A minor tragi-comic masterpiece * Daily Telegraph *
A brilliant satirical take on life in modern-day Kiev. Watch out, though, as Kurkov’s writing style is highly addictive * Punch *
‘Our anti-hero finds himself writing obituaries for soon to be deceased undesirables in the chaotic and dangerous modern Ukraine, macaberly observed by his depressed pet King Penguin Misha. Immensely readable with terrifically dark humour, loved it.’ * Wayne Winstone, Ottakars *
One of my favourite novels of all time – Misha Glenny

About The Author

Andrey Kurkov

Andrey Kurkov was born in St Petersburg in 1961. Having graduated from the Kiev Foreign Languages Institute, he worked for some time as a journalist, did his military service as a prison warder in Odessa, then became a film cameraman, writer of screenplays and author of critically acclaimed and popular novels, including the cult bestseller Death and the Penguin.

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