Death and the Penguin
A BBC Two Between the Covers Pick
Published on 27. February 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-86046-945-9 (ISBN)
Description
A BBC Two Between the Covers Pick
'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 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 Viktor opens the newspaper to see his work in print for the first time, his pride swiftly turns to terror. Viktor and Misha have been drawn into a trap from which there appears to be no escape.
'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 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 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 Viktor opens the newspaper to see his work in print for the first time, his pride swiftly turns to terror. Viktor and Misha have been drawn into a trap from which there appears to be no escape.
'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
Reviews / Votes
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 GlennyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
169 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-86046-945-9 (9781860469459)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2011
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Andrey Kurkov
Death and the Penguin
Book
03/2001
The Harvill Press
€32.39
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
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.