Death and the Penguin: A BBC Two Between the Covers Pick

by Andrey Kurkov (Author), Andrey Kurkov (Author), Andrey Kurkov (Author)

New
Paperback
2002
$11.56

Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he 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 and Misha have been drawn into a trap from which there appears to be no escape.

Synopsis

Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he 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 and Misha have been drawn into a trap from which there appears to be no escape.

$11.56

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 27 Feb 2002
ISBN 10: 1860469450
ISBN 13: 9781860469459
Book Overview: In today's Ukraine, all that stands between one man and murder by the mafia is a penguin.
Prizes: Shortlisted for Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2002.

Media Reviews

A tragicomic masterpiece * Daily Telegraph *
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 black comedy of rare dinstinction and the penguin is an invention of genius * Spectator *
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 *

Author Bio

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.