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Jan 04, 2012

Mariel rated it:

Death and the Penguin is a sweet and strange little book. It won't admit it is sweet. Don't call me sweet! I'm so sad. Can't you see that I'm sad? It might say. I'm not sure how to review it without sounding like a weirdo. I liked it a lot and almost loved it. It was almost warm and it almost made me happy. I almost belonged there. It is bittersweet feeling like going to a funeral and looking around to see if anyone else showed up, like that would make a difference. If you were the sort to show More...

30 comments like (22 people liked it)

Jul 04, 2011

Maja rated it:

3.5 stars

There's a reason why satire isn't among the most popular literary genres. It has to be extremely well written and you need to be open to that type of humor for it to work. But if you do like that sort of thing, and if the author is someone you can trust to be funny without being (too) offensive, you’re probably in for a great reading experience.

When the Kiev zoo suffers yet another budget cut, they start looking for people willing to take zoo animals as pets. Vikto More...

7 comments like (17 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2009

Christina Stind rated it:

Did you ever think about writing a book with a penguin being one of the main characters?
- then don't bother. Andrey Kurkov has done it and done it very well.

Death and the Penguin is the story of Viktor and his pet penguin Misha. Viktor saved Misha when the zoo gave away hungry animals to anyone willing to give them food. And Viktor got Misha and his life changed.
Well, not right away, but when he got a new job writing obelisks - obituaries for people not yet dead - things More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 11, 2007

Jim rated it:

I picked up this book on a whim in City Lights back in 2001 and fell in love with it almost immediately. It's a minor classic, an absurdist tale of Victor, a Ukrainian writer of obituaries who gets saddled with Misha, a pet penguin. When he discovers that someone is writing his obituary, things start to get scary. This isn't laugh-out-loud funny, it's more white-knuckled humor — but the denouement is masterful. Worth hunting down.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 19, 2011

Katie rated it:

'Death and the Penguin' is one of those books which shouldn't work, but somehow it does. It's a novel which address serious themes of death, loneliness and the casually oppressive nature of post-Soviet society in Ukraine, and yet it does so with humour. And a penguin.

The story of Viktor, a struggling writer who gets a job writing obituaries for people while they are alive who then strangely start dying off, is enjoyable and written in such a way that it seems perfectly logical rath More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 12, 2010

R. rated it:

Victor est un écrivain qui partage un T2 avec un animal de compagnie original prénommé Micha. Victor a recueilli ce pingouin lorsque le zoo de Kiev a rencontré quelques difficultés pour nourrir ces pensionnaires. Micha a donc trouvé asile dans le T2 exiguë de Victor. Si celui est plutôt modeste, il bénéficie tout de même d'une baignoire permettant au pingouin de prendre des bains d'eau froide salvateurs. Car un pingouin n'est pas habitué à subir la chaleur ukrainienne - mettre chaleur et Ukraine More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 11, 2008

Dan rated it:

This book has the distinction of being the first work translated from Russian I've ever read (suck it, Dostoyevsky!) Technically, it's from the Ukraine. It follows the story of a struggling writer who takes work writing obelisks, obituaries of those not yet dead in order to pay the bills. It's when these people, dignitaries, VIPs, and so on, start showing up dead that he starts asking questions.
The penguin in the title is an actual penguin, Misha, who is rescued from a failing zoo by the More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2011

Nicki rated it:

I absolutely whizzed through this wonderful satire of one man and his penguin. This was a really easy read with some great black humour and enough pace and action to keep you interested.

Viktor is an engaging character and I was hooked straightaway, keen to find out what would happen to him and Misha. Although he doesn’t do much, Misha the Penguin plays a pivotal role in the plot, which had plenty of fun twists and turns along the way.

This is a great piece that will appeal More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 07, 2011

Eugenia rated it:

Потрясающая книга, удивительно органичный сплав Достоевского с Флемингом. Классический русский лишний человек, тонкая, рефлексирующая натура, в условиях лихой современности оказывается в эпицентре бурных криминальных событий. Душа-птица, личное счастье ценой слезинки ребенка, женшина со свечой, мрачных Харон — в романе есть все литературные штампы, но как изящно с ними разделывается автор! More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 08, 2009

Pierce rated it:

The embarrassing part of electing to review all novels (and other books) read is that gaps in the timetable are very apparent. I actually finished this weeks ago but had no energy to write about it. And started some books since and abandoned them, which is rare and maybe signifies something deeper. And am now battling my way through a novel that's taking me a good few weeks.

So my friend handed me this and said "See what you think of this. I didn't like it very much." Which is More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 12, 2011

Lakis rated it:

This is one of those special novels that one just feels happy to read. The truth is that I didn’t even know the name of its author, until I watched a show about him on Greek TV, and that was it; I’ve decided to dive into his world and, according to those who know best, there’s no better way to start than by reading Death and the Penguin.
This story could be described as a kind of satire. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but funny it is, even though it describes a world more or less bleak, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2011

Karen rated it:

Viktor has adopted a penguin from the Kiev zoo, which is no longer able to feed all the animals. Misha the penguin is no fluffy cutie. He plops along the halls of his apartment banging into things, staring with beady eyes at his master when (Viktor imagines) he’s feeling neglected. Misha is depressed; he stands still (penguins don’t sit or lie) in a dark corner or stares at himself in a mirror. Kurkov offers no insights into the penguin psyche, but Viktor is attached to him as to no one else, an More...

0 comments like

Aug 05, 2011

Aaron rated it:

"Death and the Penguin" is something of a breath of fresh air. Sure the words "breath of fresh air" constitutes a lame-o description of anything, but this is how I felt when I couldn't sleep (again) and finished it at 4 in the morning. Most of the weight I have put on this cliche is due to the fact that I was expecting a mystery and it is not a mystery, just mysterious, mostly because the main charactors, Viktor and Misha, his penguin, are being used for their talents in ways More...

0 comments like

Jul 29, 2011

Eric added it

I love Post-Soviet writers, and Kurkov does not disappoint.

The story is excellent, set in post independence Ukraine, about a writer who finds employment writing obituaries of people still living, for some sort of mysterious cabal. The main character Viktor, lives with a Penguin, Misha, and life starts to get more complicated as the stakes in his employment begin to be raised, and his situation changes, as he is left a little girl to look after, and must employ a nanny to look after her. Viktor More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 19, 2011

Ronya rated it:

Kurkov is a genius. Translated from Russian by George Bird (coincidence?) this quiet, existentialist black comedy follows down-on-his-luck journalist Viktor and his pet penguin Misha in 1990s post-Soviet Kiev. Viktor lands a job writing obelisks, or obituaries for famous people who aren't dead yet--something every news outlet does to keep up with timely printing. After he befriends a Mafia operative (also named Misha and referred to in the book as "non-penguin-Misha"), the subjects More...

0 comments like

Jul 21, 2009

Michael rated it:

Death and the Penguin is part of the new wave of satirical, semi-political books that aim to characterize the emerging culture of former Soviet and other corruption-ridden countries. Like many of the others, this book is about corruption, underground and political power, and communist culture (albeit, former communist). Viktor, the writer without real talent, is hired by a reputable newspaper to write obituaries of people who are not only high up in the new Ukrainian society, but also still aliv More...

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Oct 25, 2011

Maggie rated it:

Technically a 3.5 star rating.

I've been on a string of books, where I finish the book, go online to learn more about it and then realize I'm reading the prequel, or the first in a trilogy.
I like it.

(Only because the books have been good so far, and it's a nice surprise that the reading experience get to continue. Although honestly, I'm sure it's just as nice even if the books were bad, because then I wouldn't read them and would be thankful that I'm missing additi More...

0 comments like

Aug 30, 2010

Peter rated it:

Though admittedly I have no real basis for judging its accuracy, who would have thought that life in the post-Soviet Ukraine could be evoked so engagingly, political and criminal conspiracies, the cruel unfairness of economic transition and the joyful warmth of friendship when seen through the eyes of a penguin? (and his human owner) A darkly comic tale, bleak and yet touching as penguin Misha's writer owner is drawn unwittingly into a dangerous plot and whilst much larger forces are at work al More...

0 comments like

Aug 04, 2011

Charles rated it:

This review is a bit of a challenge to write — not because I did not like Death and the Penguin, but because I am not really sure why I loved it. It is not in my comfort zone as far as fiction genres go (fantasy, science fiction, and/or humor), but rather is a sort of mystery dealing with post-Soviet era life, crime, politics, and relationships. However, for some fortuitous reason it caught my eye, and I decided to sample it — and it was on sale for $3.19.

Death and the Penguin was writ More...

1 comment like

Jun 26, 2011

Carin rated it:

I was given the opportunity to read Death and the Penguin by Melville House Publishing (thank you!), who offered me an eBook. Reading about this book had me hooked from the first couple of sentences – set in Kiev, Ukraine, this book is about Vik who falls into a mysterious job of writing obituaries from home in the company of his penguin, Misha. Although Kurkov is Ukrainian, the book is translated from the Russian (I can hear my ancestors complaining about this!) but has studied many languages, More...

0 comments like

Aug 17, 2011

Ellie rated it:

Several years ago, I heard rave reviews of a book called Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov. I tried to read it but was baffled and bored.

A few weeks ago, I was restlessly trying to decide on something not too demanding but interesting enough to engage me. Then, I decided that in fact I needed something of some substance. All of which led me back to Death and the Penguin.

Which this time, I absolutely loved.

Showing, I guess, that timing plays a large part i More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 12, 2009

Emily rated it:

Interacting with art is always subjective, and sometimes a particular reading experience will bring that home to me with a vengeance. I started Andrey Kurkov's Death and the Penguin during a time of personal uncertainty, when I was exhausted and unsure if my employers would be going out of business. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found the first half of Kurkov's novel unengaging. The narration style seemed flat, numb: I couldn't "hear" the voice of the author, and the plot (concerning a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 15, 2010

Aneel rated it:

A meditation on an empty life, made less solitary by an odd job: writing obituaries for people who haven't yet died. As the job goes on, it seems to fill the empty life with characters in almost-normal relationships with the protagonist (Viktor). The job makes him leave town, so he acquires a "friend" so that there's someone to take care of his penguin while he's gone. A referral from the job results in another "friend", and later a "daughter" who necessitates a " More...

0 comments like

Jan 01, 2012

Sarah rated it:

Quirky book, I loved it! Look forward to reading the sequel.

Nothing to do with the book but when I bought this book from a bookshop in Cambridge the woman on the till was very enthusiastic about me picking this book to read which made me feel very positive about reading this book to start with, I wish more book sellers were like her!

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Ankush rated it:

It seemed to me that the whole point of this book was to describe one man's amazing ability to ignore the facts of his situation - an ability that gets stronger as the facts get worse. The penguin adds basically nothing to the book, and his relationships with others seem to have no basis in, well, anything. The accolades for this book describe "black humour", and a "touching relationship between him and his penguin". I didn't experience any of this.

As I got further More...

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Nov 30, 2011

Jessica rated it:

I bought this book because the local Barnes and Noble was going to adopt a penguin for the store if they sold 25 copies of the two of these books.
I love penguins, and I like mysteries, so I figured I'd give it a try.

This is a short book, only 228 pages, but I was only able to read it in short chunks. I don't know if it was just the style of the author, or the translation that made it just kind of weird.

The story revolved around Viktor, an out of work writer and his peng More...

0 comments like

May 26, 2009

Seamus rated it:

This is as black a comedy as I have ever read. In the bleak world of a post-soviet city, the main character writes obituaries for a newspaper and looks after his pet penguin. He becomes tangentially involved in a shady dangerous underworld. Despite the dark subject matter this book is very funny. There are some genuinely touching moments, the author cleverly evokes the mute affection of the penguin for his owner.

While the detached style of writing adds to the bleak atmosphere and add More...

0 comments like

Aug 25, 2011

Donna rated it:

I have never enjoyed classic Russian literature but this book sounded intriguing and it was written fairly recently (1996) so I thought I'd give it a try. This is definitely outside of what I usually read and I'm still not sure what genre to put it in. It is a mystery but it doesn't feel like a mystery novel. It sort of felt like magical realism to me although it isn't. It has some humor but also a lot of pathos. And it had a great character name that made me smile every time I read it: Mis More...

2 comments like

Jan 03, 2008

Trin rated it:

Nick Hornby raved about this, but I found it fairly flat and dull. Maybe it was the translation? Or possibly this particular kind of Russian satire is too dry for my tastes? Either way, not my cup of vodka.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 22, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

This is a super fast read. It took me less than a half hour to complete this book which, I suppose, could be both a good and a bad sign. It kept me reading until the end (a good thing) but I didn’t care an ounce about the characters or the plot (a bad thing). I came away feeling like I’d watched a 30 minute 80’s sitcom on television and unfortunately, I read books to escape that type of mind numbing nonsense. Not that this book doesn’t have its place – in the world of political satire where More...

0 comments like