false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172246985m/152893.jpg 152893 12 A devastating satire - of the worlds of mafia and media, of politics and penguins - in the tradition of the master of 20th century satire, Mikhail Bulgakov.<br><br>Victor is depressed: his lover has dumped him, his short stories are too short and the light has gone off in his dingy apartment. His only companion is Misha, the penguin he rescued from Kiev's Zoo, when it couldn't feed the animals anymore. Misha is the silent witness to Victor's despair. Misha joins in his celebration - fish and vodka - when Victor's luck seems to turn: He is commissioned to write obituaries under the pen-name "A Group of Friends". The weird thing is that the editor wants him to select subjects who are still alive, the movers and the shakers of the new, post-Communist society. Pleased with Victor's work the editor sends him his friend, also called Misha, and from then onwards known as Misha non-penguin, who commissions Victor to write an obituary about one of his shady associates. After a job-well-done Misha non-penguin and Victor get drunk on vodka and Victor confesses that he is frustrated as an obituary writer: his subjects refuse to die. The next morning his most prominent one, a corrupt politician with Mafia ties and a mistress, is dead. The tide has turned.<br> 2082964 book 1996 Смерть постороннего total:398|5:97|4:175|3:105|2:19|1:2| 398 1540 600 75 4 2 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 09:30:48 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 06:44:33 -0800 2009 1 - 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 anim...more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Wed Jul 11 00:09:11 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 00:19:37 -0700 2007 his obituary, things star...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 18:38:48 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 08:53:44 -0700 2008 obelisks, obituaries of those not yet dead in order to pay the bills. It's when ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 08 10:27:35 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 10:27:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 00:37:19 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 00:56:18 -0700 2009 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 (albei...more...]]> 5 0 false true Sun Sep 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 13:18:08 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 05:56:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 12:21:06 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 10:38:03 -0700 2009 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...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 26 07:39:24 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 07:46:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 27 21:24:24 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 03 17:32:38 -0800 2008 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.]]> 5 0 false false Tue May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 07:50:48 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 13:04:31 -0700 2009 2
mmm, delightful...

If you didn't like this book, you are probably not that smart. I am serious. This book has some gorgeous undertones and light hints of deep thought. I almost missed it myself! Had ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 06:28:17 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 09:00:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jul 04 00:44:48 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 04 00:45:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat May 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 04:23:24 -0700 2008 Mon May 26 04:40:39 -0700 2008
The writing style was really numb. It seemed as if the author had set down the skeleton and was going to come back to fill in the muscles and finer details later on. Althoug...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 14 13:06:45 -0700 2007 Sun Apr 26 10:01:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun May 25 13:37:59 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 13:44:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Nov 10 00:01:22 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 00:09:27 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 13:25:38 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 07:16:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 16:26:55 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 21:36:39 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Feb 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 23:28:32 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 08:47:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 02:54:14 -0700 2009 Sun May 10 06:35:59 -0700 2009 2 Penguin Lost is next up to be read, so I thought I'd re-read Death and the Penguin first to refresh my memory. I love Misha-Penguin.

Later: well, I still love Misha-Penguin. The descriptions of him are brilliant: immediate and touching. And, poor Viktor, with no idea what's going on aroun...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=152893