Rob Spence reviewed Death and the Penguin (Panther) by Andrey Kurkov
Death and the Penguin is a novel by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. Originally published in …
Darkly amusing
4 stars
My first by this author, and it won't be the last. In post-Soviet Ukraine, Viktor lives a lonely life with the penguin he rescued from the zoo. Then he is offered a lucrative job compiling obituaries for a newspaper. It soon becomes apparent that all is not as it seems, as Viktor becomes embroiled in the shady criminal world of Kyiv. I was reminded of Bulgakov and Kafka in the way ludicrous events are presented in a flat, matter-of-fact tone. There are moments of poignancy and humour too. And of course, the novel seems ever more relevant now.