Description
In post-Soviet Kyiv, a struggling writer named Viktor Zolotaryov survives day to day with his unlikely companion, Misha the penguin—rescued when the zoo began letting animals go. When a local mobster becomes interested in Misha and Viktor lands a job writing “living obituaries” for the city’s dignitaries, his new paycheck comes with a chilling pattern: the deaths he predicts seem to arrive almost immediately. Blending crime, dark comedy, and political satire, the novel follows Viktor as he tries to outthink fate, protect the only friend who truly understands him, and navigate a society where power, fear, and bureaucracy move like a trap. With Andrey Kurkov’s wry, humane voice and sharp observational humor, this story explores mortality, moral compromise, and the fragile ways people cling to meaning in a world that won’t stop changing.
Available Editions
paperback
Melville House
Published Jun 7, 2011
242 pages
ISBN: 9781935554554
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Details
First Published
1996
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov.