At my third book spa a few months ago I was presented with
Death and the Penguin. I had previously
rejected it (wasn't in the mood for bleak Russian drama), but I figured if
it had been selected in two out of my three book spa’s then I may as well
have done with it and give it a try.
Despite what turned out to be a fairly accurate description I wasn't
quite sure what to expect from this book.
It’s set in Kiev, Ukraine, and tells the story of how Viktor
and his pet King Penguin Misha become caught up in the middle of a mafia
war. A frustrated writer Viktor finds a
job at a newspaper writing obituary articles for the famous and infamous of
Kiev who haven’t died yet. At first able
to pick and choose who he writes about nobody seems to be dying, after a while
the first death happens, and the Editor starts sending lists and bio’s for
people he wants articles for. Viktor’s
life becomes increasingly complicated and dangerous until the rather surprising
(to me) ending. Throughout there is a
tone of melancholy. Viktor is a man to
whom life happens. He doesn't ever seem
to feel he has a choice, or control over events. He also has a strong sense of not being able
to form good relationships with people, or Misha, and he and the story are a
little frustrating at times. I just
wanted to grab him and shake some life into him. In actuality Viktor is the personification of
the general feeling of decline of Kiev described in the book. Powerless people just trying to earn what
little money when and where they can and stay alive.
It sounds bleak and terrible, and yet it’s not. The book has comedic moments, and you do just
have to keep reading. I had to keep
reading to see if Viktor realised what his articles were being used for, and
why. I had to see what happened to him, Misha
the Penguin, and the few people that Viktor acquires along the way. I will definitely be reading ‘Penguin Lost’,
the sequel.
When I was reading up about the book I found this article onThe Guardian website, where it appears that the story was rather
prophetic. First published in Russian in
1996, it was around the time of it’s publication in English in 2001 that real life events
appeared to be imitating the book. For an audience like me, who is not all that aware of what life in the Ukraine is really like it set things in a whole new uncomfortable light.
Well worth a read in my opinion.
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