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Пикник на льду #2
Penguin Lost
Viktor – last seen in Death and the Penguin fleeing Mafia vengeance on an Antarctica-bound flight booked for Penguin Misha – seizes a heaven-sent opportunity to return to Kiev with a new identity. Clear now as to the enormity of abandoning Misha, then convalescent from a heart-transplant, Viktor determines to make amends. Viktor falls in with a Mafia boss who engages him to help in his election campaign, then introduces him to men who might further his search for Misha, said to be in a private zoo in Chechnya.
What ensues is for Viktor both a quest and an odyssey of atonement, and, for the reader, an experience as rich, topical and illuminating as Death and the Penguin.
What ensues is for Viktor both a quest and an odyssey of atonement, and, for the reader, an experience as rich, topical and illuminating as Death and the Penguin.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Andrey Kurkov
66 books712 followersAndrei Kurkov is a Russian and Ukrainian writer who writes in Russian (fiction) and Ukrainian (non-fiction).
Kurkov was born in the small town of Budogoszcz, Russia, on April 23, 1961. When he was young, his family moved to Kyiv, Ukraine. In 1983 Kurkov graduated from the Kyiv Pedagogical Academy of Foreign Languages and later also completed a training in Japanese translation.
Among Kurkov's most famous Russian novels are 'Smert postoronnego' (1996, translated into English in 2001 under the title 'Death and the Penguin') and 'Zakon ulitki' (2002, translated into English in 2005 as 'Penguin lost)'. Kurkov's only Ukrainian non-fiction book is 'Ruh "Emanus": istoriya solidarnosti' (2017).
Kurkov was born in the small town of Budogoszcz, Russia, on April 23, 1961. When he was young, his family moved to Kyiv, Ukraine. In 1983 Kurkov graduated from the Kyiv Pedagogical Academy of Foreign Languages and later also completed a training in Japanese translation.
Among Kurkov's most famous Russian novels are 'Smert postoronnego' (1996, translated into English in 2001 under the title 'Death and the Penguin') and 'Zakon ulitki' (2002, translated into English in 2005 as 'Penguin lost)'. Kurkov's only Ukrainian non-fiction book is 'Ruh "Emanus": istoriya solidarnosti' (2017).
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March 13, 2022Sequel to Death and the Penguin, in which Viktor returns to Kyiv in a quest to retrieve his abandoned penguin, and finds himself bounced around the former Soviet Union, from Ukraine to Moscow to Chechnya, getting mixed up with a mafia/politico and an orphanage and bankers and body-disposers. It's an absurdist sort of story, with Viktor as a somewhat blank space in the middle of it, being tossed by the waves and for much of the story accepting his fate as it comes amid the chaos of post-Soviet republics and a plutocratic free-for-all.
A highly weird, darkly funny read, but ultimately a surprisingly hopeful one as Viktor regains control of his life and his penguin.
A highly weird, darkly funny read, but ultimately a surprisingly hopeful one as Viktor regains control of his life and his penguin.
February 20, 2012
Just like Death and the Penguin, Penguin Lost is utterly absurd. In his article for The Telegraph, Tim Martin called Death and the Penguin “a sort of warped cross between Dostoyevsky and Happy Feet” and I have no choice but to: a) die from laughter; and b) wholeheartedly agree.
In this unexpectedly good sequel, Victor and Misha are separated with very little hope of finding each other ever again. Having successfully escaped from the Mafia, Viktor embarks on a journey to locate his faithful friend Misha the penguin, feeling horribly guilty for abandoning him in the first place.
As was the case with the first book, I felt that the translation was done exceptionally well. Although I obviously can’t compare it to the original, my unusual familiarity with Slavic languages in general allowed me to recognize how well the spirit (in lack of a better word) was captured, mostly through high formality level and a somewhat odd sentence structure.
Although Kurkov’s harsh critique of society in general and especially misplaced values remains unchanged, I felt that it lost some of its edge. Unfortunately, that also means that the humor wasn’t as good as in Death and the Penguin, even though I’ve learned to appreciate the subtle way in which Kurkov makes fun of just about everything he can (and some things he really shouldn’t).
Penguin Lost is a worthy sequel to Death and the Penguin. Obviously these books need to be read in order, so if you enjoyed the first book, you will definitely not make a mistake by picking this one up.
In this unexpectedly good sequel, Victor and Misha are separated with very little hope of finding each other ever again. Having successfully escaped from the Mafia, Viktor embarks on a journey to locate his faithful friend Misha the penguin, feeling horribly guilty for abandoning him in the first place.
As was the case with the first book, I felt that the translation was done exceptionally well. Although I obviously can’t compare it to the original, my unusual familiarity with Slavic languages in general allowed me to recognize how well the spirit (in lack of a better word) was captured, mostly through high formality level and a somewhat odd sentence structure.
Although Kurkov’s harsh critique of society in general and especially misplaced values remains unchanged, I felt that it lost some of its edge. Unfortunately, that also means that the humor wasn’t as good as in Death and the Penguin, even though I’ve learned to appreciate the subtle way in which Kurkov makes fun of just about everything he can (and some things he really shouldn’t).
Penguin Lost is a worthy sequel to Death and the Penguin. Obviously these books need to be read in order, so if you enjoyed the first book, you will definitely not make a mistake by picking this one up.
June 8, 2023
69th book of 2023.
Death and the Penguin is pretty much my best read of the year so far. I edited my review of it the other day because I was on the beach with a Frenchwoman my father went to university with in the 70s. Whilst replying to her question about what I'd be reading, she exploded with pure joy when I mentioned Kurkov. She hadn't thought about him or 'those penguin books' for years (e.g. at least 20), but remembered them fondly. In fact, the bits she recounted, laughing, were the baths Misha has, and the frozen fish he eats. Misha being the penguin, of course. Penguin Lost is the sequel, following on from the ending of the last. Viktor is without Misha and he wants him back (as, by now, the reader does). So, he gets wrapped up in all sorts again, this time an election campaign, but there's journalism and war, too. The crux of the book, for me, was the inevitable reunion with Misha. Sonya returns too, in all her adorable glory. There's something so delightful about these books. Numerous lines had me smiling ear-to-ear on my lunchbreaks. Big fan of Kurkov now. Will probably read everything else he's got.
Death and the Penguin is pretty much my best read of the year so far. I edited my review of it the other day because I was on the beach with a Frenchwoman my father went to university with in the 70s. Whilst replying to her question about what I'd be reading, she exploded with pure joy when I mentioned Kurkov. She hadn't thought about him or 'those penguin books' for years (e.g. at least 20), but remembered them fondly. In fact, the bits she recounted, laughing, were the baths Misha has, and the frozen fish he eats. Misha being the penguin, of course. Penguin Lost is the sequel, following on from the ending of the last. Viktor is without Misha and he wants him back (as, by now, the reader does). So, he gets wrapped up in all sorts again, this time an election campaign, but there's journalism and war, too. The crux of the book, for me, was the inevitable reunion with Misha. Sonya returns too, in all her adorable glory. There's something so delightful about these books. Numerous lines had me smiling ear-to-ear on my lunchbreaks. Big fan of Kurkov now. Will probably read everything else he's got.
June 19, 2022
3.5 stars
Review to follow
Review to follow
March 28, 2023
It has been a while since I wanted to stop doing anything else to continue reading a book as much as I did not want the book to end. This book series has become one of my favorites and for me it is surprising that it is not much more popular. Our main character, Viktor, glides in and out of trouble with such ease and always for altruistic reasons that I found it impossible not to empathize with him and feel as distressed for Misha as he does (OK I admit that I may be just a little bit taken with Viktor); I found myself wishing that both of them get a happy ending, which they may have gotten. I also liked the author’s style very much; his descriptions are very easy to understand and the whole book is full of beautiful sentences . It is such a pity that very few books by Andrey Kurkov have been translated to Spanish; but I will surely continue to read him in English.
November 10, 2019
"Penguin Lost" the much anticipated sequel to the marvelous "Death and The Penguin", more than just lives up to the expectations built around its release. Andrey Kurkov with his Dostoyevskyian absurdity and a defiant style of story telling picks off without a pause from where he left his readers gasping.
Viktor is guilt ridden after abandoning his unusual pet - an emperor penguin named Misha, - and sailing off to Antartica to save his own life. This exquisite irony of a penguin staying in a city and a human opting to while away life in the Arctic sets the tone for events to follow. Under circumstances that can only be described as unusual (and that is putting it mildly), Viktor is forced to return to Kiev and his reunion with his city sets him off on a determined search to trace the whereabouts of his dear penguin.
This search, that consumes Viktors waking and sleeping hours, takes him on a path which would have even made Robert Frost reconsider the title of his immortal poem "The Road Not Taken!". Viktor, with the help of an ambitious politician, makes his way to war torn Chechnya, where Misha is being kept in confinement by a Chechen war-lord. Viktor's efforts to save Misha leads him to strike dangerous dalliances, swallow unsavoury secrets and even operate an electric crematorium where the unrelenting line of bodies to be burnt epitomizes the dangerous state of a Chechenyan existence. Meanwhile Nina has lost both her youth as well as her obsession towards Viktor and has taken to the now crippled Lyosha. Sonya, in the meantime struggles with her divided loyalties towards her "Uncle-Daddy" Viktor and the lost Misha.
The narrative is equally sparse as was with "Death and The Penguin". But as sequels are invariably wont to be, the seraphic quality of the original is lacking and some of the passages drag on lapsing into a state of avoidable incoherence. But what is pleasant is the unique absurdity which forms the cornerstone of Kurkov's writing. This satirical verve which now we all recognize to be the Andrey imprimatur, dazzles and forces fond reminiscences that involve Bulgakov, and Dostoveysky. The dark and bleak humour hides more than it reveals; the trauma being faced by millions following the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the seceding of Ukraine from Russia being one of such revelations.
The natural predilection of the characters in the book towards vodka and cognac irrespective of the hour of the day, demonstrates in a tragicomic vein, the pernicious state of alcoholism to which adults in the former Soviet states have become incorrigibly addicted to. The invidious beast of corruption leading to a political rut is also captured using a mixture of wit and irony. Comical killings, funny disappearances, ridiculous alibis, and novel methods of torture illuminate the queer workings of the political machinery in Kiev. Viktor's alternative states of catastrophic and comfortable means of existence in life illustrates with great candor the existential divide between the haves and the have-nots in a country where liquor and prostitutes are much more easier to procure than happiness and contentment.
While we cannot use the same brush to broadly paint an entire genre or body of work, the fact is that when compared to "Death and The Penguin", "Penguin Lost", comes across as a slightly less illuminating work. Then again as Mark Twain so wonderfully put it "Comparison is the death of joy".
So being prudent and thereby preventing the unfortunate demise of joy, let us just savour "Penguin Lost" for what it is - the saga of a lost Penguin and its equally 'lost' Master!
Viktor is guilt ridden after abandoning his unusual pet - an emperor penguin named Misha, - and sailing off to Antartica to save his own life. This exquisite irony of a penguin staying in a city and a human opting to while away life in the Arctic sets the tone for events to follow. Under circumstances that can only be described as unusual (and that is putting it mildly), Viktor is forced to return to Kiev and his reunion with his city sets him off on a determined search to trace the whereabouts of his dear penguin.
This search, that consumes Viktors waking and sleeping hours, takes him on a path which would have even made Robert Frost reconsider the title of his immortal poem "The Road Not Taken!". Viktor, with the help of an ambitious politician, makes his way to war torn Chechnya, where Misha is being kept in confinement by a Chechen war-lord. Viktor's efforts to save Misha leads him to strike dangerous dalliances, swallow unsavoury secrets and even operate an electric crematorium where the unrelenting line of bodies to be burnt epitomizes the dangerous state of a Chechenyan existence. Meanwhile Nina has lost both her youth as well as her obsession towards Viktor and has taken to the now crippled Lyosha. Sonya, in the meantime struggles with her divided loyalties towards her "Uncle-Daddy" Viktor and the lost Misha.
The narrative is equally sparse as was with "Death and The Penguin". But as sequels are invariably wont to be, the seraphic quality of the original is lacking and some of the passages drag on lapsing into a state of avoidable incoherence. But what is pleasant is the unique absurdity which forms the cornerstone of Kurkov's writing. This satirical verve which now we all recognize to be the Andrey imprimatur, dazzles and forces fond reminiscences that involve Bulgakov, and Dostoveysky. The dark and bleak humour hides more than it reveals; the trauma being faced by millions following the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the seceding of Ukraine from Russia being one of such revelations.
The natural predilection of the characters in the book towards vodka and cognac irrespective of the hour of the day, demonstrates in a tragicomic vein, the pernicious state of alcoholism to which adults in the former Soviet states have become incorrigibly addicted to. The invidious beast of corruption leading to a political rut is also captured using a mixture of wit and irony. Comical killings, funny disappearances, ridiculous alibis, and novel methods of torture illuminate the queer workings of the political machinery in Kiev. Viktor's alternative states of catastrophic and comfortable means of existence in life illustrates with great candor the existential divide between the haves and the have-nots in a country where liquor and prostitutes are much more easier to procure than happiness and contentment.
While we cannot use the same brush to broadly paint an entire genre or body of work, the fact is that when compared to "Death and The Penguin", "Penguin Lost", comes across as a slightly less illuminating work. Then again as Mark Twain so wonderfully put it "Comparison is the death of joy".
So being prudent and thereby preventing the unfortunate demise of joy, let us just savour "Penguin Lost" for what it is - the saga of a lost Penguin and its equally 'lost' Master!
May 14, 2022
Viktor Alekseyevich is not a scientist. Why, then, is he marking time at the Vernadsky Base in Antarctica? A desperate flight from a murderous mafia clique explains it all. Still – Antarctica? Home to Misha the penguin whose passage he stole – but certainly not to Viktor. An impulsive act got him there. A series of lucky transactions will land Viktor back in Kiev and under the protection of Andrey Pavlovich, an aspiring politician with his own sketchy connections. The reader rather than Viktor seems to be the beneficiary of Andrey Pavlovich's warning: Slugs are snails without shells. Make sure you have a protective shell, a service he can conveniently offer. That, in a snail's shell, sums up Ukrainian society. But then, Viktor was already aware of the tenuous conditions of survival.
Author Anrey Kurkov transforms Viktor from the likeable but passive character in Death and the Penguin into a naive but creative opportunist in Penguin Lost. He serves as Andrey Pavlovich's public relations advisor in exchange for aid in recovering Misha. The mission will strike more than one underworld figure as quixotic but amusing and perhaps even noble, in stark contrast to the complicit corruption that pervades this society.
Viktor's search for Misha transports him to Moscow and then to the war-torn margins of the northern Caucasus bordering Chechnia, the domain of a former Muscovite named Khachayev. Khachayev must have taken the mantra, “Location. Location. Location” to heart. This lawless terrain is the ideal location for a crematorium. It's a makeshift affair emitting toxic fumes and requiring careful stoking to prevent an explosion. Viktor works here, awaiting Khachayev's arrival. Misha is being held at Khachayev's luxurious compound.
Despite all this movement and the addition of some colorful characters the book has a static quality. The plot follows the familiar pattern of a quest (to rescue Misha). However, Misha was a key character in Death and the Penguin. His absence here transforms him into an inanimate object and we are deprived of his stoic observant presence that was so endearing. Moreover, what happens when the quest ends? Kurkov makes an abrupt turn. Viktor returns to Kiev only to be confronted with the inevitable downward spiral of survival in Kiev. His travels are not over. We are asked to focus on his own future rather than Misha's. The plot unravels into a series of absurd and even more implausible events in order to grant Viktor his “silver” lining.
This novel can be read as a stand-alone. However, I'm not sure how that experience might feel. I could not shake off a sense of disappointment, despite the inventive plot turns.
NOTES:
Interesting comment on the variation in length of translations of this book into other foreign languages: https://www.complete-review.com/revie...
Author Anrey Kurkov transforms Viktor from the likeable but passive character in Death and the Penguin into a naive but creative opportunist in Penguin Lost. He serves as Andrey Pavlovich's public relations advisor in exchange for aid in recovering Misha. The mission will strike more than one underworld figure as quixotic but amusing and perhaps even noble, in stark contrast to the complicit corruption that pervades this society.
Viktor's search for Misha transports him to Moscow and then to the war-torn margins of the northern Caucasus bordering Chechnia, the domain of a former Muscovite named Khachayev. Khachayev must have taken the mantra, “Location. Location. Location” to heart. This lawless terrain is the ideal location for a crematorium. It's a makeshift affair emitting toxic fumes and requiring careful stoking to prevent an explosion. Viktor works here, awaiting Khachayev's arrival. Misha is being held at Khachayev's luxurious compound.
Despite all this movement and the addition of some colorful characters the book has a static quality. The plot follows the familiar pattern of a quest (to rescue Misha). However, Misha was a key character in Death and the Penguin. His absence here transforms him into an inanimate object and we are deprived of his stoic observant presence that was so endearing. Moreover, what happens when the quest ends? Kurkov makes an abrupt turn. Viktor returns to Kiev only to be confronted with the inevitable downward spiral of survival in Kiev. His travels are not over. We are asked to focus on his own future rather than Misha's. The plot unravels into a series of absurd and even more implausible events in order to grant Viktor his “silver” lining.
This novel can be read as a stand-alone. However, I'm not sure how that experience might feel. I could not shake off a sense of disappointment, despite the inventive plot turns.
NOTES:
Interesting comment on the variation in length of translations of this book into other foreign languages: https://www.complete-review.com/revie...
April 3, 2017
„Îşi aduse aminte de planurile lui Siova, de brutărie, de dragostea lui pentru căldura cuptorului. Acum planurile şi dorinţele lui Siova erau şi mai de înţeles, şi mai uşor de explicat. Tot ce dorea Siova se reducea la un singur lucru, să trăiască. Toate cuvintele cele mai importante sunt scurte. A trăi. A bea. A mânca. Apoi, reflectă Viktor, vin cuvintele de gradul al doilea ca importanţă, iar ele sunt mai lungi: iubire, căldură, bogăţie, fericire. Cuvintele cele mai puţin importante sunt în acelaşi timp şi cele mai lungi. Şi, mental, Viktor zâmbi amar cuvintelor lungi ce-i veneau în minte de-a valma: umanism, democraţie, iubire de oameni...”
June 9, 2020
Sequel to “Death and the Penguin” and much less successful – reads like an unsuccessful and hastily assembled Hollywood sequel to a surprise hit film.
Viktor returns from the Antarctic, firstly working as a writer for a politician, then via a short stint in Moscow and then to Chechnya where he works in a makeshift crematorium used by the two sides in the conflict to cremate their own and the other sides dead, all the while on the search for Misha (who is owned by the gangster boss ultimately behind the crematorium).
This is a much weaker book – lacking the satire of the original, with disjointed and hard to follow action and also lacking the crucial central pathos of Misha (although this does return more towards the end).
Viktor returns from the Antarctic, firstly working as a writer for a politician, then via a short stint in Moscow and then to Chechnya where he works in a makeshift crematorium used by the two sides in the conflict to cremate their own and the other sides dead, all the while on the search for Misha (who is owned by the gangster boss ultimately behind the crematorium).
This is a much weaker book – lacking the satire of the original, with disjointed and hard to follow action and also lacking the crucial central pathos of Misha (although this does return more towards the end).
April 27, 2024
Toch dichter bij een ordinair maffia/misdaadverhaaltje dan bij de licht absurdistische psychologische roman die Death and the Penguin is. Jammer :-( meer van verwacht, maar lief en schattig
August 4, 2023
Not as good as Death & the Penguin
May 4, 2020
The Penguin novels and in particular, Death of the Penguin are still probably the only books by Andrey Kurkov that the majority of people in the West have read. So, I’m slightly puzzled by my own response to the first novel as well as this follow-up. Sure, there is a much to admire – it’s a scabrous satire on modern life in what was once the USSR – haphazard Mafiosi, tackiness and extreme polarisation of wealth all form a large part of the narrative while there is an atmosphere of high farce that runs throughout along with the magic realism lent to the book by the presence of its avian hero. That said, much like a Toploader fan who prefers the band’s other work to Dancing in the Moonlight , I’m afraid I’ll have to go all highbrow purist on you and declare that I’ve found the authors other books to be much more satisfying – especially The Good Angel of Death but also his non-fiction Ukraine diaries. Kurkov is a hugely important figure and an avatar for central and east European letters while he is still not quite into his sixties so has plenty of time to bring more gold to the literary mantelpiece. That said, the Penguin novels increasingly feel like early stabs on the way to perfecting his art.
June 12, 2012
What do you do if you've slipped out of post Soviet Ukraine, posing as the penguin, and you miss your pet?
Well,if you are Viktor Zolontaryov, you sneak back in under an asssmued name and search the mafia underworld to find him. You help rig an election...sort of, try not to get caught....oops....and then....when you do....Kiev's criminal underworld is not really happy to cooperate with Viktor, so this is not going to be easy, but then nothing has been easy for Viktor, ever!
He still has a child and girlfriend to deal with, but he abandonned Misha the penguin after arranging a heart transplant for the bird, and now someone has him and Viktor is determinned to rescue his pet. He falls in with the worst possible people, one after the other from Kiev, to Moskow, to Chechnya.
He tracks Misha the penguin hoping that everyone he meets is telling him the truth, but they all have ulterior motives.
Can Viktor save him?...Can he even find him? Can he even save himself from slavery in Chechnya, or will he be cremated instead? All will be answered in this wonderfully funny, even darker comedy part two from Andrey Kurkov, my new Eastern European author-hero!
Well,if you are Viktor Zolontaryov, you sneak back in under an asssmued name and search the mafia underworld to find him. You help rig an election...sort of, try not to get caught....oops....and then....when you do....Kiev's criminal underworld is not really happy to cooperate with Viktor, so this is not going to be easy, but then nothing has been easy for Viktor, ever!
He still has a child and girlfriend to deal with, but he abandonned Misha the penguin after arranging a heart transplant for the bird, and now someone has him and Viktor is determinned to rescue his pet. He falls in with the worst possible people, one after the other from Kiev, to Moskow, to Chechnya.
He tracks Misha the penguin hoping that everyone he meets is telling him the truth, but they all have ulterior motives.
Can Viktor save him?...Can he even find him? Can he even save himself from slavery in Chechnya, or will he be cremated instead? All will be answered in this wonderfully funny, even darker comedy part two from Andrey Kurkov, my new Eastern European author-hero!
December 13, 2012
This and Death and the Penguin have gotten a lot of praise from a wide range of critics, but I found myself unimpressed. I could see what the author was doing--mirroring the sense of helpless disinterest of the post-Soviet world and creating a character who is actually a minor character on the fringes of a much bigger story only hinted it--but I just didn't find it compelling.
First of all, since Viktor (and really, everyone) was so completely disinterested, I became disinterested. If someone's respond to being kidnapped or almost blown up is to shrug and have a vodka, I'm not going to find following that person compelling or gripping.
Second, I didn't find the absurdist or surreal aspects of the story to be handled in a meaningful manner.
Third, the (very few) women characters were completely flat and completely unmotivated, apparently existing just to hand Viktor money and or sex. It's pretty sad when the only three dimensional female in two books is a child.
The books weren't bad, but I just don't see the "tragicomic masterpiece" and "tender humanity" others are raving about.
First of all, since Viktor (and really, everyone) was so completely disinterested, I became disinterested. If someone's respond to being kidnapped or almost blown up is to shrug and have a vodka, I'm not going to find following that person compelling or gripping.
Second, I didn't find the absurdist or surreal aspects of the story to be handled in a meaningful manner.
Third, the (very few) women characters were completely flat and completely unmotivated, apparently existing just to hand Viktor money and or sex. It's pretty sad when the only three dimensional female in two books is a child.
The books weren't bad, but I just don't see the "tragicomic masterpiece" and "tender humanity" others are raving about.
April 30, 2020
It’s never easy to rate a translation. I found it awkward and very confusing at times - I wouldn’t give it more than 2.5 stars. Halfway through the book I had to switch to the original version in Russian which I thoroughly enjoyed until nearly the end - I thought that the happy end was far fetched and disappointing.
March 18, 2020
Esta novela es algo distinta a la primera de la serie, Muerte con pingüino, sobre todo porque el pingüino, Misha, está ausente en la casi totalidad del libro. Un libro con animal, es decir, un libro en el que un animal tiene un protagonismo considerable, no hace el mismo efecto que otro donde solo aparecen humanos con sus idioteces de siempre, sobre todo para aquellos que somos más bien bicheros. Supongo que por eso esta segunda parte suele hacer menos gracia que la primera. Otra teoría que tengo es que ese carácter surrealista que le atribuyen a estas novelas (y que yo no le acabo de encontrar) se debe a que sus lectores occidentales por fortuna no tenemos la experiencia de haber vivido en la Rusia postsoviética, o en una sociedad que de la noche a la mañana se torna del todo imprevisible. En una entrevista, Andrei Kurkov decía:
Esa categoría cuadra muy bien a esta novela, como también su necesaria hermana, la del humor negro. Uno, como ya escribí por aquí sobre Muerte con pingüino, bastante seco, un humor de esos que como no andes muy atento lo mismo ni lo percibes como humor. El caso es que la negrura es considerable en esta historia. Quizás no sea la lectura más adecuada para el confinamiento durante una pandemia de coronavirus, o quizás, por el contrario, sea la más oportuna. Puede que no sea muy alegre, pero al menos te recuerda que hay circunstancias peores, mucho peores en las que vivir.
A mí al menos me ha sacado de la apatía lectora en la que estaba cayendo últimamente, eso se lo tengo que agradecer.
Crecí en una sociedad muy pacífica, la soviética. Después, tras el colapso, se hizo muy violenta. Teníamos mafiosos, asesinatos, gente a la que mataban por la calle, cualquiera podía ser una víctima. Algunos de mis amigos, por ejemplo, fueron asesinados por la mafia.
Intento ser siempre optimista, soy un optimista. En aquella época mis amigos me preguntaban a menudo si era optimista, así que inventé una categoría, la del optimismo negro, hecha para aquellos tiempos tan difíciles. Un optimista negro es un hombre que está seguro de que todo irá bien, pero no de si esa vez sobrevivirá.
Esa categoría cuadra muy bien a esta novela, como también su necesaria hermana, la del humor negro. Uno, como ya escribí por aquí sobre Muerte con pingüino, bastante seco, un humor de esos que como no andes muy atento lo mismo ni lo percibes como humor. El caso es que la negrura es considerable en esta historia. Quizás no sea la lectura más adecuada para el confinamiento durante una pandemia de coronavirus, o quizás, por el contrario, sea la más oportuna. Puede que no sea muy alegre, pero al menos te recuerda que hay circunstancias peores, mucho peores en las que vivir.
A mí al menos me ha sacado de la apatía lectora en la que estaba cayendo últimamente, eso se lo tengo que agradecer.
October 1, 2018
‘It took Viktor three days to recover from the four spent crossing Drake Passage.’
At the end of ‘Death and the Penguin’, Viktor was fleeing vengeance on an Antarctica-bound flight which had been booked for Misha the penguin. Viktor has an opportunity to return to Kiev with a new identity. Once back in Kiev, Viktor tries to find Misha. Viktor feels bad (as he should) for abandoning poor Misha who was recovering from a heart transplant and who would really have been much happier in Antarctica.
So, how will Viktor set about finding Misha? How hard can it be to track down an Emperor Penguin who has had a heart transplant? Viktor’s journey will start with a Mafia boss who wants his help with an election campaign and will take him to Chechnya. Misha is rumoured to be in a private zoo in Chechnya, but Viktor cannot approach directly. He finds himself in some awkward, dangerous and difficult positions as he attempts to find out where Misha is.
Can there be a happy ending to this story? Perhaps. But the journey is not straightforward. And Viktor’s personal life is very complicated.
I strongly recommend reading ‘Death and the Penguin’ before reading this novel. Both are sad and humorous. Both are darkly satirical with more than a hint of absurdity.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
At the end of ‘Death and the Penguin’, Viktor was fleeing vengeance on an Antarctica-bound flight which had been booked for Misha the penguin. Viktor has an opportunity to return to Kiev with a new identity. Once back in Kiev, Viktor tries to find Misha. Viktor feels bad (as he should) for abandoning poor Misha who was recovering from a heart transplant and who would really have been much happier in Antarctica.
So, how will Viktor set about finding Misha? How hard can it be to track down an Emperor Penguin who has had a heart transplant? Viktor’s journey will start with a Mafia boss who wants his help with an election campaign and will take him to Chechnya. Misha is rumoured to be in a private zoo in Chechnya, but Viktor cannot approach directly. He finds himself in some awkward, dangerous and difficult positions as he attempts to find out where Misha is.
Can there be a happy ending to this story? Perhaps. But the journey is not straightforward. And Viktor’s personal life is very complicated.
I strongly recommend reading ‘Death and the Penguin’ before reading this novel. Both are sad and humorous. Both are darkly satirical with more than a hint of absurdity.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
May 14, 2024
Les aventures de Victor, de Kiev, à la recherche de son pingouin égaré dans le précédent volume, "Le pingouin". Toujours aussi délirant et burlesque. Et Victor traverse les pires aventures, sans cesse à la frontière de la mort, évidemment violente, de façon quasi naturelle et fataliste. Tout lui semble finalement anecdotique. Par la grâce de Andrei Koutkov, capable de mélanger les atrocités et la douceur candide, mais toujours très critique, d'une petite fille, Sonia, dont Victor est à la fois le tonton et le père adoptif. Comme toujours aussi avec Kourkov, malgré un contexte dramatique, le récit est lent, une marque de Kourkov, personnellement je l'apprécie énormément. Les personnages exagérés a l'extrêmes dans le trait mais passionnément peints.
Quand même dubitatif sur un point: comment les personnages du roman ont-ils pu atteindre la fin du bouquin malgré les hectolitres d'alcool ingurgités, prédominance large pour la vodka (il y a beaucoup Russes dans le récit), suivie par le cognac, le plus souvent excellent, issu de la contrebande, et ensuite du gin, toujours accompagné de tonic? Non, toud les personnages ne survivent pas au récit mais, à l'exception d'un vieux pêcheur imbibé mort l'hiver en tenant sa canne à pèche, aucune victime de l'alcool, même pas une cirrhose naissante diagnostiquée.
Malgré ce mode burlesque, le plus violent de tous les romans de Kourkov que j'aie lu à ce jour.
Quand même dubitatif sur un point: comment les personnages du roman ont-ils pu atteindre la fin du bouquin malgré les hectolitres d'alcool ingurgités, prédominance large pour la vodka (il y a beaucoup Russes dans le récit), suivie par le cognac, le plus souvent excellent, issu de la contrebande, et ensuite du gin, toujours accompagné de tonic? Non, toud les personnages ne survivent pas au récit mais, à l'exception d'un vieux pêcheur imbibé mort l'hiver en tenant sa canne à pèche, aucune victime de l'alcool, même pas une cirrhose naissante diagnostiquée.
Malgré ce mode burlesque, le plus violent de tous les romans de Kourkov que j'aie lu à ce jour.
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February 21, 2023
χρόνος ανάγνωσης κριτικής: 39 δευτερόλεπτα
Πέρσι (βασικά 11 μήνες πριν) διάβασα το πρώτο μου ουκρανικό μυθιστόρημα
το «Ο θάνατος ενός άγνωστου», του Αντρέι Κούρκοφ.
Ήταν ένα συμπαθητικό μυθιστόρημα για το οποίο μόλις έμαθα ότι υπάρχει
και συνέχεια ήθελα να την διαβάσω.
Αυτήν τη φορά την διάβασα στα αγγλικά. Μου άρεσε το ότι έμαθα τελικά
τι έγινε με την ιστορία που έμεινε στη μέση πέρσι.
Αλλά πέρα απ’ αυτό δε μου έδωσε κάτι άλλο, πέρασα καλά και
έμαθα πάνω κάτω για την ζωή στην Ουκρανία.
Συμπαθητικό βιβλίο αλλά δεν είναι αυτό που θα σε παρασύρει.
Περνάς καλά όσο το διαβάζεις και μετά πάμε παρακάτω.
Δεν ξέρω αν θα συνεχίσω με αλλά του Κούρκοφ διότι κάπου δεν ταιριάζουμε
παρόλο που δεν το βρήκα ακριβώς ακόμα.
Ας πούμε, μου πήρε ένα τρίτο του βιβλίου να πάρω μπρος,
μέχρι δηλαδή να θυμηθώ ποιος είναι ποιος από το προηγούμενο βιβλίο,
και μέχρι να μπω στο θέμα αυτής της νέας ιστορίας που είναι σχεδόν αυτοτελής,
διότι δεν έχει και πάρα πολλή σχέση με το προηγούμενο
εκτός του ότι απλά έχουμε τους ίδιους πρωταγωνιστές σε διαφορετικές περιπέτειες.
Αυτά.
June 6, 2022
Misha and Victor are back! Breaking laws for good (sort of?), they are once more on the move. I so want there to be another book in this series.
December 8, 2022
Una secuela necesaria para la historia de nuestros dos queridos personajes. Novela llena de situaciones absurdas, aunque bien ejecutadas. Pone en el mapa la diversidad étnica existente dentro de Rusia, cuestión latente en otras novelas del autor, o el resultado de la concetración de poder en manos de individuos concretos.
Plantea además conflictos con la capacidad de agencia que tiene el protagonista desde la incapacidad de tomar las riendas de su vida por imposiciones o decisiones del pasado. Termina dejando una sensación de calidez y permite fantasear con el azar como solución a mejor de los problemas.
Plantea además conflictos con la capacidad de agencia que tiene el protagonista desde la incapacidad de tomar las riendas de su vida por imposiciones o decisiones del pasado. Termina dejando una sensación de calidez y permite fantasear con el azar como solución a mejor de los problemas.
January 4, 2022
The middle third of this book disappointed me most, with hard to follow speech, jerky pacing and some plot lines that I thought untethered to the overall story.
The wrapping up to the ending happened about 50 pages before the actual end and then the ~controversy~ that stood in the way of the "alluded-to ending" happened too late and was rectified too fast and too easily"
Apart from these issues it was a nice little read
The wrapping up to the ending happened about 50 pages before the actual end and then the ~controversy~ that stood in the way of the "alluded-to ending" happened too late and was rectified too fast and too easily"
Apart from these issues it was a nice little read
July 31, 2023
Je suis déçu d'avoir fini le livre, je l'aurais bien continué encore
July 3, 2023
In his Penguin-series Andrey Kurkov gives us his depiction of pre-war Ukraine, a bleak place reminiscent of a spaghetti western, when at the same time praising the people’s ability to be there for each other. The landscape which Kurkov is painting is a place where there is no difference between good and evil, a society so corrupt that the pragmatism of merely trying to stay alive get you in trouble. Our main character Viktor is like a modern-day Odysseus, with the twist that where it for Homer and the ancient Greeks were courage and endurance which was the main virtues, the moral ideals in this landscape is blind compliance as well as to look after each other. Viktor is as naïve as a Haruki Murakami character, accepting anything that comes in his way without asking any questions, and getting involved with dangerous forces way bigger than himself as a result. Like Murakami, Kurkov doesn’t show the man or men behind it all. The shadier characters that are introduced the more you catch on to the idea that it is Hannah Arendt’s conception of the banality of evil which is at work. The blind hand controlling it all is no single evil genius puppet master who does it all for his own good. The evil lays in the rules of the game. It is everyone catching on and trying to do what is best for themselves and their dear ones that is reproducing all the corruptness and all the suffering. When it all comes down to it, Viktor can’t help but to see good qualities in even the most stone cold of persons that get into his path. At the beginning of the story, Viktor is like the main character from Hamsun’s Hunger, a lost poet that have lost both his roots as well as any steady source of income. Even though the people he gets involved with seem shady and often are dishonest about their intentions, they all turn out to do their best for him. And Viktor himself end up taking care of the subjects that comes into his path and that needs help. At the end of the story, we are reassured that everything turned out well for all of these side character that Viktor takes under his wing. At the other hand as nothing seem certain for Viktor himself, this seems to be telling us that the greatest characteristic of the Ukrainian spirit, as Kurkov sees it, is taking care of others. What does it matter what comes of Viktor if the ones that depend on him gets off good? As the story tells us, Viktor always turns out sorting things out for himself, even if it is in the most unusual and sometimes unbelievable ways. Of course, not without a good dose of help from others. Even though Kurkov doesn’t see any cure to the bigger picture, foreseeing in that regard the developments that are to come, he shows us that it nevertheless is taking care of yourselves and the one’s you care for that is most important.
March 22, 2023
Encore un superbe roman et la suite des aventures de Victor, Micha le pingouin, Sonia et Nina.
De retour chez lui après un séjour mouvementé en Antarctique, Victor n’a qu’une idée en tête: retrouver Micha, son pingouin d’adoption. Un jour à Kiev, le lendemain à Moscou, le jour suivant dans les recoins les plus sombres de la Tchétchénie en guerre, Victor traverse sans jamais s’étonner de rien une région déboussolée, livrée à la corruption et aux situations les plus rocambolesques.
En funambule virtuose, Andreï Kourkov retrouve ses personnages fétiches pour sillonner le gouffre qui sépare le rire du drame avec une aisance incomparable.
De retour chez lui après un séjour mouvementé en Antarctique, Victor n’a qu’une idée en tête: retrouver Micha, son pingouin d’adoption. Un jour à Kiev, le lendemain à Moscou, le jour suivant dans les recoins les plus sombres de la Tchétchénie en guerre, Victor traverse sans jamais s’étonner de rien une région déboussolée, livrée à la corruption et aux situations les plus rocambolesques.
En funambule virtuose, Andreï Kourkov retrouve ses personnages fétiches pour sillonner le gouffre qui sépare le rire du drame avec une aisance incomparable.
January 11, 2020
“For just one brief, blissful moment he was back standing with Penguin Misha at the grave of some departed bigwig, sun streaming down while some nearest and dearest delivered words having no effect on him or Misha, who were outside it all, Misha part of the ritual, he part of Misha. And there they’d stand, unfeelingly waiting for it to be done with - as if they were immortal.”
While I truly enjoyed “Death and the Penguin”, I fear this is one of those sequels that never should have been written. The limited appearances of the penguin and the loss of obituaries - two key plot elements from the first book that really drew me in - muted my joy in this reading. The political satire is still there but just not drawn out as creatively or comically as in the original. I also found the style and sentence structure awkward and difficult to follow at times - but hard to know if that’s related to the translation or the original...
While I truly enjoyed “Death and the Penguin”, I fear this is one of those sequels that never should have been written. The limited appearances of the penguin and the loss of obituaries - two key plot elements from the first book that really drew me in - muted my joy in this reading. The political satire is still there but just not drawn out as creatively or comically as in the original. I also found the style and sentence structure awkward and difficult to follow at times - but hard to know if that’s related to the translation or the original...
October 1, 2022
Ik heb niks met dieren maar voor Misha de pinguïn maak ik graag een besneeuwd tuintje in mijn hart.
February 9, 2023
Sort of like Taken, but with a penguin
August 20, 2023
This was brilliant, as good as the first. The penguin series is some of the best works I’ve read. I’m almost sad that it’s done however it’s a great ending and not rushed at all, thank you Mr Kurkov
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