Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

Andrey Kurkov is probably Ukraine’s best-known writer, and Death and the Penguin is probably his best-known work. Originally published in 1996, it is the slightly odd story of an obituary writer and his pet penguin, Misha.

I am struggling a bit with this one, because I really wanted to love it, but … I didn’t. I think it’s mainly because of that tagline – In Today’s Ukraine, All That Stands Between One Man and Murder By The Mafia Is A Penguin – which led me to expect something other than what I got.

Viktor is an aspiring writer who is employed to write obituaries of notables that will be kept on file until needed. His skills bring him to the attention of a “businessman” – also called Misha, so swiftly rechristened Misha-not-Penguin – who, on hearing of Viktor’s sadness that his work remains unread, finds a solution.

For a book involving the mafia, the whole thing is very laid back. Viktor is the straight man – he doesn’t know (and doesn’t want to know) exactly what he’s become involved in: he is paid well to do work he is good at while Misha walks sadly around their flat, a heavy, melancholic presence. He is offered more work, which he takes. Misha-not-penguin introduces his daughter Sonya. More of Viktor’s obelisks are published.

To be honest, this feels like a me issue – this is a good book: it’s darkly charming and amusing and readable. But when I review (and when I read) I am ultimately thinking about how much I enjoyed it, and that’s often dependent on the story or the characters, and neither of those things really worked for me here. I wonder also if the translator has something to do with it – I very much enjoyed Grey Bees, which is translated by Boris Dralyuk (and which is 99p on Kindle until the end of April), but this edition was translated by George Bird. Maybe I just don’t get on with his style so well.

This is one of those books I think I may get more out of on a reread. I’m also pleased to see it’s being republished with an introduction from the author – I did feel like I would have got more out of it if I’d had some more context (and I am somebody who knows a bit about 90s Ukraine). Although I didn’t especially enjoy it, every book I review is one I recommend – if you’re eager for satire or have had your interest in Ukraine triggered by Russia’s invasion, this is the book everybody is reading, and deserves to be. And if you do read and enjoy it, there is a sequel: Penguin Lost.