Death and the Penguin (Panther)
3 journalers for this copy...
to read and release (slightly different cover)
I really didn't 'get' this book at all...a rather bleak and strange story set in post-Communist Ukraine, about a man who is asked to write obituaries for the local paper and finds himself (and his pet penguin) caught up with the local mafia. Can't say I really enjoyed this one but perhaps someone else will like it more - I'll see if it's on anyone's wishlist!
Released 11 yrs ago (7/16/2012 UTC) at Isle of Islay, Scotland United Kingdom
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
going as a surprise RABCK to stoepbrak, if my parents' local post office on the Isle of Islay is a) open, b) has an envelope of suitable size and c) can cope with posting to South Africa! If not it will wait until I get home later in the week, I expect it will take a little while to get to SA anyway.
This turned out to be a remarkable little book! While the theme has some seriously ominous undertones and the reader is constantly aware that proceedings are heading towards possible disaster, the deadpan, black comedy style of the book is irresistible.
The main protagonist, Viktor, finds in Misha, his pet penguin, a soul mate in a city and a time foreign to his own personality and natural habitat. Somehow, amidst the building tension and threatening circumstances, Viktor (mostly) manages to find inner calm to continue functioning, even enjoying life.
To every time, its own 'normality'.
I didn't find all aspects of the closing scenes quite consistent with Victor's character, and suspect the author was paving the way for a sequel. The sequel, Penguin Lost, was in fact published in the original Russian the very next year, though there was a gap of 9 years between the English translations of the two books. Fortunately I have a copy of Penguin Lost and will make a plan to read it soon.
Received it in the mail from Stoepbrak. My first BC experience :-)