''Penguin Lost'' is a novel by
Andrey Kurkov
Andrey Yuryevich Kurkov ( uk, Андрій Юрійович Курков; russian: Андре́й Ю́рьевич Курко́в; born 23 April 1961 in Leningrad, USSR) is a Ukrainian author and public intellectual who writes in Russian. He is ...
. Originally published in 2005 in Russian (as ''Закон улитки'', en, The Snail Law), it was translated by George Bird and published in English in 2010. It is the sequel to the author's novel ''
Death and the Penguin
''Death and the Penguin'' is a novel by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. Originally published in 1996 in Russian (as ''Смерть постороннего'', ''Smert' postoronnego''), it was translated and published in English in 2001. The ev ...
''.
Summary
The novel follows the life of a writer, Viktor Alekseyevich Zolotaryov, in a struggling
post-Soviet
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
society. Fleeing from the mafia to the
Faraday Station in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
, Viktor passes some time in a polar research station, before returning to
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
with a new identity. Back in Ukraine and needing a job, he starts work on the election campaign for a Mafia boss. In return he is given information as to the whereabouts of Misha, his pet penguin, which is said to be in a zoo in
Chechnya. Thus begins another journey, this time across the former Soviet Union, in pursuit of his beloved pet.
The original Russian-language title of the book, ''The Snail Law'', refers to the Mafia boss' saying that every person should have his or her own shell (that is, a protecting mob group) and he / she is alive only as long as the "shell" is not lost.
''
The Complete Review'' said of the novel:
References
External links
*
Michel Faber
Michel Faber (born 13 April 1960) is a Dutch-born writer of English-language fiction, including his 2002 novel ''The Crimson Petal and the White''. His latest book is a novel for young adults, ''D—A Tale of Two Worlds, D: A Tale of Two Worlds'' ...
"The bird has flown" Review in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 20 March 2004.
* Lesley Chamberlain
"Penguin Lost, by Andrey Kurkov, trans. George Bird" Review in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', 16 April 2004.
1997 novels
Satirical novels
Books about penguins
Novels by Andrey Kurkov
2005 Russian novels
Novels set in Kyiv
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