Saturday 9 July 2011

Penguin Lost by Andrey Kurkov - Book Review

Title: Penguin Lost
Author: Andrey Kurkov

Publisher: Melville House
Publication Date: 27th September 2011 (2004)
Pages: 256
Format: E-book - PDF
Genre:Literary Fiction/Satire/Crime
Source: ARC from NetGalley




The long-awaited sequel to the acclaimed Death and the Penguin, Penguin Lost sees Viktor grab at the opportunity to return to Kiev incognito and launch an intensive, guilt-wracked search for Misha.
It’s a search that will take Viktor across the Ukraine to Moscow and back, vividly depicting a troubled landscape. It once again lands Viktor in league with a series of criminals and corrupt officials, each of whom know something of what happened to Misha, and each of whom are willing to pass that information along if Viktor will just help them with one more job. . . And it’s a tale told once again in a style that’s part Bulgakov and part Hitchcock, simultaneously funny and ominous, nearly absurd and all-too-real.
Readers may find themselves rooting even harder for Viktor this time, as he presses forward on his odyssey under even more dangerous circumstances, in another brilliantly rich and topical book from a contemporary Russian master.
(Goodreads Synopsis)


I must say that I enjoyed this second book even more than the first.

Twists and turns abound as Viktor races to locate the penguin he left behind; the penguin whose place on the boat to Antarctica he stole. Along the way he finds himself embroiled in a political campaign and even cremating corpses, in a story that retains the wonderful satire of the first book, but is definitely more action-packed.

This second offering by Kurkov moves at a faster pace than the first and introduces a few new characters as well as old friends. I loved some of the new characters, especially the aspiring Deputy who gave the opportunity for some wonderful political satire.

This novel is a must for anyone who read and enjoyed the first book and who longs to know if Misha will ever make it to Antarctica! 

2 comments:

  1. Hia, visiting from the book blog hop.

    I prefered this one to Death and The Peguin too but I prefered A Matter of Death and Life to either of them, very funny.

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  2. I saw this on NetGalley but hadn't read the first so I gave it a miss - sure sounds quirky!

    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
    www.bookdout.wordpress.com

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