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Penguin Lost
 
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Penguin Lost (Paperback)

by Andrey Kurkov (Author), George Bird (Translator)
3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Paperback (New edition) £7.99 £5.99 33 used & new from £1.25

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Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: The Harvill Press (4 Mar 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1843430959
  • ISBN-13: 978-1843430957
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.6 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 579,459 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Scotsman
'A darkly comic and offbeat journey. P-p-p-pick it up!' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
When last we saw Viktor, in the final pages of Death and the Penguin, he was taking his seat aboard the Expedition to Antarctica plane, fearing for his life. Meanwhile, Penguin Misha was left abandoned in a clinic recovering from a heart transplant. Now, in Penguin Lost, we join Viktor for his brief stay in and escape from Antarctica to discover that, characteristically, he has fallen on his feet. Visiting, on his return to Kiev, Penguinologist Pidpaly's grave, Viktor mistakes an elusive child in white shirt and black shorts for Misha on funeral duty. He is first interrogated and then befriended by a Mafia boss who, while burying his contract-killed son-in-law, is also running for election as People's Deputy. Viktor helps in his campaign, and is rewarded with introductions to those able to further his desperate search for Misha, said to be in the zoo of the murderous Chechen Khachayev. For Viktor, it is both a quest and an odyssey of atonement; for the reader, an experience as rich, topical and black-humouredly illuminating as Death and the Penguin.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing and unnecessary sequel., 12 May 2004
By Chandler (London) - See all my reviews
Firstly, this book will make very little sense if you have not read 'Death and the Penguin', which introduced Viktor and Misha, the penguin who he adopted when the Kiev zoo closed down. The first book is quite brilliant, especially for the maudlin character of Misha, who suffers from depression and is integral to the plot set in post-Soviet Ukraine. A typical Kurkov joke is to describe another human character as 'Misha-non-Penguin' to distinguish him from the penguin.

'Penguin Lost' suffers for the absence of Misha- the plot is disjointed and jumps from one idea to the next - within 3 pages of the start, a coincidental meeting to cause Viktor to leave Antartica and provides him a reason to go to Moscow. Similarly convenient events occur to take the plot through the corruption of post-Soviet politics and the war in Chechenya.

Whereas the first book was effortless and full of mordant humour, the second seems forced, as if written to order. I very much wanted to enjoy this book, but regret that it is an average novel on its own merit and a sad and unnecessary sequel.

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15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The wonderful story continues, 7 Mar 2004
By D. Proctor "dproc2001" (Kendal) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This is a wonderful book and continues on from Death and the Penguin so if you have not read that book yet you should do so first. I actually did not think Kurkov had written a sequel but was more than delighted to find out that he has. In the story Viktor returns to Kiev from, of all places, Antarctica where he has been in hiding! Once there he sets about finding all his old friends whom we met in the previous volume. There are plenty more likeable people populating this story, people often in dire straights in one way or another (such as the music teacher/prostitute) but with whom we are in general sympathy. Viktor soon finds himself mixed up with a Mafia boss who wants to become an MP with Viktor's help and there are plenty of incidents and people who stand between Viktor and his goal of tracking down his beloved Penguin, Misha. I am pleased to see that his adopted daughter is still there. I love Kurkov's books for his ability to portray ordinary people who are lost or in difficulty in one way or another in a supremely compassionate and sympathetic light. Underlying this book as with the last is the corrupt and scary nature of politics and society as a whole. Although Kurkov is writing about Russia and the Ukraine, his themes are nevertheless common modern day human themes which all of us can relate to. Most importantly, Kurkov is always warm, positive, absurdly funny and even homely. Despite the break up of traditional society (symbolised by the orphan, the prostiture etc.) the author shows that human love and friendship can still shine through!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Lost something in the translation?, 17 Oct 2006
By Green Pixie (Leeds, West Yorkshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Lost (Paperback)
As strange and surreal as Death and the Penguin, but not quite as good. The story is a real rollercoaster, galloping along, taking bizarre and sudden twists and turns, but it seemed a bit patchy. Some sections were very detailed, while others just sketched. It almost felt like there were bits missing, or as if the translating was rather perfunctory in places (although the same translator worked on both Penguin books).
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it, and will read more Kurkov when I get the opportunity.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Reader Won
This is a worthy sequel to Death and the Penguin. Although ultimately not as good, in some ways, PL is superior to the prequel. Read more
Published 27 days ago by J. Bowditch

1.0 out of 5 stars Disapointing Sequel
The first book was charming, if lacking a little depth. This book seems to full of rather convenient coincidences and women everywhere seem to just jump into bed with him! Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2006 by Mr. I. P. Moore

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