Litfest International Fiction Online Book Club - Andrey Kurkov: Death and the Penguin

For this special edition of the book club we are delighted to welcome novelist and journalist Andrey Kurkov back to Litfest. Death and the Penguin, first self-published in Russian in Ukraine, was the novel that made his reputation when it appeared in English in 2001.

Viktor writes obituaries for a newspaper in Kyiv; the only creature he trusts is his pet penguin, Misha. But when his ‘subjects’ start dying while their tributes sit in his drawer, Viktor realises he’s writing death notices to order. Bleakly funny and quietly tragic, Death and the Penguin captures life in a collapsing world where conscience and corruption blur.

‘A tragicomic masterpiece’ Daily Telegraph

‘A black comedy of rare distinction’ Spectator

The Litfest International Fiction Book Club is convened by Bill Swainson (Litfest) and Sam O’Donoghue (School of Global Affairs, Lancaster University).

For more about the book club go to:

www.litfest.org/international-fiction-book-club/

Venue: Online, via Crowdcast

Book tickets to attend online: £4, from Crowdcast.