Death and the Penguin

The hapless man at the mercy of forces beyond his control -- and who isn't, really? -- always makes a good subject for fiction. Here, Viktor is a writer of advance obituaries in Kiev whose subjects compliantly perish. He has a pet penguin, takes care of an orphan girl, and conducts an affair with the girl's nanny. He also is being trailed by gangsters or government thugs or possibly both. Andrey Kurkov's novel captures the melancholy and hustle of the immediate post-Soviet years, with a splash of humor.