time, a physical yet passionless relationship develops between Viktor and Nina and the "family" is crystallized. The deepest emotional relationship amongst all four individuals is between Viktor and his penguin. After settling into a more or less normal life with Sonya and Nina and a lucrative side job of attending funerals of former obituary subjects with Misha, Viktor's illusion of security is undermined. He finds that an anonymous man (referred in the text only as "fat man") has been following Sonya and Nina and asking them endless questions posing as an old friend. When he tracks down his follower he finds that the fat man has become the new obituary writer and he, Viktor, has become the new obituary subject. At the same time, Misha has fallen ill and needs a heart transplant. Anonymous sponsors foot the bill but Viktor has decided that Misha is to be returned to his natural habitat in Antarctica. He donates $2000 to the upcoming Ukrainian expedition to Antarctica on condition that they take Misha. However, after finding that he is a marked man, Viktor decides to let the mafia take care of the penguin and he himself takes the ticket to Antarctica. The book ends with Viktor successfully fleeing to Antarctica. The novel is not about mafia intrigue but rather about one man and his pet/avatar as they are caught up in situations they do not understand. As such, the actual power of his obituaries and the circumstances surrounding the ensuing deaths are only hinted at, often in the context of Viktor's own musings. See also Penguin Lost (original title - The Snail Law), a sequel to this novel References Chamberlain, Lesley – The Independent – 2001. External links List of reviews of Death and the Penguin 1996 novels Novels by Andrey Kurkov Books about penguins Novels set in Ukraine Novels set in Kyiv Novels about writers