Death and the Penguin is a novel by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. Originally published in 1996 in Russian (as Смерть постороннего, Smert' postoronnego), it was eventually translated and published in English in 2001. It is a bleak, satirical work with surreal elements and dark humour, and is also credited by The Independent's Lesley Chamberlain as being one of the texts to "get Russian literature going again after the post-Soviet hiatus".
Famous quotes containing the words death and/or penguin:
“The only way out is the way through, just as you cannot escape from death except by dying. Being unable to write, you must examine in writing this being unable, which becomes for the present—henceforth?—the subject to which you are condemned.”
—Howard Nemerov (1920–1991)
“Rearing three children is like growing a cactus, a gardenia, and a tubful of impatiens. Each needs varying amounts of water, sunlight and pruning. Were I to be absolutely fair, I would have to treat each child as if he or she were absolutely identical to the other siblings, and there would be no profit for anyone in that.”
—Phyllis Theroux, U.S. journalist. “On Being Fair,” Night Lights: Bedtime Stories for Parents in the Dark, Penguin (1987)