Fun, dark comedy set in the Ukraine just after the fall of the Soviet Union. There's a Kafka sort of humour, and an awesome penguin. The main character writes obituaries for people who haven't died yet, and then they start dying, and he also has a huge pet penguin, which he took from the state-run zoo when it offered free animals to anyone willing and able to feed them. How could I not like that? The book ends a little too abruptly, but there's a sequel, so I'm guessing the weirdness continues there. The main character is often a little too passive and navel-gazing, but for the most part I liked his cold detachment in the face of unknown enemies, impending doom and terrible, absurd and violent events unfolding around him.