Penguin Lost
Andrey Kurkov
 The novel follows the life of a writer, Viktor Alekseyevich Zolotaryov, in a struggling post-Soviet society. Fleeing from the mafia to Antarctica, Viktor passes some time in a polar research station, before returning to Kiev with a new identity. Back in Ukraine and needing a job, he starts work on the election campaign for a Mafia boss. In return he is given information as to the whereabouts of Misha, his pet penguin, which is said to be in a zoo in Chechnya. Thus begins another journey, this time across the former Soviet Union, in pursuit of his beloved pet.