By Andrey Kurkov, Translated by George Bird, Melville International Crime, Melville House, Brooklyn, New York, @2002, 255 pages

Penguin Lost is the sequel to Death and the Penguin. The story begins with betrayal and ends with redemption. Along the way, we journey from Kiev to Moscow and into Chechnya.

What I like so much about these penguin books, besides the penguin, is that Kurkov has set up the scenario where there is interspecies friendship. I haven’t seen that done before, and I appreciate it. Misha, the penguin, is our protagonist’s friend. But, Kurkov doesn’t make Misha cutesy or try to make him human. Misha remains a true penguin.

It’s an interesting take on friendship, betrayal, and redemption.

I would love to see these penguin books on the big screen. This morning I was thinking that I’d sure like to write that screenplay. It could be an action-packed tale with Victor (the protagonist) as a Slavic take on James Bond.