It is attributed to him on various famous quote sites but strikes me as spurious.
the only source attribution is to Letters to Milena but I haven't read it in years and don't have a copy.
She poured again a measureful and a tilly. Old and secret she had entered from a morning world, maybe a messenger. She praised the goodness of the milk, pouring it out. Crouching by a patient cow at daybreak in the lush field, a witch on her toadstool, her wrinkled fingers quick at the squirting...
In Death and the Penguin, Misha non-Penguin left New Year's Presents (from "Grandfather Frost") under their tree. I'm slightly confused by this; was Christmas not celebrated at this point? If not, was this a carryover from the Soviet era? (The book is definitely set in post-Soviet Ukraine).
In Death and the Penguin, Viktor and Sergey hear an explosion and go to investigate:
"What's up, Vanya?" Sergey enquired.
"The old story," said the caretaker... "Local man. Out stealing. Trod on a mine."
No one there seemed especially surprised or alarmed by this. The caretaker even referred to...