Siehe, er kommt hüpfend über die Berge: Roman

by Jerzy Andrzejewski

English, Polish (translation)

Genres: Polish Literature, Fiction

214 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Jerzy Andrzejewski was a Polish novelist, short-story writer, and political dissident noted for his attention to moral issues important in 20th-century Poland and for his realistic fiction.

Andrzejewski was born into a middle-class family, and the young writer studied Polish language and literature at the University of Warsaw. The stories published in his first book, Drogi nieuniknione (1936; “Unavoidable Ways”), originally appeared in a right-wing periodical, with whom he soon severed relations. That volume was followed by the novel Ład serca (1938; “Heart’s Harmony”), in which Andrzejewski tried to find in Roman Catholic teachings solutions to the problems of contemporary life. During the German occupation of World War II, he participated in the Polish underground.
After World War II, Andrzejewski wrote Noc (1945; “Night”), a collection of wartime stories, and, together with Jerzy Zagórski, a satirical drama, Swięto Winkelrida (1946; “Winkelried’s Feast”). Contemporary political problems are projected in Popiół i diament (1948; Ashes and Diamonds), translated into 27 languages and generally considered his finest novel. It presents a dramatic conflict between young Polish patriots and the communist regime during the last days of World War II. In 1958 Andrzej Wajda, the leading director of the Polish cinema, directed a movie based on the book and bearing the same title.

In 1949 Andrzejewski joined the Communist Party, and for the next seven years he supported its ideology in his essays, but in 1956 he gave up membership and established himself as one of the principal critics of the party’s policies, both in his creative writings and in his activities. In 1976 he became one of the cofounders of the Workers’ Defense Committee (KOR), from which eventually grew the anticommunist trade union Solidarity, outlawed in 1981. Andrzejewski also coedited Zapis (1977–81), a literary magazine publishing dissident writers. Andrzejewski’s novels Ciemności kryją ziemię (1957; The Inquisitors) and Bramy raju (1960; The Gates of Paradise) present modern problems disguised as historical novels, while Apelacja (1968; The Appeal) and Miazga (1981; “The Pulp”) directly address the issues of contemporary society.

Andrzejewski’s life and work seem to be emblematic for many Polish intellectuals of his generation—from his ardent Catholicism before the war to his heroic involvement with the Resistance during the Nazi occupation, through his subsequent skepticism, to his total acceptance of the Marxist ideology after the war, and, finally, to his disillusionment with and open dissent against communism. His short stories and novels, Ashes and Diamonds in particular, can be read as a moving testimony to his development.

Reviews

[Kees Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Verliefdheid is mij altijd van meer nut geweest dan geliefd zijn'.
Deze Nederlandse vertaling van Andrezejewski kan soms wat dromerig lezen, dit omdat Jerzy met een poëtische hand heeft geschreven en de vertaling enigszins verouderd is.
Naarmate het boek vordert weet A. het egocentrische in de menselijke aard mooi te omschrijven.
Liefde lijdt eronder, ook de geprezen kunstenaar verdwijnt onder het as van het alle daagse.

[Franciszek · Rating 3 out of 5]

(...) Chwileczkę, mówi pan, że jest nieprzytomny? to może być niezłe, najstarszy przyjaciel Ortiza walczy ze śmiercią, podczas kiedy w jego galerii genialny artysta urządza wernisaż, świetne, nie? ludzie lubią, gdy los bywa dla innych tragiczny, to działa jak lewatywa, tragizm i ironia, mogę pana zapewnić, to najlepsze środki przeczyszczające, najwyższy stopień propagandy, przysięgam panu, że optymizm przyprawia większość ludzi o śmiertelną nudę i wydłuża im szczęki aż po pępek, (...)

[Hadrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

[A Ojala · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Hän maalaa muita kuvia, mutta tätä ei koskaan."

[zoagli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beeindruckend, einen ganzen Roman in – gefühlt – einem einzigen Satz zu schreiben. Aber so temporeich, wie sich das anhört, liest sich das Buch dann nicht. Interessanter Ansatz, der sich in belanglosen Anekdoten verliert.

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Solamente gli eletti più temerari possono permettersi di confondere impunemente la vita con la favola." (p. 107)