Balada o Barnabáši Pierkielovi

by Magdalena Zyzaková, Martina Knápková (Translator)

Byla nebyla vesnička Odolečka a v ní pasáček vepřů, velký poeta...

Román vyprávějící o hrdinských činech pasáčka vepřů, jenž je mylně přesvědčen o své kráse a moudrosti. Barnabáš se snaží získat přízeň Růši, konkubíny zdejšího obuvnického magnáta, avšak zaplete se i se svým krátkonohým ořem Wilhelmem do řady skandálů a veškeré jeho pokusy o milostné sblížení skončí katastrofou. Po smrti důležitého člena místní komunity vypukne hon na čarodějnice a z nebe se snese tajemná postava. A Barnabáš jen s hrůzou sleduje, jak na jeho milované maloměsto začínají dopadat velké dějiny…

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Literary Fiction

284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 14, 2014

Reviews

[Douglas Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a zesty, magnificently rich literary experience, try Polish writer Zyzak who deftly litters every page of this debut novel with adventurous, dense writing and who wields language as artfully as Vladimir Nabokov or Chuck Palahniuk. The title character, latest in a long line of pig herders, lives in the tiny Odolechka, Scalvusia, an Eastern European backwater village (ten times worse than Moldova) in 1939. There he’s part of a passionate, savage local scene that includes a priest who pins his own earlobe to a door with a fork and a mayor who lustily consumes radishes slathered in lard. Competing against local nobleman Karol Von Grushka, shy and lowly Barnabas attempts to win the attentions of the beautiful Roosha. As a reading experience this is equal parts ridiculous and sublime, somewhat akin to a Peter Greenaway film invaded by the Marx Brothers. Readers willing to let plot and character development take a back seat to language, as when a “…magpie warped and quirked,” and the delight of vocabulary (e.g., “…a talbot eyeing a trefoil”) will be immensely entertained by this decidedly unserious read. Where many literary authors often take a grim tone, Zyzak remains understatedly humorous and lighthearted—with an occasional Proustian overtone. VERDICT Zyzak is a major talent to whom many will swear allegiance. Within the first ten pages readers will know if they like this densely and dryly comic novel.

Find this review and others at Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal: see http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/cat.... Copyright Library Journal.

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Few books begin with a line or paragraph that perfectly captures the essence of the entire story. The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel, by Magdalena Zyzak, is one of those few books. It begins with an ethnic joke, featuring a man who embodies the perceived stupidity of the fictitious Eastern European Scalvusian people. Narrated by an unnamed Scalvusian sometime after the war, The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel is the story of the people of the village of Odolechka in 1939. The eponymous Barnabas chases a Romani woman he loves while the mayor and police chief overeat; the mayor’s wife tries to improve herself through nutrition, religion, and fascism; a man tries to stir up a proletarian uprising with misremembered Marxist jargon; and an escaped insane man steals everything that isn’t nailed down. Then a German spy parachutes right into the middle of Odolechka...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.

[Boris Feldman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The stupidest book I ever ( started to) read.
How does this crap get published?

[Ferris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an Eary Reviewer edition I got from LibraryThing.com. It is the author's debut novel and I am stunned that this is a first. This satire/allegory/theater of the absurd story is reminiscent of "Waiting For Godot". I laughed, chuckled and almost wept over the plight of this cast of characters and their slapstick absurdity. At the same time, it is a tragic tale of ignorance and blind acceptance of fear based rhetoric. The kind of twisted logic that cost six million people their lives during WWII and continues to cost lives in the present day around the world. The readers can choose to appreciate this brilliant novel as a funny tale of fools, or can leave themselves vulnerable to a profound tale of the absudity and tragedy of the creatures we call humans!

[Mishel Forte]

Ugh!!!! this is my first DNF. I've given it a lot of thought because I hate to give up on a book and I haven't..until now. I don't think, even with time, I'll be able to get through this one. I thought the eccentric and unique style would eventually grab me, because the synopsis certainly did. But I just kept waiting and waiting for something to grab my interest and all I really wanted to do close the book and start something else. *sigh*

I don't know if it was the writing style, the characters, the weird language use, or a combination of all of the above that left a bad taste in my mouth but I give up, sadly.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Within a few paragraphs, I had a sense that this was not going to be my cup of tea. I gave it five chapters. I give up. It's just too absurd and ridiculous for my taste. I think this first time writer tried much too hard to find a style that's different or unique and, in my view, failed miserably at doing so.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever and witty tale about a small, slightly backwards eastern European country set with a aback drop of World War II. This book is funny, thoughtful, and ridiculous in the best ways. You can't help but love Barnabas, who reminds me the village half-wit, and root for him on his quest to win the gypsy queen's heart.
I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. It reminds me of an eastern European version of Monty Python at it's finest. It's a book about finding light and pleasure, even in horrible circumstances.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story of a Don Quixote of a dying eastern slavic nation. It is so close to being compelling but the writing here is overly complicated and action heavy. Very heard to sink into this rhythmless story. This isn't for me - but I love Zyzak's 'The Lady Waiting' so there you have it.

[Pharlap · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very elaborate writing, in which I could not find any essence at all. My patience ended in the middle of 4th chapter.

[Daphne Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a rather interesting story. throughout the entire book, I actually thought scavulusa was a real town. a brief warning to those wanting to read, this book can get a bit sexual.

[Linsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe if you enjoy things like Borat this could be for you? Not for me.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5

[Jessica Alverta]

Liked the author so I read. Fell asleep several times reading, took me forever to read it but it was an experience.

[Tom Donaghey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a bit lost as to what to make of this novel. It was well written, the main characters had a great deal of appeal, and the story, such as it is, is fun enough to be worth reading. But in the end I felt as if I hadn’t gotten the point of the exercise.
The author is Polish by birth and now lives in America and I’m not certain if those two facts are germane to the review of this book. One’s history does inform what one can write about and how they go about the writing, so from that point of view it is relevant, but then again, as you read though this story, you find it doesn’t matter in the least.
Puzzling, isn’t it?
Then again it might matter. This is a tale of a luckless swineherd in the soon to be non-existent country of Scalvusia somewhere around 1939. He is in love with Roosha (said out loud it sounds like a southern US pronunciation of Russia) but , of course, he is a swineherd and this beautiful gypsy girl lives with local nobleman, Von Grushka, so what chance does Barnabas have with her. Still, she is a gypsy with her wild side so his hope never fails him.
They, along with a cavalcade of deftly well-defined supporting characters, give this farce grandeur it’s material should not be able to have. That not only does it engage us, that it amuses us and reveals to us a small world we have never seen before is part of the miracle of the narrative.
Both ridiculous yet absurd in a slapstick manner, and still endearing as our hero makes his way though the days, this is an entertaining read. To say the least it is light hearted in tone even as the clouds of war loom all over this story. It is hard to believe this is a first novel.
I am very happy with this Goodreads win.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poland
So much mystery he witnessed in his own eyes that, at length, he conceded defeat.
If there was one thing he despised, it was the greediness of local vendors. What carnage they were ready to cause for a few jars of unpaid-for brilliantine. Was it a man's fault that he had to style his hair? Was he to be publicly whipped for needing a shave? Obliterated for a drop of cologne and a puff of talc?
Such questions as 'Is this a potato or a nugget of gold?' claim our attention only insofar as they affect rates of exchange. But the exchange of marriage vows between those who wear rings of gold and those who wear rings of potato is evidently an act characterized by a total abstraction from use value.
I wouldn't steal your filthy barrow even if I lack all etiquette!
...Achym, the unemployed, playing unintentional atonal modernism on a ram's horn bugle.
I like to see new things, especially if I haven't seen them before. Five minutes ago, for example, I saw a mushroom with a face on it.
The casual mechanisms of this world possess sometimes a certain baffling beauty.
I imagine the Akademy pranks have gone soft. They probably do no more than pour bleach onto each other's meager chest hair in the night. The men of our generation were harder.
"You are involved in politics?" "I dabble in it only on leap years, and only then when I'm not too tired from leaping over dead sheep sleeping people failed to count. That's why they died."
"Nobody sends you mail, you warlock."
I like to get the opinion of the lower classes, even for my epic poems. Plebeians operate with prehistoric instincts, which, more often than not, and not often enough, are right.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine if Charles Dickens' Great Expectations were entertaining, funny, and something you actually wanted to pick up and read. Well here it is! Both stories are about a useless young man trying to improve himself in superficial ways in order to win the love of a young lady, but otherwise they part ways soon enough. Zyzak's story is absurd parody, told of an imaginary Slavic nation with exaggerated clichés comprising the humor, along with the protagonist's (Barnabas Pierkiel, naturally) misadventures. It's not the book of the century, but it certainly is good fun.

[Jennifer Ochoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Goodreads Giveaways in exchange for my review. I wanted to give this a higher rating because its very well-written, but I found my mind wandering toward the latter half. It's a funny satirical tale with comically ridiculous characters engaging in silly antics. Humor is hard to successfully pull off, but the writer is obviously very clever in creating her characters and dialogue. I found myself chuckling aloud a few times and smiling quite a bit. The storyline just lacked punch for me, ultimately.

[Anna Shabalov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book from a GoodReads Giveaway contest.
Basically, I thought this book was just ok and for me that was a big letdown. The premise sounded awesome, Eastern Europe and alternate history are my jam, and then the book jacket had praise from Gary Shteyngart and I got really excited. And all that never really panned out. I didn't find the book to be very funny, I wasn't particularly taken with the use of language, the plot dragged, the generalized Eastern European setting didn't add much to the peasant caricature. I don't know, I really wanted to love this and just didn't.

[Jeremy DeBottis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever see a movie, or hear an album, or read a book and know it's good, but not really enjoy it? That's kind of my feeling about this book. The characters are fun and interesting, the narrator is entertaining, and the ending avoids being stereotypical. Generally these are all things that make me love a book, but for some reason I struggled with this one, and found it hard to pay attention. It's not a particularly difficulty read so it's worth a shot, and chances are most people will like it more than I did.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of pig farmer Barnabas and his quest for love unfolds as the fictional eastern European nation called Scalvusia is overtaken by the Germans. I thought it was very good satire from this first-time novelist - some passages had me laughing out loud - and I look forward to reading more from her.

[yb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this. The absurdity of the prologue and opening chapters is different than what I am normally attracted to, but it made me laugh out loud. But it never settled in. The gimmick -- the travails of a backward pigherder -- overwhelmed the story. The eventual resolution is funny, if expected, but there are a solid 150 pages of overwrought details that make this a slog to get through.

[Brigi Rafini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Plain hilarious.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 A wonderful debut novel that uses humor to teach us about a different side of history

[Dan McKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny story with lots of Dave Barry-like humor. Absurdity and silliness abound.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would have more potential than it did. It would have been better as a collection of unrelated stories

[LucyV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd. I like eastern European humor and this folktale-esque novel had plenty of it but it was a little too long; and odd. I gave it a 3-star rating because of the author's wit.

[Brittany jeniva Davenport]

this was quite an interesting book! very funny and would definetly recommend to friends and family

[Sarima Tamashiq · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed so hard while reading this book I fell off my chair