Niko

by Jerzy Andrzejewski

"Nikt" - ostatnia powieść autora, wydana po raz pierwszy w 1983 roku, w której pisarz dokonuje reinterpretacji mitu greckiego podanego nam przez Homera o życiu Odyseusza.

154 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1983

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

[Nora Barnacle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destilatori antičkih epova su mi svi mili. Među njih upisujem i Andžejevskog.

Njegov Odisej je Niko – kako se sam, ispada proročanski, predstavio kiklopu Polifemu – identitetska mimikrija u kojoj bilo ko tj. svaki dugogodišnji odsutnik može dobiti azil. Taj vid utočišta, međutim, prestaje da pruža bezbednost u momentu povratka koji nalaže suočavanje onoga što se postalo sa onim što se bilo i onim što se ostavilo. Eto, na primer, verna ljuba Penelopa je ostavljena u naponu tridesetih, topla i u postelji, a sad, nadomak pedesetih koje su iskusnije, između ostalog i za Kirkine čari, treba joj se vratiti. Zar to, uostalom, nije bio cilj?

Formom koja (ne baš za diku) koketira sa dramskim tekstom, ovaj roman najpoznatijeg dovitljivca, prepredenjaka i radoznalca, potpuno atipičnog mitskog lika, prikazuje zatečenog provokacijama odveć ljudskog života. S neugaslom slavom i već rezervisanim mestom u večnosti, on, nosilac znanja iz ovog i onog sveta, koji je pred bogovima i herojima briljirao upravo čovečnošću, na Itaki, tamo gde je nominalni gospodar, daleko prizemnija lukavstva od onih koje je negda drugima servirao prima kao šamare otrežnjenja. Skinut sa scene, van konteksta legendi, Odisej se – više karakterno nego situaciono – nalazi u sasvim savremenoj krizi identiteta koju je donekle slutio, (jer nebeska trampa za ideju trojanskog konja ne može biti samo švrćkanje osunčanim žalovima), a postao je, izgleda, (pod)svestan oduzevši jednookom divu vid, te i sposobnost orijentacije u rođenoj špilji. Prinuđenog na život kod kuće u zreloj dobi, na obično kraljevanje kom su podvižništva samo uspomene, načinje ga sumnja da je sve vreme dosledan jedino u prokrastinaciji, da mu je suočavanje sa sobom strašnije od svih Scila i Haribda. Svi trikovi su potrošeni, ni glumljenje ludila neće upaliti, pa šta drugo, nego na put.
Samo, kud bi? Šta ako je Kirka bila samo obična lujka sa pustog ostrva (koje bi, primećuje prevodilac, uz amin Kolje Mićevića, moglo biti hrvatski Lošinj), koja rađa maloumnu decu?

Lepo piše Ježi Andžejevski, dobro se kobelja iz misaone zgusnutosti. Ima ovde nedostataka, ne malo. Smeško Plačko, na primer, koji je izmišljen u svrhu referentnog tela, veoma je važan da bi bio skarabudžen, on me ponajviše žulja. Nema šta, služi nameni budući da je ovakav pristup podrazumevao diskvalifikaciju Olimpa, ali je moglo mnogo bolje i moralo jasnije. Mršava četvorka, uz mnogo jeda.

Niko se može čitati i iz perspektive svakoga ko se suočava sa neumitnošću „poslednjeg putovanja“, ali je meni draže rovarenje po modernističkom u Odisejevom liku.

[Nora Barnacle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zapravo 3+

[Frycaaao · Rating 2 out of 5]

Szanuję, ale nie dziwię się też, że ktoś mi to opchnął na vinted za ok. 8 zł

[Péter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Odysseus goes on one last ride, because everything sucks. Good? Good. Also young and hot naked greek guys and implied gay sex.

[ola k · Rating 3 out of 5]

mi się całkiem podobało

[Dariusz Płochocki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mądrość, to znaczy wiedzieć nie wiedząc wszystkiego..."