Annihilation

by Piotr Szewc, Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough (Translator)

Annihilation is about a day in the life of a Polish-Jewish town shortly before World War II and the Holocaust, a town that soon will be annihilated by Nazi atrocities. With grace, wit, and love for the people and place that will be destroyed, Piotr Szewc creates a hymn to the victims of the Holocaust, as well as a literary masterpiece whose brilliance is evidenced on every page.

Genres: Polish Literature, Literature

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Fruzsi Borsos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nagyon tetszett ez a kisregény (111 oldal mindössze) , habár a cselekményben látszólag nem sok minden történt, sőt, nagyjából semmi... Olyan volt mint egy uvegbúra alatt fotomontázs... Védett területű búra alatt vizsgáljuk a különböző képeket, arcokat, az idő megáll... És mi csak abrandozunk. Gyönyörű nyelvezet, érdekes módon a nappor az utolsó 30 oldalon vagy 10-szer szerepelt, de milyen szép szó ez, már -már elfeledtem.

[Kalina Ciesielska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo doceniam koncepcję utworu - jest w niej coś magicznego, wiecznego, a zarazem boleśnie melancholijnego. Przeżywamy cały dzień w życiu pewnego miasteczka (Zamościa) razem z ruchem słońca. Narracja przeprowadza nas przez ślady istnienia, które zatracją się już w momencie ich zauważenia. Czy chasydzi naprawdę kiedyś tam mieszkali? Kto jest widoczny na fotografii? Przepiękne opisy przyrody i jej, notabene, zagłady ewokują we mnie bliżej niesprecyzowane wspomienia miononych lat.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Piotr Szewc’s Annihilation, translated by Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough, is a novel set in 1934, Poland. The novel’s narrator, The Eye of the Town tells the reader about one day in the town, selecting a few characters to follow as they go about their day. The goal of the novel is not to tell a story but to “[…]painstakingly record everything so that nothing is missing from the Book[ of the Day]” (p. 65). This is a work about the people who will become victims by Nazi atrocities. Instead of on the Holocaust, Szewc chose to write about the people. The novel tells you who they are from their habits to their jobs, which the people in the novel treat as being boring and uneventful.

Not to be rude about the book or its topic, boring and uneventful is a good description for the book Annihilation. It is important to remember that the novel’s purpose is not to entertain its readers but to show the reader the lives stolen by the Nazis. This book does not portray the people of the town as either saints or caricatures, instead as regular people.

The audience that would best appreciate this novel would be people who read a lot about the Holocaust. Just remember this book will not provide you data or statistics. If you are interested in poetry or Literature, the language of the book is very poetic and beautiful. Finally, people looking for plot or character development would do themselves a favor by avoiding the book because you will not enjoy it.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Szewc wants to be philosophically deep and morally acute like Conrad, Joyce or Weisenthal by focusing on a single uneventful day in a pre-war Polish village. Unfortunately it comes of flat and pretentious. Could possibly be the translation, but it doesn't feel that way.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nem tudtam végigolvasni.

[Eric Boles · Rating 5 out of 5]

An act of remembrance.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Various reviewers describe Annihilation as "a compelling, elegant and existential story.."; or "successfully creepy, an old-style gothic horror novel set in a not-too-distant future." Sounds interesting. Unfortunately, it may be existential in its 'we are all alone here' aspect, and it may be gothic, as in ridiculously wordy, but it's far from compelling or creepy. It's incomprehensible. And bad.

[Augustus Cileone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out with very concrete descriptions of a female team exploring a strange region known as "Area X." The story becomes more abstract as it goes along. The "Area" in question seems to transform those who enter it. If you like enigmatic stories along the lines of the "Lost" TV series, you may like this novel.

[Mary Anne Meyering · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up after reading about it in Context: http://dalkeyarchive.com/context/131/...
The book describes, in minute detail a day in the life of a town in pre-World War II Poland. I highly recommend it. Read the Context review for more info.

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small jewel

[Kobe Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea is kind of cool