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The Island: Three Tales
One of the New York Times Books Review's Best Books of 1993
"A writer of stylistic mastery and moral depth, who deserves to be placed among the best in any language." -Jaroslaw Anders, The Boston Sunday Globe
Best known for the unforgettable account of his experiences in a Russian slave-labor camp, A World Apart , Gustaw Herling was regarded by many as one of Poland's greatest prose writers of the 20th century. These three tales, all set in Italy, are intensely dramatic depictions of suffering, solitude, and mindless violence done to the spirit. The author's command of language is matched by an unblinking observation of his characters' stumbling progress toward salvation and a compassion that is limitless but never sentimental.
"Reading The Island . . . I felt an exhilaration that was like the exhilaration of that first moment of being touched and in some way shattered by great prose." - Edna O'Brien
"A writer of stylistic mastery and moral depth, who deserves to be placed among the best in any language." -Jaroslaw Anders, The Boston Sunday Globe
Best known for the unforgettable account of his experiences in a Russian slave-labor camp, A World Apart , Gustaw Herling was regarded by many as one of Poland's greatest prose writers of the 20th century. These three tales, all set in Italy, are intensely dramatic depictions of suffering, solitude, and mindless violence done to the spirit. The author's command of language is matched by an unblinking observation of his characters' stumbling progress toward salvation and a compassion that is limitless but never sentimental.
"Reading The Island . . . I felt an exhilaration that was like the exhilaration of that first moment of being touched and in some way shattered by great prose." - Edna O'Brien
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
3 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Gustaw Herling-Grudziński
94 books63 followersGustaw Herling-Grudziński (May 20, 1919 - July 4, 2000) was a Polish writer, journalist, essayist and soldier. He is best known for writing a personal account of life in the Soviet gulag - A World Apart.
He was born in Kielce. His studies of Polish literature at Warsaw University were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War (German invasion of Poland). During the Fall of 1939 he co-founded an underground resistance organization "Polska Ludowa Akcja Niepodległościowa, PLAN". As the organization's courier he traveled to then Soviet occupied Lwów (Lviv), but was arrested in March 1940 by the NKVD and sentenced on fabricated espionage charges. Imprisoned in Vitsebsk and a gulag in Arkhangelsk region for 2 years, he was released in 1942 under the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement. He joined Gen. Władysław Anders' Army (Polish II Corps) and later fought in North Africa and in Italy, taking part in the battle of Monte Cassino. For his valor in combat he was decorated with the Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration.
In 1947 he co-founded and initially co-edited the political and cultural magazine Kultura, then published in Rome. When the magazine moved to Paris, he settled first in London and finally in Naples, Italy, where he married Lidia, a daughter of the philosopher Benedetto Croce. He also wrote for the Italian "Tempo presente" run by Nicola Chiaromonte and for various dailies and periodicals.
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Works
His most famous book, A World Apart, was translated into English by Andrzej Ciolkosz and published with an introduction by Bertrand Russell in 1951 (the 2005 edition would feature an introduction by Anne Applebaum). By describing life in the gulag in a harrowing personal account, it provides an in-depth, original analysis of the nature of the Soviet communist system. Written 10 years before Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, it brought him international acclaim but also criticism from Soviet sympathizers.
A selection from the Journal Written at Night, a journal that he wrote for 30 years, was translated by Ronald Strom and published as Volcano and Miracle (1997). A collection of his short stories, The Noonday Cemetery and Other Stories (2003), has been translated by Bill Johnston.
Awards
He was the winner of many literary prizes: Kultura (1958), Jurzykowski (1964), Kościelskis (1966), The News (1981), the Italian Premio Viareggio prize, the international Prix Gutenberg, and French Pen-Club. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.
He was born in Kielce. His studies of Polish literature at Warsaw University were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War (German invasion of Poland). During the Fall of 1939 he co-founded an underground resistance organization "Polska Ludowa Akcja Niepodległościowa, PLAN". As the organization's courier he traveled to then Soviet occupied Lwów (Lviv), but was arrested in March 1940 by the NKVD and sentenced on fabricated espionage charges. Imprisoned in Vitsebsk and a gulag in Arkhangelsk region for 2 years, he was released in 1942 under the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement. He joined Gen. Władysław Anders' Army (Polish II Corps) and later fought in North Africa and in Italy, taking part in the battle of Monte Cassino. For his valor in combat he was decorated with the Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration.
In 1947 he co-founded and initially co-edited the political and cultural magazine Kultura, then published in Rome. When the magazine moved to Paris, he settled first in London and finally in Naples, Italy, where he married Lidia, a daughter of the philosopher Benedetto Croce. He also wrote for the Italian "Tempo presente" run by Nicola Chiaromonte and for various dailies and periodicals.
-----------------------------------------
Works
His most famous book, A World Apart, was translated into English by Andrzej Ciolkosz and published with an introduction by Bertrand Russell in 1951 (the 2005 edition would feature an introduction by Anne Applebaum). By describing life in the gulag in a harrowing personal account, it provides an in-depth, original analysis of the nature of the Soviet communist system. Written 10 years before Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, it brought him international acclaim but also criticism from Soviet sympathizers.
A selection from the Journal Written at Night, a journal that he wrote for 30 years, was translated by Ronald Strom and published as Volcano and Miracle (1997). A collection of his short stories, The Noonday Cemetery and Other Stories (2003), has been translated by Bill Johnston.
Awards
He was the winner of many literary prizes: Kultura (1958), Jurzykowski (1964), Kościelskis (1966), The News (1981), the Italian Premio Viareggio prize, the international Prix Gutenberg, and French Pen-Club. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 10, 2016
I can't understand why this book doesn't have more stars. Very rarely do I hand out 5 stars... I reserve 5-star ratings for books that completely blow me away and have absolutely NO irritating narration or dialogue. "The Tower" is one of those books.
What impressed me the most about this book is that there is very little dialogue between characters. It takes true talent to be able to keep a story going like that.
This is a collection of 3 short stories. The last one (2nd Coming) was fine, but it didn't captivate me like the first two, especially the 2nd story ("The Tower"). I was mesmorized by that story and found myself searching for the actual tower online (it is a real place). There was something so haunting, yet wonderful about it.
It is brilliant writing and I will likely search for more from this author.
What impressed me the most about this book is that there is very little dialogue between characters. It takes true talent to be able to keep a story going like that.
This is a collection of 3 short stories. The last one (2nd Coming) was fine, but it didn't captivate me like the first two, especially the 2nd story ("The Tower"). I was mesmorized by that story and found myself searching for the actual tower online (it is a real place). There was something so haunting, yet wonderful about it.
It is brilliant writing and I will likely search for more from this author.
August 10, 2023
Unglaublich schön und berühend beschreibt Herling die verschiedenen Ebenen der Einsamkeit und Trauer. „The Island“ war richtig gut und „The Tower“ ist eine der besten Kurzgeschichten, die ich je gelesen habe.
(„The Second Coming“ war auch ganz gut, aber nicht so gut wie die anderen und ich mochte das setting da nicht ganz so gerne)
-> vielleicht sogar 4,5 Sterne :)
(„The Second Coming“ war auch ganz gut, aber nicht so gut wie die anderen und ich mochte das setting da nicht ganz so gerne)
-> vielleicht sogar 4,5 Sterne :)
April 20, 2023
Incredibly grim and quite slow-going at times, Herling’s “The Island” paints a moving portrait of illness and isolation. While I would say that I enjoyed “ The noonday cemetery” a great deal more than this book, it still was incredibly powerful in its depiction of human suffering
May 23, 2008
i thoroughly enjoyed "the island" and "the tower"--"the second coming", not so much. a bit sad and dark and very engaging, engrossing.
this quote prefaces "the island" and is emotionally indicative of all 3 stories
(from a letter to Oscar Pollack from Franz Kafka):
We are forsaken like children lost in the woods. When you stand before me and look at me, what do you know of my sufferings and what do I know of yours? And if I fell at your feet and cried and told you, would you know any more about me than you know about hell when they say it is hot and sets one shivering? Therefore we men should stand before each other with as much awe, thoughtfulness, and love as before the gates of hell.
if you'll allow: one hell of a great quote, too
this quote prefaces "the island" and is emotionally indicative of all 3 stories
(from a letter to Oscar Pollack from Franz Kafka):
We are forsaken like children lost in the woods. When you stand before me and look at me, what do you know of my sufferings and what do I know of yours? And if I fell at your feet and cried and told you, would you know any more about me than you know about hell when they say it is hot and sets one shivering? Therefore we men should stand before each other with as much awe, thoughtfulness, and love as before the gates of hell.
if you'll allow: one hell of a great quote, too
December 25, 2019
This is a spare, profound, religious, historical kind of literature that is completely out of synch with the rapidfire dispensations of popular morality handed out by newspapers like the Dailymail which we are bulled into accepting as the legitimate, social establishment voice of the British people. Hitherto I have only managed to read the first two stories that constitute this book, but they confront loneliness, the otherness of a leper, the contemplation of death, a slow-moving time frame of difficult social relations in a small and contained island community.
Herling was an outsider in the world he observed, post-war Italy, but he had chosen it as his lifepath, perhaps because of a period of immense personal difficulties in the Soviet gulag or fighting his way through Europe with the Anders army. I have met such people in Italy, lulled by the superficial niceness and spiritual generosity of Italians, as much as by the sun and softness of climate.
I am looking forward to the third story, which would seem to offer more religious content 'The Second Coming'..
Herling was an outsider in the world he observed, post-war Italy, but he had chosen it as his lifepath, perhaps because of a period of immense personal difficulties in the Soviet gulag or fighting his way through Europe with the Anders army. I have met such people in Italy, lulled by the superficial niceness and spiritual generosity of Italians, as much as by the sun and softness of climate.
I am looking forward to the third story, which would seem to offer more religious content 'The Second Coming'..
June 20, 2022
6/10
Niby podejmuje tematy, które bardzo lubię, a forma jest niecodzienna, to mimo tego wszystkiego strasznie mnie zmęczyły oba opowiadania. Opracowanie rozjaśniło, co właśnie przeczytałem, ale wnioski płynące z tej lektury są dla mnie niezbyt odkrywcze. Dlatego dość niska ocena, mimo dużych oczekiwań.
Niby podejmuje tematy, które bardzo lubię, a forma jest niecodzienna, to mimo tego wszystkiego strasznie mnie zmęczyły oba opowiadania. Opracowanie rozjaśniło, co właśnie przeczytałem, ale wnioski płynące z tej lektury są dla mnie niezbyt odkrywcze. Dlatego dość niska ocena, mimo dużych oczekiwań.
December 12, 2021
three beautifully imagined short stories about some people living with – and transformed by – immense suffering from various causes, and their community contexts, and how their communities understood and responded to their suffering too.
March 21, 2023
Grudziński poprzez zestawienie dwóch podobnych - lecz w wielu aspektach różnych opowiadań, analizuje istotę cierpienia bytu związanego w dużym stopniu z poczuciem samotności. Niezwykle skomplikowana kompozycyjnie książka, lecz zdecydowanie warta przeczytania.
November 18, 2020
Powerfully descriptive tales of human frailty, faith, and doubt, finely translated.
August 26, 2025
"The Island" - 5 stars
"The Tower" - 3 stars
"The Second Coming" - 3 stars
"The Tower" - 3 stars
"The Second Coming" - 3 stars
May 6, 2007
In the world of celebrated fiction there are master works, brain-candy and much that falls in between. Three novellas from an overlooked master of 20th century fiction.
August 10, 2008
Putting this copy up for adoption.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews