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Nine
Pawel, a young businessman in debt to loan sharks, wakes up one April morning in a sea of debris, broken glass, ripped upholstery, and clothes spilling out of the wardrobe. He turns to two friends for Bolek, a former coal miner, now a drug dealer who lives in tasteless luxury; and Jacek, an addict, who is himself on the run through Warsaw, a washed-out city, a hostile landscape of apartment blocks, railroad stations, wild gardens, factories, and suburban wastelands.
Here Andrzej Stasiuk portrays a generation of Poles, freed from outdated ideologies but left feeling adrift and disconnected from family, neighbors, and friends. At once existential crime fiction and a work of art, Nine establishes Strasiuk as a major voice in European literature.
Here Andrzej Stasiuk portrays a generation of Poles, freed from outdated ideologies but left feeling adrift and disconnected from family, neighbors, and friends. At once existential crime fiction and a work of art, Nine establishes Strasiuk as a major voice in European literature.
229 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
20 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Andrzej Stasiuk
65 books313 followersAndrzej Stasiuk is one of the most successful and internationally acclaimed contemporary Polish writers, journalists and literary critics. He is best known for his travel literature and essays that describe the reality of Eastern Europe and its relationship with the West.
After being dismissed from secondary school, Stasiuk dropped out also from a vocational school and drifted aimlessly, became active in the Polish pacifist movement and spent one and a half years in prison for deserting the army - as legend has it, in a tank. His experiences in prison provided him with the material for the stories in his literary debut in 1992. Titled Mury Hebronu ("The Walls of Hebron"), it instantly established him as a premier literary talent. After a collection of poems Wiersze miłosne i nie, 1994 ("Love and non-love poems"), Stasiuk's bestselling first full-length novel Biały kruk (English translation as "White Raven" in 2000) appeared in 1995 and consolidated his position among the most successful authors in post-communist Poland.
Long before his literary breakthrough, in 1986, Stasiuk had left his native Warsaw and withdrew to the seclusion of the small hamlet of Czarne in the Beskids, a secluded part of the Carpathian mountain range in the south of Poland. Outside writing, he spends his time breeding sheep. Together with his wife, he also runs his own tiny but, by now, prestigious publishing business Wydawnictwo Czarne, named after its seat. Apart from his own books, Czarne also publishes other East European authors. Czarne also re-published works by the émigré Polish author Zygmunt Haupt, thus initiating Haupt's rediscovery in Poland.
While White Raven had a straight adventure plot, Stasiuk's subsequent writing has become increasingly impressionistic and concentrated on atmospheric descriptions of his adopted mental home, the provincial south-east of Poland and Europe, and the lives of its inhabitants. Opowieści Galicyjskie ("Tales of Galicia"), one of several works available in English (among the others are "White Raven", "Nine", "Dukla," "Fado," and "On the Road to Babadag") conveys a good impression of the specific style developed by Stasiuk. A similar text is Dukla (1997), named after a small town near his home. Dukla achieved Stasiuk's breakthrough in Germany and helped built him the most appreciative reader-base outside of Poland, although a number of Stasiuk's books have been translated into several other languages.
After being dismissed from secondary school, Stasiuk dropped out also from a vocational school and drifted aimlessly, became active in the Polish pacifist movement and spent one and a half years in prison for deserting the army - as legend has it, in a tank. His experiences in prison provided him with the material for the stories in his literary debut in 1992. Titled Mury Hebronu ("The Walls of Hebron"), it instantly established him as a premier literary talent. After a collection of poems Wiersze miłosne i nie, 1994 ("Love and non-love poems"), Stasiuk's bestselling first full-length novel Biały kruk (English translation as "White Raven" in 2000) appeared in 1995 and consolidated his position among the most successful authors in post-communist Poland.
Long before his literary breakthrough, in 1986, Stasiuk had left his native Warsaw and withdrew to the seclusion of the small hamlet of Czarne in the Beskids, a secluded part of the Carpathian mountain range in the south of Poland. Outside writing, he spends his time breeding sheep. Together with his wife, he also runs his own tiny but, by now, prestigious publishing business Wydawnictwo Czarne, named after its seat. Apart from his own books, Czarne also publishes other East European authors. Czarne also re-published works by the émigré Polish author Zygmunt Haupt, thus initiating Haupt's rediscovery in Poland.
While White Raven had a straight adventure plot, Stasiuk's subsequent writing has become increasingly impressionistic and concentrated on atmospheric descriptions of his adopted mental home, the provincial south-east of Poland and Europe, and the lives of its inhabitants. Opowieści Galicyjskie ("Tales of Galicia"), one of several works available in English (among the others are "White Raven", "Nine", "Dukla," "Fado," and "On the Road to Babadag") conveys a good impression of the specific style developed by Stasiuk. A similar text is Dukla (1997), named after a small town near his home. Dukla achieved Stasiuk's breakthrough in Germany and helped built him the most appreciative reader-base outside of Poland, although a number of Stasiuk's books have been translated into several other languages.
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August 15, 2014She came out of the kitchen and draped her jacket over the arm of a chair. She had large breasts. Something loud was going on in the next apartment.
Descriptive powers such as these - She had large breasts - are a rare gift. One wonders if it flew like a spark from the author's imagination, a minimalist sleight of hand, or whether he toiled over just the right congregation of four words, a sweat-beaded testament to the writer's craft. No matter; because tucked away inside the narrative we find the essence of a character. She had large breasts.
But he's not done:
From time to time she glanced at him as if to check that he wasn't the radio but a real person. She had zits.
A classic example of the Slow Reveal. Now we know she had zits AND large breasts.
I would like to say that the size of the breasts was important, that maybe they got in the way and deflected a gun; or that the zits were the key to her low self-esteem or suggestibility. But, no. Because experimental reader that I am, I tried to imagine the whole vignette with the character having very small breasts. And it worked very well. Maybe better, if you know what I mean.
Perhaps I missed the allegory, of large breasts in a Polish noir.
Pawel, our principal protagonist, is in some kind of trouble when he meets the girl with the large breasts. She is into plant-based diet and ritual cleansing. Before Pawel talks her into giving him a Thai massage, he says this to her:
"The problem is, I borrowed money and now I have to pay it back. But I don't have it. Brussels sprouts won't help."
"If you started right, you never would have ended up in a situation like this. Me, I divided my body into seven zones, and every day I nourish myself with vegetables from one of the seven groups. In this way I live in total harmony. I mean, we're cosmic beings, aren't we?"
"Gagarin?"
"What?"
"The cosmonaut."
"Oh, you mean those fascist technocrats. You know what Lao-tzu said?"
"Yeah, you can't jump higher than your prick."
"What?"
While there is much truth in what you say, Grasshopper, I'm afraid I will not read far enough to find out why the title is Nine or whether size really matters.
Descriptive powers such as these - She had large breasts - are a rare gift. One wonders if it flew like a spark from the author's imagination, a minimalist sleight of hand, or whether he toiled over just the right congregation of four words, a sweat-beaded testament to the writer's craft. No matter; because tucked away inside the narrative we find the essence of a character. She had large breasts.
But he's not done:
From time to time she glanced at him as if to check that he wasn't the radio but a real person. She had zits.
A classic example of the Slow Reveal. Now we know she had zits AND large breasts.
I would like to say that the size of the breasts was important, that maybe they got in the way and deflected a gun; or that the zits were the key to her low self-esteem or suggestibility. But, no. Because experimental reader that I am, I tried to imagine the whole vignette with the character having very small breasts. And it worked very well. Maybe better, if you know what I mean.
Perhaps I missed the allegory, of large breasts in a Polish noir.
Pawel, our principal protagonist, is in some kind of trouble when he meets the girl with the large breasts. She is into plant-based diet and ritual cleansing. Before Pawel talks her into giving him a Thai massage, he says this to her:
"The problem is, I borrowed money and now I have to pay it back. But I don't have it. Brussels sprouts won't help."
"If you started right, you never would have ended up in a situation like this. Me, I divided my body into seven zones, and every day I nourish myself with vegetables from one of the seven groups. In this way I live in total harmony. I mean, we're cosmic beings, aren't we?"
"Gagarin?"
"What?"
"The cosmonaut."
"Oh, you mean those fascist technocrats. You know what Lao-tzu said?"
"Yeah, you can't jump higher than your prick."
"What?"
While there is much truth in what you say, Grasshopper, I'm afraid I will not read far enough to find out why the title is Nine or whether size really matters.
January 22, 2011
Andrzej Stasiuk is emerging as one of the most interesting new writers in Post-Communist Poland. His themes seem to constantly explore the disjointed lives of misfits in a society undergoing great changes. As such, Stasiuk is the observer of that change which took place in Poland with the collapse of Communism, the rapid growth of the Free Market, and of the impact on the lives of the less fortunate. In "Nine" one drifts in and out of the lives of a group of individuals living on the fringes of society; tramps, drug addicts, criminals, dodgy dealers. They have an anonymity to them so that, at first, they could be anyone but then something brings them into focus and we place them into a context. And this is also true about the book - initially pointless, difficult to focus on but gradually coalescing into some sort of structure. The book is difficult to get into because of its episodic, almost disjointed quality but the quality of writing rewards the reader. The real focal point of the book, the real glue to it all, is the city, Warsaw, pulsating with anonymous lives and speeding traffic like blood coursing through veins. There is something about the "slice of life" here, just a snapshot, a sampling of anonymous lives.
December 30, 2008
Having lived in Poland in the post-communist period (1995-1997), I found this novel to be be excellent. I wish we knew more about the main character, Pawel and how he got into the straightened circumstances he finds himself in. Jacek, too, seems somewhat one-dimensional as well. I saw and sensed that people were marginalized by the rapid changes in Poland. To an extnet, the city of Warsaw is a character in this book as well. The street names and places all are places that I have spent varying degrees of time. It contains a nostalgic element for me as well, which probably makes me relate more to the book thatn to the reader who is not familiar with Warsaw, or Poland in hte 1990s. In any case, a fasicnating vignette into a fascinating time in Poland.
I think this would make a brilliant arthouse film, by the way.
I think this would make a brilliant arthouse film, by the way.
December 27, 2010
I couldn't even finish this book, it was so awful. I tried my best to get through the whole thing, but I eventually gave up and just started skimming. The novel had absolutely no plot... and the few instances that I found myself thinking I'd found one, the author ruined it by darting away on some random description of the surroundings. The details of the characters fell flat, and the wording about the surroundings were vague and confusing. The lack of chapters or divisons were probably due to the author's attempt to give a fast-pace, sweeping feel about the book, or perhaps, I am giving too much credit in that assumption. Regardless, this aspect made everything feel unorganized.
I am unsure what anyone would gain from this book. I've read reviews about the novel, suggesting that it properly shows a specific time period of Polish culture and society. If this is the case, I completely missed it. As much as I tried to gain some sort of redeeming bit of information from this book, I'm afraid I just couldn't find it. So, as far as I'm concerned... I'd only recommend this if the person already had a strong understanding of modern culture and society in Poland. Otherwise, I doubt anyone would find this novel enlightening or even entraining.
I am unsure what anyone would gain from this book. I've read reviews about the novel, suggesting that it properly shows a specific time period of Polish culture and society. If this is the case, I completely missed it. As much as I tried to gain some sort of redeeming bit of information from this book, I'm afraid I just couldn't find it. So, as far as I'm concerned... I'd only recommend this if the person already had a strong understanding of modern culture and society in Poland. Otherwise, I doubt anyone would find this novel enlightening or even entraining.
July 5, 2019
Fabuła - w porządku, postaci - jak najbardziej, akcja - jest. Ale nie to jest dla mnie najważniejsze u Stasiuka, u niego najbardziej liczy się dla mnie język, jakim pisze. Nie wiem, czy to najlepsze określenie, ale rzadko spotykam książki, w których zdania płyną tak pięknie, tak doskonale komponują się z poprzednikami i następcami. Tutaj wstrzymuje się oddech podczas lektury nie dlatego, że za rogiem czai się zły, tutaj czeka się na kolejne słowa i zdania, żeby splatały się i wciągały coraz głębiej.
May 21, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Pawel
SETTING: Warsaw, Poland
RATING: Not rated
Andrzej Stasiuk deserted from the Polish army under Communism and was sent to prison, where he began his writing career. Touted as the "most interesting writer in Poland today", I looked forward to being immersed in a culture with which I am not at all familiar. Unfortunately, I didn't become immersed; instead, I drowned.
Pawel, a young businessman in debt to loan sharks, has his Warsaw apartment ransacked and goes on the run to escape whatever it is they have intended for him personally. He turns to anyone he can think of for help. He's heard that a former colleague, Bolek, is now a drug dealer swimming in money. That proves fruitless, as Bolek isn't inclined to throw wads of cash at a non-intimate. Then there's Jacek, an addict, who is himself on the run. The book follows these three characters as they navigate the wasteland that is Warsaw.
To say I struggled through this book is an understatement. I had no idea WHAT was going on. There wasn't a lot of development or background provided for any of the characters. Mostly they seemed to just keep wandering around Warsaw trying to avoid a bad fate.
I had no idea WHERE things were happening. The book was filled with place names that meant nothing to me. I didn't know if the names were parts of Warsaw, other cities, names of streets, or what. There was no context to help put the reader into the setting. On the other hand, Stasiuk's descriptions were quite good. He established a dark, atmospheric tone to the book. I could see the dirt under fingernails and smell the body odor.
I had no idea WHEN things were happening. The author jumped around from past to present and back again, and I couldn't establish the narrative timeline.
Given the fact that NINE was translated from the Polish, it's difficult to say whether the problems that I had with the book were a result of a poor translation or whether they were due to the author's style. I kept reading, hoping that the light would go on, but it never happened. Trying to describe this book is almost impossible. All I can say is that the book didn't work for me, and that it was a disappointment based on my expectations.
SETTING: Warsaw, Poland
RATING: Not rated
Andrzej Stasiuk deserted from the Polish army under Communism and was sent to prison, where he began his writing career. Touted as the "most interesting writer in Poland today", I looked forward to being immersed in a culture with which I am not at all familiar. Unfortunately, I didn't become immersed; instead, I drowned.
Pawel, a young businessman in debt to loan sharks, has his Warsaw apartment ransacked and goes on the run to escape whatever it is they have intended for him personally. He turns to anyone he can think of for help. He's heard that a former colleague, Bolek, is now a drug dealer swimming in money. That proves fruitless, as Bolek isn't inclined to throw wads of cash at a non-intimate. Then there's Jacek, an addict, who is himself on the run. The book follows these three characters as they navigate the wasteland that is Warsaw.
To say I struggled through this book is an understatement. I had no idea WHAT was going on. There wasn't a lot of development or background provided for any of the characters. Mostly they seemed to just keep wandering around Warsaw trying to avoid a bad fate.
I had no idea WHERE things were happening. The book was filled with place names that meant nothing to me. I didn't know if the names were parts of Warsaw, other cities, names of streets, or what. There was no context to help put the reader into the setting. On the other hand, Stasiuk's descriptions were quite good. He established a dark, atmospheric tone to the book. I could see the dirt under fingernails and smell the body odor.
I had no idea WHEN things were happening. The author jumped around from past to present and back again, and I couldn't establish the narrative timeline.
Given the fact that NINE was translated from the Polish, it's difficult to say whether the problems that I had with the book were a result of a poor translation or whether they were due to the author's style. I kept reading, hoping that the light would go on, but it never happened. Trying to describe this book is almost impossible. All I can say is that the book didn't work for me, and that it was a disappointment based on my expectations.
September 17, 2009
She wanted them to come back, to open the door and talk to her and touch her, because human pain is better than inhuman fear.
I've had this book for a while. Bought it because I liked the cover and the big red number '9' for a title was cool. I like the number '9'. But about the book...
I won't even attempt to pronounce this writer's name and compared to the street and neighborhood names in the book his name is as easy to say as 'Bob'. The book was originally written in Polish. The English translation was beautiful.
Stasiuk, or 'Bob' as I called him, writes like a poet. The prose is a bit stream-of-conscience like. Reading '9' is like being a wraith floating around the streets of Warsaw bumping into some of the seedy characters trying to get by in a new capitalistic society. It's a simple story. Pawel owes money to a loan shark. They are after him. He runs around the city and mixes with drug dealers and low lifers. But Stasiuk holds this simple tale together by introducing the main protagonist, the city of Warsaw in the 90's.
The book is dark. It is dismal. There are some light moments (the crippled cat not being one). I'm glad this book wasn't called '3'... because I might not have bought it.
"A book like this makes most British and American writing seem so asinine." - Tom Tomaszewski, Independent on Sunday
Read the entire review here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...
And the NY Times review is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/boo...
Stasiuk on Beckett's face: "I would like to go to Ireland. I'm a great Van Morrison fan. And Samuel Beckett is a first-degree star. Of all writers in the world, his face is the most beautiful. I have written two essays about his face. His way of ageing was just so much in tune with the way minerals and trees age."
The complete Guardian article is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/...
I've had this book for a while. Bought it because I liked the cover and the big red number '9' for a title was cool. I like the number '9'. But about the book...
I won't even attempt to pronounce this writer's name and compared to the street and neighborhood names in the book his name is as easy to say as 'Bob'. The book was originally written in Polish. The English translation was beautiful.
Stasiuk, or 'Bob' as I called him, writes like a poet. The prose is a bit stream-of-conscience like. Reading '9' is like being a wraith floating around the streets of Warsaw bumping into some of the seedy characters trying to get by in a new capitalistic society. It's a simple story. Pawel owes money to a loan shark. They are after him. He runs around the city and mixes with drug dealers and low lifers. But Stasiuk holds this simple tale together by introducing the main protagonist, the city of Warsaw in the 90's.
The book is dark. It is dismal. There are some light moments (the crippled cat not being one). I'm glad this book wasn't called '3'... because I might not have bought it.
"A book like this makes most British and American writing seem so asinine." - Tom Tomaszewski, Independent on Sunday
Read the entire review here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...
And the NY Times review is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/boo...
Stasiuk on Beckett's face: "I would like to go to Ireland. I'm a great Van Morrison fan. And Samuel Beckett is a first-degree star. Of all writers in the world, his face is the most beautiful. I have written two essays about his face. His way of ageing was just so much in tune with the way minerals and trees age."
The complete Guardian article is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/...
February 23, 2013
I can't say I enjoyed this all that much and by the time I got to the end I was skimming a lot. I couldn't really agree with the positive reviews I've read that enthused about the writing. I found the prose dull and repetitive and the characters weren't really adding much.
Plotless novels are fine with me - I just finished reading the excellent Ice by Anna Kavan which probably made about as much sense on the surface - but where that felt like it had something going on underneath this felt like a very long series of descriptions leading nowhere.
The odd phrase or sentence was interesting but then again some phrases in ad campaigns can be interesting too and I wouldn't spend hours watching adverts.
Plotless novels are fine with me - I just finished reading the excellent Ice by Anna Kavan which probably made about as much sense on the surface - but where that felt like it had something going on underneath this felt like a very long series of descriptions leading nowhere.
The odd phrase or sentence was interesting but then again some phrases in ad campaigns can be interesting too and I wouldn't spend hours watching adverts.
April 5, 2013
It was a challenge to finish this book. I can definitely give some credit to the author for attention to details and basically it is a descriptive novel, a description of all details around the characters, description of sensations, description the city… I would say that the plot line was confusing just because there were so many random characters that didn’t differentiate from each other very much. Full review here: http://malinkasstudio.wordpress.com/2...
May 1, 2014
Polen Mitte der Neunziger. Die Wirren des Umbruchs in Warschau. Gewalt, Einsamkeit, Verwirrung. Düstere Stadtszenarien, mafiöse Strukturen, Parallelgesellschaften, Suff, Verzweiflung. Zerstörung allerorten. Ich habe diese Zeiten selbst recht intensiv in Polen erlebt und das Buch trifft die Stimmung eigentlich ganz gut. Diesen Kampf um die bloße Existenz diese Flucht in den kleinen Deal. Die Erzählstruktur rund im die Schicksale von gut einem Dutzend Frauen und Männern zwischen 20 und 40, die alle ohne Bindung ihren Weg in diesem grauen Chaos suchen, in diesen Stadtwüsten, ist komplex und nicht immer ganz durchsichtig. Einige der Plots haben sich mir entzogen, weil ich einfach nicht mehr folgen konnte. Insgesamt fand ich es eher "geht so". Selten so viele Beschreibungen des Himmels und des Lichts in einem Buch gelesen.
November 12, 2019
I think that it was the cover which first drew me in. It was dark, moody and full of promise. When I read the summary of the book, it caught me. Even though it went on about this book been a 'work of art' I thought, oh well let's give this a go......
Oh dear, oh, oh, oh dear, it is truly hard to describe just how bad this book is. The main problem lies in its inability to tell a coherent story. I must admit that there is a story thread running through the book, that of Pawel, Jacek and a character just called 'Iron Man', but it is so hard to follow, and as most other reviewers commented a lot of the time I was just skimming the pages just to find some context. Where the title 'Nine' comes from I have absolutely no idea. Maybe the book has been lost in translation as the author's bio builds Stasiuk up to be some big powerhouse in Eastern European literature, but on what I have read it just reads like pretentious nonsense. I know that there are different styles of writing and that due to my standard go to authors are: Robinson, Child, Grisham and Deaver, then maybe this book is not for me. However, all books are essentially made up of the same building blocks - beginning, middle and end - but not this book, barring that limp storyline mentioned early, it seems that he (Stasiuk) has just applied to paper an an incoherent stream of consciousness without a care in the world to how it reads.
It is interesting that some of the foreign, mainly Polish, reviews give 4 or 5 *, so I can admit that it may of lost something in translation and if I wanted to try the style of writing I would have better starting with another author. But for the people picking this book up for the first time, I warn you it is awful. People may be thinking, why did I finish it? I just wanted to see whether it all came together in the end - it didn't, what happened to the main character - you don't fine out....... Just what more can I say - you have been warned!!!!! (minus 1 star - if that was possible)
Oh dear, oh, oh, oh dear, it is truly hard to describe just how bad this book is. The main problem lies in its inability to tell a coherent story. I must admit that there is a story thread running through the book, that of Pawel, Jacek and a character just called 'Iron Man', but it is so hard to follow, and as most other reviewers commented a lot of the time I was just skimming the pages just to find some context. Where the title 'Nine' comes from I have absolutely no idea. Maybe the book has been lost in translation as the author's bio builds Stasiuk up to be some big powerhouse in Eastern European literature, but on what I have read it just reads like pretentious nonsense. I know that there are different styles of writing and that due to my standard go to authors are: Robinson, Child, Grisham and Deaver, then maybe this book is not for me. However, all books are essentially made up of the same building blocks - beginning, middle and end - but not this book, barring that limp storyline mentioned early, it seems that he (Stasiuk) has just applied to paper an an incoherent stream of consciousness without a care in the world to how it reads.
It is interesting that some of the foreign, mainly Polish, reviews give 4 or 5 *, so I can admit that it may of lost something in translation and if I wanted to try the style of writing I would have better starting with another author. But for the people picking this book up for the first time, I warn you it is awful. People may be thinking, why did I finish it? I just wanted to see whether it all came together in the end - it didn't, what happened to the main character - you don't fine out....... Just what more can I say - you have been warned!!!!! (minus 1 star - if that was possible)
May 7, 2019
Well, I am a huge admirer of publisher of this book, but this one is a disappointment. Writer try to "catch" atmosphere of low profile characters in Poland but everything is a bit of a not connected/related parts. People from Balkan region should truly understand the "heavy time" that main character passing through, but it is soft in any sense of the word.
If you are huge Stasiuk fan, than you will have to read it, otherwise use your reading time better.
If you are huge Stasiuk fan, than you will have to read it, otherwise use your reading time better.
February 27, 2023
Napisane ładnym językiem, ale cholernie nudne. Stasiuka najwyraźniej najbardziej interesują tu niekończące się opisy realiów Warszawy z początku lat 90-tych, pod którymi kryje się nieangażująca, sensacyjna historyjka o długu, z ledwie naszkicowanymi bohaterami. Ma to pewien turpistyczny urok, ale ja wysiadam. Ciężki przerost formy nad treścią i jedna ze słabszych książek Stasiuka (z większości mi znanych)
January 18, 2020
В рамките на някаква неясна фабула, в която едни лоши гонят едни нещастници за пари, Сташук инвентаризира Варшава след и отпреди 1989-та. Блокове, квартали, ядене, пиене, цени и особено - маршрутите на градския транспорт. За жалост преводът е толкова лош, че на много места не съм сигурен дали изобщо разбирам (и дали преводачката е разбирала) какво чета.
March 14, 2017
Ah, come on, people. Yes, it's weird, and no, we don't really understand what's happening here, but... life is like that. And Stasiuk manages to put it in words. There are moments when I feel I get him. They might be few, but they're beautiful anyway.
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June 13, 2008The geography of Warsaw overlays this novel like...well, not a street map, but a transit map, with many details left dark but with the useful routes marked in bright lines. Ways of escape and ways of survival underlay the action. I'm reminded of "System D" in Eva Hoffman's memoir, Lost in Translation, which is not so much a system as an attitude. (Suddenly I remember that I first heard of Nine by reading Eva Hoffman's review of it.) So the overlay and underlay together give this novel a consuming atmosphere, though "consumptive" may be a better way to put it.
In particular, the acts perpetrated against women during the course of the book are as horrible to us as they are invisible to the male characters. The narrator turns aside from the worst of them, not to ignore their brutality but to spare us from gratuity. This is not to say that detailed acts of violence must necessarily be gratuitous, but that Stasiuk has such control over the focus of his book that he knows what must be left out to keep the novel from becoming a thriller (or even a cousin to a thriller, such as No Country for Old Men).
Nine is also notable for its portrayal of male friendship, and the cronyism that too often accompanies it. This would seem to be a thought disconnected from the above paragraph, but I think that what Nine makes clear is that the tacit arrangements between its men make the violence against its women inevitable.
In particular, the acts perpetrated against women during the course of the book are as horrible to us as they are invisible to the male characters. The narrator turns aside from the worst of them, not to ignore their brutality but to spare us from gratuity. This is not to say that detailed acts of violence must necessarily be gratuitous, but that Stasiuk has such control over the focus of his book that he knows what must be left out to keep the novel from becoming a thriller (or even a cousin to a thriller, such as No Country for Old Men).
Nine is also notable for its portrayal of male friendship, and the cronyism that too often accompanies it. This would seem to be a thought disconnected from the above paragraph, but I think that what Nine makes clear is that the tacit arrangements between its men make the violence against its women inevitable.
July 22, 2014
Warsaw post communism is the setting for this book & the characters here move erratically & surreptitious through the streets, bus stations, various grubby apartments & the margins of society. As has been said the city itself is as much a character in the story as Pawel, Jacek, Syl & Mr Max.
Pawel is a would-be businessman who has fallen foul of loan sharks and much of the book is his travels around the city trying to make contact with old acquaintances in hopes of raising some cash.
The style of writing takes some getting used to as it meanders as widely as the characters do around Warsaw but once into it I enjoyed this a lot & loved the very evocative descriptions of streets and building of a city I've yet to visit.
Pawel is a would-be businessman who has fallen foul of loan sharks and much of the book is his travels around the city trying to make contact with old acquaintances in hopes of raising some cash.
The style of writing takes some getting used to as it meanders as widely as the characters do around Warsaw but once into it I enjoyed this a lot & loved the very evocative descriptions of streets and building of a city I've yet to visit.
January 18, 2015
I don't really know what to make of this book. There isn't much of a plot to speak of, it's almost all just descriptions of urban scenery (albeit the descriptions are well-done and interesting). Sometimes the POV swings out from the main set of characters and briefly follows other people before returning to the main story line again. However, having read the book, I feel that I have a firmer grasp of the public transport layout of Warsaw than I do of any of the characters! :-/ Ultimately that is what leaves me disappointed - the book is a 'feeling' writ large, one of displacement, but there's no hard kernel of anything that you can take "with" you after having read it. Maybe that in and of itself was a (or the) point, but it just did not work for me.
March 18, 2009
A disappointment...that's really an understatement. I fail to see the point of this book if not for the fact that it offers vignettes of the lives of losers in Poland in the 90s.
There is somewhat of a "Pulp Fiction" feel to the narrative in as much as you sort of see the intertwining of lives, but, really, it is offered uninterestingly.
Can't always hit a home run when you choose a book, but sometimes you at least don't want ot whiff on three straight pitches.
There is somewhat of a "Pulp Fiction" feel to the narrative in as much as you sort of see the intertwining of lives, but, really, it is offered uninterestingly.
Can't always hit a home run when you choose a book, but sometimes you at least don't want ot whiff on three straight pitches.
December 18, 2011
Latura bună a acestui roman este fidelitatea topografiei din Varșovia. Realmente, atubusul 501 pleacă din Gara Centrală, iar 525 vine din urma lui. Capitalismul sălbatec al Poloniei de la începutul anilor 90 e deprimant: racket, tolchok și mizerie... Sunt trei-patru fragmente care sunt tari de tot, dar îl prefer pe Stasiuk cel de pe drumurile prăfuite din Europa de est.
July 12, 2007
This beautiful, existential, noir-crime novel gives the reader an intimate look at present-day Warsaw, awash in capitalism and despair. It was really quite moving but I found it a bit hard to follow at points.
July 31, 2023
Clearly a well written book, but too impenetrable for me. Constant incantations of place names, streets, and bus/tram routes in Warsaw must be meaningful to someone who knows the city, but just didn’t do anything for me.
April 29, 2008
One of the worst books I have ever read. Doesn't seem to be much of a plot.
September 18, 2009
I very much enjoyed this tale of the dark side of Warsaw .
January 21, 2013
Hier heb ik de Nederlandse vertaling van gelezen (Negen). Ik lees niet veel Poolse literatuur, maar dit was een heel goed begin.
July 16, 2016
Probably the most boring and pretentious book I've ever read.
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