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Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy
Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1932
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976 people want to read
About the author
Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz
43 books70 followersTadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz was a Polish journalist and author of over a dozen popular novels. The best known, which in Poland became a byword for fortuitous careerism, was The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma. It is claimed by some that the book subsequently inspired the 1971 novel Being There by Jerzy Kosiński.
Tadeusz Mostowicz was born August 10, 1898, at his family's village of Okuniewo, near Vitebsk in the Russian Empire, the son of a wealthy lawyer. After graduating from gimnazjum (high school) in Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania), then Russian Empire in 1915 he embarked upon law studies at the University of Kiev. There he befriended numerous fellow members of the Polish diaspora and became involved in a local underground group of the Polska Organizacja Wojskowa (Polish Military Organization, abbreviated "POW" in Polish).
After the Russian Revolution, Okuniewo was seized by Bolshevik Russia, and Mostowicz's family moved to Poland, where they bought a small village. Also in 1918, Tadeusz moved to Warsaw, where he joined the Polish Army. He fought as a volunteer in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921, and was demobilized in 1922.
While working at printing houses, Mostowicz sent short stories to newspapers and was finally discovered to be a talented reporter. From 1925 he was on the staff of the daily Rzeczpospolita (The Republic), one of the most influential newspapers in Poland. About that time he adopted the pen name "Dołęga", after his mother's Dołęga coat of arms. While a journalist, he began publishing short stories and pamphlets, many of which achieved considerable popularity.
In 1928 he quit his journalistic job and devoted himself full-time to writing fiction. The following year he finished his first novel, and in 1930 published it as Ostatnia brygada (The Last Brigade). However, it was not until 1932 that he became famous as the author of Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma), the most popular of his books. Initially serialized in newspapers, the novel proved a major success. Thereafter Mostowicz wrote an average of 2 novels a year. His monthly income is estimated to have exceeded 15,000 złotych, some 2,800 1939 US dollars.
During Poland's defensive war in 1939, Dołęga-Mostowicz was mobilized and served as commanding officer of an outpost defending a bridge over the Cheremosh River at the town of Kuty in southeastern Poland. On September 22, 1939, he was killed in a skirmish with the advancing Soviet Red Army.
In 1978 his remains were exhumed and on November 24 interred at Warsaw's Powązki Cemetery.
Tadeusz Mostowicz was born August 10, 1898, at his family's village of Okuniewo, near Vitebsk in the Russian Empire, the son of a wealthy lawyer. After graduating from gimnazjum (high school) in Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania), then Russian Empire in 1915 he embarked upon law studies at the University of Kiev. There he befriended numerous fellow members of the Polish diaspora and became involved in a local underground group of the Polska Organizacja Wojskowa (Polish Military Organization, abbreviated "POW" in Polish).
After the Russian Revolution, Okuniewo was seized by Bolshevik Russia, and Mostowicz's family moved to Poland, where they bought a small village. Also in 1918, Tadeusz moved to Warsaw, where he joined the Polish Army. He fought as a volunteer in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921, and was demobilized in 1922.
While working at printing houses, Mostowicz sent short stories to newspapers and was finally discovered to be a talented reporter. From 1925 he was on the staff of the daily Rzeczpospolita (The Republic), one of the most influential newspapers in Poland. About that time he adopted the pen name "Dołęga", after his mother's Dołęga coat of arms. While a journalist, he began publishing short stories and pamphlets, many of which achieved considerable popularity.
In 1928 he quit his journalistic job and devoted himself full-time to writing fiction. The following year he finished his first novel, and in 1930 published it as Ostatnia brygada (The Last Brigade). However, it was not until 1932 that he became famous as the author of Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma), the most popular of his books. Initially serialized in newspapers, the novel proved a major success. Thereafter Mostowicz wrote an average of 2 novels a year. His monthly income is estimated to have exceeded 15,000 złotych, some 2,800 1939 US dollars.
During Poland's defensive war in 1939, Dołęga-Mostowicz was mobilized and served as commanding officer of an outpost defending a bridge over the Cheremosh River at the town of Kuty in southeastern Poland. On September 22, 1939, he was killed in a skirmish with the advancing Soviet Red Army.
In 1978 his remains were exhumed and on November 24 interred at Warsaw's Powązki Cemetery.
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February 19, 2022
What is the best-known Polish novel you’ve never heard of? I’ll hazard a guess and say it’s The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma by Tadeusz Dolęga-Mostowicz. First issued in 1932 as Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy, it is now being published by Northwestern University Press in a translation by Ewa Malachowska-Pasek and Megan Thomas, the first one ever in English. As Benjamin Paloff explains in his introduction to the work, this novel had such an impact in Poland that it has penetrated popular culture and parlance where the word “Dyzma” is used for “a phony, a fraud, especially one whose trickery depends on others’ assumptions, self-deceptions, and moral shortcomings”. Jerzy Kosinski’s Being There (1970), later adapted into a film featuring Peter Sellers, was immediately recognised by Polish critics to be a plagiarised version of Dolęga-Mostowicz’s novel. Ironically, the original Dyzma is making his debut in the English-speaking world fifty years after his copy did. It is a twist of fate which seems strangely apt considering that this is a novel about an impostor and trickster.
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma is set in the (then contemporary) Poland of the 1930s. With the declaration of the Second Polish Republic in 1918, Poland had become an independent state, after having been previously ruled by the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires. This novel is a biting satire on the ruling class which took over the country, portrayed as a society corrupt at its heart, built on an unhealthy and unholy alliance between the political class, Polish nobility and big business. We meet the protagonist, Dyzma, as a down-and-out, unemployed clerk, eking out a hand-to-mouth existence. Having acquired, by pure chance, an invitation to a high-class party, he decides to gate-crash the event, with no other expectation than to eat his fill for free. However, an altercation with bigwig Terkowski, hated and feared by all, marks him out as a brave straight-talker, exactly the “strong man” needed in politics. No one is more surprised at this than Dyzma himself. As his fame grows and he becomes the darling of the upper classes, Dyzma cunningly manages to survive by lying through his teeth, recycling other people’s opinions, surrounding himself with trusted collaborators and, when necessary, relying on the power of his newly-found riches and connections. In the circles he frequents, Dyzma’s ignorant silences are seen as proof of his wisdom; his uncouth behaviour is excused as a mark of his strong, magnetic personality; his demeaning attitude towards women is admired (including by some of his conquests) as the embodiment of the virile.
What I found brilliant about this novel is that Dyzma beguiles even us readers, even though we know he is a fraud. He is presented, not unfavourably, as an anti-hero. His often comic escapades, sometimes redolent of early Waugh (there’s a brilliant set-piece involving Dyzma’s appointment as the leader of a cabal of high-society witches), make him a surprisingly endearing character, one we root for as he hoodwinks a corrupt and morally bankrupt political class. It is when Dyzma’s actions become unequivocally indefensible that we realise that, like many others in the novel, we have also been taken in by the protagonist (and his creator). This is not light-hearted comedy but a dark and cynical satire. And real satire always has a moral heart. In this case, the message is as relevant as ever. By all means, take the ruling class to task. But be equally careful of charismatic figures who portray themselves or are portrayed as political saviours. Be careful of those jesters who promise to short-circuit the system, and yet end up using it for their own ends. Close to a century after its publication, as the culture of the “strong man” seems to be gaining ground again, the novel comes across as a frighteningly timely one.
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma is set in the (then contemporary) Poland of the 1930s. With the declaration of the Second Polish Republic in 1918, Poland had become an independent state, after having been previously ruled by the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires. This novel is a biting satire on the ruling class which took over the country, portrayed as a society corrupt at its heart, built on an unhealthy and unholy alliance between the political class, Polish nobility and big business. We meet the protagonist, Dyzma, as a down-and-out, unemployed clerk, eking out a hand-to-mouth existence. Having acquired, by pure chance, an invitation to a high-class party, he decides to gate-crash the event, with no other expectation than to eat his fill for free. However, an altercation with bigwig Terkowski, hated and feared by all, marks him out as a brave straight-talker, exactly the “strong man” needed in politics. No one is more surprised at this than Dyzma himself. As his fame grows and he becomes the darling of the upper classes, Dyzma cunningly manages to survive by lying through his teeth, recycling other people’s opinions, surrounding himself with trusted collaborators and, when necessary, relying on the power of his newly-found riches and connections. In the circles he frequents, Dyzma’s ignorant silences are seen as proof of his wisdom; his uncouth behaviour is excused as a mark of his strong, magnetic personality; his demeaning attitude towards women is admired (including by some of his conquests) as the embodiment of the virile.
What I found brilliant about this novel is that Dyzma beguiles even us readers, even though we know he is a fraud. He is presented, not unfavourably, as an anti-hero. His often comic escapades, sometimes redolent of early Waugh (there’s a brilliant set-piece involving Dyzma’s appointment as the leader of a cabal of high-society witches), make him a surprisingly endearing character, one we root for as he hoodwinks a corrupt and morally bankrupt political class. It is when Dyzma’s actions become unequivocally indefensible that we realise that, like many others in the novel, we have also been taken in by the protagonist (and his creator). This is not light-hearted comedy but a dark and cynical satire. And real satire always has a moral heart. In this case, the message is as relevant as ever. By all means, take the ruling class to task. But be equally careful of charismatic figures who portray themselves or are portrayed as political saviours. Be careful of those jesters who promise to short-circuit the system, and yet end up using it for their own ends. Close to a century after its publication, as the culture of the “strong man” seems to be gaining ground again, the novel comes across as a frighteningly timely one.
April 2, 2025
Ponadczasowy klasyk🤣 Historia o tym, jak brak wiedzy i umiejętności można (nie zawsze moralnie) zastąpić pewnością siebie i kombinatorstwem. Polecam!
August 21, 2025
Klub polskiej książki klasycznej
November 22, 2021
Ladies and gentlemen after the beating I have taken with the review of W. SomersetMaugham's "Magician" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... I trust that this review will be shorter than the previous one. It can be said that this book from the thirties of the last century republished by Sekotia Almuzara (with respect to the sekotia Almuzara publishing house is publishing very interesting books, and before the end of the year I intend to write a review of the novel"Querencio" by Sergio Gómez Moyano https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., and that I read a year ago, or two. Before this year concludes, I hope I have written that review. Mr. Gómez Moyano deserves a special follow-up, since he is the greatest specialist in our country of the work of Robert Hugh Benson https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... he had a magnificent blog of this writer, and has translated, and I have written brilliant prologues about the aforementioned author), who has also edited another novel (recently) by Tadeusz Dolega Mostowicz in particular"The healer" whose original title is"Znachor" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... in Polish. One of the things I propose is that this review be trilingual in English, Spanish, and Polish as a tribute to Poland which along with Japan is my favorite country.
I recommended to Humberto Pérez Tomé https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... to suggest to Sektia Almuraza now that they had dared this author Tadeusz Dolega Mostowicz, to edit in Spanish the novels of a Polish writer that I am looking forward to reading. Her name is Zofia Kossak Szucka https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... who has edited some very interesting historical novels including a trilogy of the crusades https://www.goodreads.com/series/1644... (capable of overcoming the trilogy of the crusades of the SwedishJan Guillou https://www.goodreads.com/series/5173... ), and several historical novels about Poland, and which became very famous for its defense of the Jews during Nazism. It would be a great success, and the Spanish publisher that dares to edit it would obtain a great triumph.
From what I have read of"Znachor"I trust that it is a novel of sacramental medicine in the style of"Bodies, and Souls" by Maxence van der Meersch https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... (which is my favorite novel. By the way. A sin that has not yet been translated into English),"The Citadel" by A.J. Cronin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... or Frank G. Slaughter's novels https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... In fact, if I like "Zanachor" I will acquire it for the Department of History of Science, where I work.
The fact that I have expressed my desire to acquire Znachor shows how much I liked this novel, which unfortunately is no longer a Polish phenomenon, but a global one. In fact, in Spain we have already had several Presidents of Government of the moral catadura of Mr Dyzma. This novel reminded me of a film that aired on Popular Television what was the embryo of 13 TV, and was contertulio of the Program then presented by Juana Samanes my dearest Juan Manuel de Prada https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., which by the way is going to release a new book in the homo Legens publishing house. He was very sorry that he could not share the link, since Goodreads no longer allows sharing links from outside goodreads. But I will surely speak to you in future criticisms more of this matter. Returning to the thread many years ago in the film program that popular television broadcast I think, which was called More Cinema please on the eve of the 2008 elections in part to force the election of the opposition candidate Popular Television broadcast a film very similar to this novel that I will comment on an inept who like the progressive Professor of"The Silver Chair" by C.S. Lewis https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... is worthless, and that is why it is ascending. The inept character that Powell embodied was like Nikodem Dyzma or useless who due to his mediocrity ends up reaching the top, and reminded us a lot of the tenant of the Moncloa at that time. The sad thing is that we now have an even worse President, if possible and without the adanism of the other. By the way if you are interested in Powell an actor who traditionally shared films with actress Myrna Lloyd became known for having played detective Philip Marlowe, https://www.goodreads.com/series/1689... and in my opinion was the one who most resembled raymond Chandler's homonymous creature https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... . The characterization of this disastrous character was very successful. The pity is that I don't remember what the movie was called.
The first thing I should praise about"The Career of Nykodem Dyzma" is the excellent translation by Don Higinio J. Paterna. I will say a blasphemy, that I will not be forgiven this brilliant novel by the journalist Dolega Mostowicz, which inspired a homonymous novel by the science fiction writer Jerzy Kosinski https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... which is a mixture of several genres including satire. The target of Dolega Mostowicz's ironic darts is interwar Polish society. Being philopolaco I had idealized the Poland of between the war of General Pildsudski that we remember that he managed to defeat the Soviet Union, and save Europe from a catastrophe. Our author for example participated in that campaign. Anyway, as Paul Johnson tells us in"Modern Times" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... it seems that it was not as idyllic, as I thought. In any case, it did not deserve to be divided by the two great totalitarianisms of the last century (one unfortunately still alive) in the shameful Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, and in the face of the neglect of the West it did not deserve to be abandoned to the Soviets as it happened at the end of the war. In fact, the invasion of Poland was the cause of the beginning of the Second World War, experiencing horrors such as those told by Jozef Czapski in his book"In Inhuman Land" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... told the horrendous massacres of Katyn, which were very possibly rehearsed in Spain in our uncivil war in Paracuellos del Jarama. In fact our author would die in 1939 fighting against the Soviet Union, while the western half of Poland defended itself from Nazism, as shown in the wonderful film Katyn by Andrezj Wajda. It is convenient that the Goodreads user knows these details.
However, the time that Judges Dolega-Mostowicz has reminded me of novels by authors such as"Red and Black" by Stendhal https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... in fact while I was read this novel Dyzma reminded me a lot of the ambitious careerist Julien Sorel, also the adulterous love that the protagonist feels for Countess Nina (Ninette) Ponimirski/Kunicki (call her as want) reminded me of Julien de Sorel, and Madame Renal. Also because of Dyzma's lack of scrupulousness it has reminded me of another novel by another French writer entitled"Bel Ami" by Guy Maupassant https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7... because in part of that it is about an amoral who like the protagonist of Bel Ami gets to have but Paris at his feet at least to Warsaw, and Poland at his feet (something I would love to have :-)). Then the venality of Dyzma and his infamous secretary Zizi Krezipicki reminded me of the Russian novel of the same name"Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... .
I must confess a shameful thought to the goodreads user and that is that at first I felt sympathy, and real pity for Nykodem Dyzma, because we looked alike. I must also confess that I am useless who is worthless, and that my future is somewhat dark. That is why when someone who has no future like this Dyzma reaches the top a part of me is happy. Although this emotion is temporary, and very little lasting. Because of the pettiness of the character, and the methods he employs to get rid of people from his past, whether they were good to him, or not. At first you can feel a certain sympathy, since you try all kinds of tango dancing trades (without grace), in the post office, or in a library. It is curious that the happiest period of this character is just like the ineffable Adolf Hitler is when the Great War broke out. Which speaks clearly to what this character is like who thrives when most decent beings do poorly. At first I was moved by his relationship with Marianka, although at first she despises him because he is lazy, and useless. But this is a novel in which chance has great importance Dyzma for example begins to change his star, and to begin his brutal, and relentless climb to power his cursus honorum. Picking up a letter that has fallen to the ground, and that takes you to the Europejski hotel (forgive me for my bad Polish. He didn't talk or write about it is taken care of by the Microsoft Word translator).) What he plans is to sneak into rondon and be able to eat, and taking advantage of an altercation with an orondo character Terkowski, who is the opposition candidate of Prime Minister Jaszunski.
Here I had to stop my criticism, because that same day I got sick. Nothing serious, just a slight discomfort, diarrhea, and vomiting. The next day I felt much better, and after quite a few days he resumed the review at the point where I left it. Of course, Nykodem Dyzma's rude gesture instead of arousing the well-deserved reproach receives applause, and the even easier congratulations. On the part of several characters, although perhaps it would be worth highlighting two. Wroclaw Wareda (and this joke or you go the users of goodreads that are not Spanish), but it reminded me of the late Spanish comedian Chiquito de la Calzada, because like him he will spend much of the story saying "for the glory of my mother". If he had said fistro, duodenar, gives you queen, or sinner of the Prairie I would have taken him for our deceased harlequin. Along with these subjects (the prime minister included) will highlight an old man, and small subject named Leon Kunicki a swindler, who believing that Dyzma is much more than it seems will not be separated from him, and believing that he is an influence dealer will ask him to solve his affairs in his Kowirowo mansion. But first Dyzma will not hesitate to have his last meeting with the disdainful Marianka. This reminded me of the relationship of Martín Marco, and the prostitute in the"Beehive" of our Nobel Prize Camilo José Cela https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...? It will be in Kowirowo, as with Julian Sorel when he sees the falcon, when fortune, and chance are favorable to this character so amoral. At first it has already been said, that you can sympathize with him, but it has already been said, that in the end for his actions this character ends up earning the repulsiveness of the reader. In Kowirowo Dyzma thanks to fortune, and taking ideas from others will use what at first he would think is a vacation at Kunicki's expense. It is surprising that such a skilled man in the ílicitos business is so candy. It reminded me a little of Maria Walewska's husband Count Walewski, who we do not know if by political calculation, cynicism, or stupidity (I am about to think of the latter) ended up handing her into Napoleon's arms. The funny thing is that Kunicki is going to do something similar. Since Dyzma is going to steal the ideas, and even the love of the wife. I must admit that one of the things that I liked most about the novel has been the female characters. I think I have already referred to goodread users my fascination with the Polish woman, which I have idealized by the novels of nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... that showed perfect women. Above all, what captivates me about Poland is the beauty of its women. Apart from the goodness, and religiosity of its people. This is something, which was greatly missed in our increasingly uniformed global society in which the concept of border seems to disappear, as they try to erase the features of each country. But nostalgia, and desire remains. So I was very comfortable with the female characters whether it was Marianka who reminded me of prostitutes of heart of gold of Dickens https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , and Dostoyevsky (especially to Sonia if you prefer them Slavs) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Anyway it should be remembered that this novel is a social criticism, and a satire so as charming as Nina Ponimirska is the wife of Leon Kunicki (Kunik son of a maid named Genoweva), which as I said to me reminded me of Madame Renal from "Red and Black". Perhaps the most glorious scene is when Dyzma pretends to be sick, and she reads him stories, and confuses the inculture, and the character's zafiedad with character turning him into a Jack London https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... One of the things I would like to highlight is the very deep literary background that Tadeusz Dolega Mostowicz manages, and the writers he cites both Poles and foreigners. The ambiguous character of Kasia (Kunik's daughter) fascinated me. At first I didn't know where this character was going to come from. In fact, no one will take it out of my head that this character may be a lesbian. The feelings he shows for his stepmother are very misleading. I know I should think it's affection, but my dirty mind plays tricks on me. It reminded me a lot of Alfred Döblin's female characters https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... that some of his female characters have lesbian tendencies. With Kasia he did not know where he was going to go if he wanted his stepmother, and he wanted to free her from the clutches of Dyzma (who at first does not intend to seduce Nina, since he wants to live as comfortable as possible, but of course if they give him so many facilities, and I think that Kasia's behavior was very clumsy telling her not to seduce her stepmother rather caused the opposite effect. Because there is nothing more appetizing than the forbidden fruit, and give a braguetazo, that elevates the protagonist socially). However, there was a moment that like the two German sisters who appeared in W. Somerset Maugham's novel "The Razor's Edge" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
I recommended to Humberto Pérez Tomé https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... to suggest to Sektia Almuraza now that they had dared this author Tadeusz Dolega Mostowicz, to edit in Spanish the novels of a Polish writer that I am looking forward to reading. Her name is Zofia Kossak Szucka https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... who has edited some very interesting historical novels including a trilogy of the crusades https://www.goodreads.com/series/1644... (capable of overcoming the trilogy of the crusades of the SwedishJan Guillou https://www.goodreads.com/series/5173... ), and several historical novels about Poland, and which became very famous for its defense of the Jews during Nazism. It would be a great success, and the Spanish publisher that dares to edit it would obtain a great triumph.
From what I have read of"Znachor"I trust that it is a novel of sacramental medicine in the style of"Bodies, and Souls" by Maxence van der Meersch https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... (which is my favorite novel. By the way. A sin that has not yet been translated into English),"The Citadel" by A.J. Cronin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... or Frank G. Slaughter's novels https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... In fact, if I like "Zanachor" I will acquire it for the Department of History of Science, where I work.
The fact that I have expressed my desire to acquire Znachor shows how much I liked this novel, which unfortunately is no longer a Polish phenomenon, but a global one. In fact, in Spain we have already had several Presidents of Government of the moral catadura of Mr Dyzma. This novel reminded me of a film that aired on Popular Television what was the embryo of 13 TV, and was contertulio of the Program then presented by Juana Samanes my dearest Juan Manuel de Prada https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., which by the way is going to release a new book in the homo Legens publishing house. He was very sorry that he could not share the link, since Goodreads no longer allows sharing links from outside goodreads. But I will surely speak to you in future criticisms more of this matter. Returning to the thread many years ago in the film program that popular television broadcast I think, which was called More Cinema please on the eve of the 2008 elections in part to force the election of the opposition candidate Popular Television broadcast a film very similar to this novel that I will comment on an inept who like the progressive Professor of"The Silver Chair" by C.S. Lewis https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... is worthless, and that is why it is ascending. The inept character that Powell embodied was like Nikodem Dyzma or useless who due to his mediocrity ends up reaching the top, and reminded us a lot of the tenant of the Moncloa at that time. The sad thing is that we now have an even worse President, if possible and without the adanism of the other. By the way if you are interested in Powell an actor who traditionally shared films with actress Myrna Lloyd became known for having played detective Philip Marlowe, https://www.goodreads.com/series/1689... and in my opinion was the one who most resembled raymond Chandler's homonymous creature https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... . The characterization of this disastrous character was very successful. The pity is that I don't remember what the movie was called.
The first thing I should praise about"The Career of Nykodem Dyzma" is the excellent translation by Don Higinio J. Paterna. I will say a blasphemy, that I will not be forgiven this brilliant novel by the journalist Dolega Mostowicz, which inspired a homonymous novel by the science fiction writer Jerzy Kosinski https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... which is a mixture of several genres including satire. The target of Dolega Mostowicz's ironic darts is interwar Polish society. Being philopolaco I had idealized the Poland of between the war of General Pildsudski that we remember that he managed to defeat the Soviet Union, and save Europe from a catastrophe. Our author for example participated in that campaign. Anyway, as Paul Johnson tells us in"Modern Times" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... it seems that it was not as idyllic, as I thought. In any case, it did not deserve to be divided by the two great totalitarianisms of the last century (one unfortunately still alive) in the shameful Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, and in the face of the neglect of the West it did not deserve to be abandoned to the Soviets as it happened at the end of the war. In fact, the invasion of Poland was the cause of the beginning of the Second World War, experiencing horrors such as those told by Jozef Czapski in his book"In Inhuman Land" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... told the horrendous massacres of Katyn, which were very possibly rehearsed in Spain in our uncivil war in Paracuellos del Jarama. In fact our author would die in 1939 fighting against the Soviet Union, while the western half of Poland defended itself from Nazism, as shown in the wonderful film Katyn by Andrezj Wajda. It is convenient that the Goodreads user knows these details.
However, the time that Judges Dolega-Mostowicz has reminded me of novels by authors such as"Red and Black" by Stendhal https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... in fact while I was read this novel Dyzma reminded me a lot of the ambitious careerist Julien Sorel, also the adulterous love that the protagonist feels for Countess Nina (Ninette) Ponimirski/Kunicki (call her as want) reminded me of Julien de Sorel, and Madame Renal. Also because of Dyzma's lack of scrupulousness it has reminded me of another novel by another French writer entitled"Bel Ami" by Guy Maupassant https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7... because in part of that it is about an amoral who like the protagonist of Bel Ami gets to have but Paris at his feet at least to Warsaw, and Poland at his feet (something I would love to have :-)). Then the venality of Dyzma and his infamous secretary Zizi Krezipicki reminded me of the Russian novel of the same name"Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... .
I must confess a shameful thought to the goodreads user and that is that at first I felt sympathy, and real pity for Nykodem Dyzma, because we looked alike. I must also confess that I am useless who is worthless, and that my future is somewhat dark. That is why when someone who has no future like this Dyzma reaches the top a part of me is happy. Although this emotion is temporary, and very little lasting. Because of the pettiness of the character, and the methods he employs to get rid of people from his past, whether they were good to him, or not. At first you can feel a certain sympathy, since you try all kinds of tango dancing trades (without grace), in the post office, or in a library. It is curious that the happiest period of this character is just like the ineffable Adolf Hitler is when the Great War broke out. Which speaks clearly to what this character is like who thrives when most decent beings do poorly. At first I was moved by his relationship with Marianka, although at first she despises him because he is lazy, and useless. But this is a novel in which chance has great importance Dyzma for example begins to change his star, and to begin his brutal, and relentless climb to power his cursus honorum. Picking up a letter that has fallen to the ground, and that takes you to the Europejski hotel (forgive me for my bad Polish. He didn't talk or write about it is taken care of by the Microsoft Word translator).) What he plans is to sneak into rondon and be able to eat, and taking advantage of an altercation with an orondo character Terkowski, who is the opposition candidate of Prime Minister Jaszunski.
Here I had to stop my criticism, because that same day I got sick. Nothing serious, just a slight discomfort, diarrhea, and vomiting. The next day I felt much better, and after quite a few days he resumed the review at the point where I left it. Of course, Nykodem Dyzma's rude gesture instead of arousing the well-deserved reproach receives applause, and the even easier congratulations. On the part of several characters, although perhaps it would be worth highlighting two. Wroclaw Wareda (and this joke or you go the users of goodreads that are not Spanish), but it reminded me of the late Spanish comedian Chiquito de la Calzada, because like him he will spend much of the story saying "for the glory of my mother". If he had said fistro, duodenar, gives you queen, or sinner of the Prairie I would have taken him for our deceased harlequin. Along with these subjects (the prime minister included) will highlight an old man, and small subject named Leon Kunicki a swindler, who believing that Dyzma is much more than it seems will not be separated from him, and believing that he is an influence dealer will ask him to solve his affairs in his Kowirowo mansion. But first Dyzma will not hesitate to have his last meeting with the disdainful Marianka. This reminded me of the relationship of Martín Marco, and the prostitute in the"Beehive" of our Nobel Prize Camilo José Cela https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...? It will be in Kowirowo, as with Julian Sorel when he sees the falcon, when fortune, and chance are favorable to this character so amoral. At first it has already been said, that you can sympathize with him, but it has already been said, that in the end for his actions this character ends up earning the repulsiveness of the reader. In Kowirowo Dyzma thanks to fortune, and taking ideas from others will use what at first he would think is a vacation at Kunicki's expense. It is surprising that such a skilled man in the ílicitos business is so candy. It reminded me a little of Maria Walewska's husband Count Walewski, who we do not know if by political calculation, cynicism, or stupidity (I am about to think of the latter) ended up handing her into Napoleon's arms. The funny thing is that Kunicki is going to do something similar. Since Dyzma is going to steal the ideas, and even the love of the wife. I must admit that one of the things that I liked most about the novel has been the female characters. I think I have already referred to goodread users my fascination with the Polish woman, which I have idealized by the novels of nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... that showed perfect women. Above all, what captivates me about Poland is the beauty of its women. Apart from the goodness, and religiosity of its people. This is something, which was greatly missed in our increasingly uniformed global society in which the concept of border seems to disappear, as they try to erase the features of each country. But nostalgia, and desire remains. So I was very comfortable with the female characters whether it was Marianka who reminded me of prostitutes of heart of gold of Dickens https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , and Dostoyevsky (especially to Sonia if you prefer them Slavs) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... Anyway it should be remembered that this novel is a social criticism, and a satire so as charming as Nina Ponimirska is the wife of Leon Kunicki (Kunik son of a maid named Genoweva), which as I said to me reminded me of Madame Renal from "Red and Black". Perhaps the most glorious scene is when Dyzma pretends to be sick, and she reads him stories, and confuses the inculture, and the character's zafiedad with character turning him into a Jack London https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... One of the things I would like to highlight is the very deep literary background that Tadeusz Dolega Mostowicz manages, and the writers he cites both Poles and foreigners. The ambiguous character of Kasia (Kunik's daughter) fascinated me. At first I didn't know where this character was going to come from. In fact, no one will take it out of my head that this character may be a lesbian. The feelings he shows for his stepmother are very misleading. I know I should think it's affection, but my dirty mind plays tricks on me. It reminded me a lot of Alfred Döblin's female characters https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... that some of his female characters have lesbian tendencies. With Kasia he did not know where he was going to go if he wanted his stepmother, and he wanted to free her from the clutches of Dyzma (who at first does not intend to seduce Nina, since he wants to live as comfortable as possible, but of course if they give him so many facilities, and I think that Kasia's behavior was very clumsy telling her not to seduce her stepmother rather caused the opposite effect. Because there is nothing more appetizing than the forbidden fruit, and give a braguetazo, that elevates the protagonist socially). However, there was a moment that like the two German sisters who appeared in W. Somerset Maugham's novel "The Razor's Edge" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
May 5, 2022
This is the novel Jerzy Kosinski supposedly plagiarized for "Being There" (1970), which he set in 1960s USA and was made into a very successful film. "The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma" was not then available in English (only now translated), yet it was widely read by Poles, who use the epithet “Dyzma” to describe a certain type of opportunist politician. I do not think Dolega-Mostowicz was plagiarized as such, but his novel was definitely leant upon rather heavily, with major plot-lines and characters acquired without major change. Entertaining and quite apposite vis-a-vis Australia’s present (early May ’22) PM.
April 3, 2019
Knyga Lenkijoje pasirodė 1932-iais metais ir sulaukė didžiulio populiarumo.
Vagos išleista 1969-iais.
Ši politinė satyra - apie tarpukario Lenkiją labai tinka perskaityti šiandien. Ką padaryti nuoširdžiai rekomenduoju. Ypač dabar, prieš rinkimus. Bus smagu ir lūdna...
3.5*
Beje, yra ir TV serialas(1980) ir filmas(2001)
Vagos išleista 1969-iais.
Ši politinė satyra - apie tarpukario Lenkiją labai tinka perskaityti šiandien. Ką padaryti nuoširdžiai rekomenduoju. Ypač dabar, prieš rinkimus. Bus smagu ir lūdna...
3.5*
Beje, yra ir TV serialas(1980) ir filmas(2001)
November 13, 2020
Having an incompetent and ignorant person attain high office, surrounded by a group of equally ignorant and incompetent toadies and sycophants is something that we are all too familiar with, so this 1930s Polish novel will strike more than a few chords. Popular in its day and still widely read and enjoyed –it has been filmed twice, most recently in 2002, and has also been made into a TV series – its relevance is undisputed. It tells the tale of Nicodemus Dyzma, a poor, hungry, unemployed clerk who by chance manages to gate crash a wealthy party – which he does in the hope of getting something to eat before he’s discovered and ejected. But he doesn’t get discovered and ejected and a random confrontation with one of the guests finds him applauded and admired for his boldness and acuity. Within a short space of time he is taken on-board by the great and the good and rises to high office. He’s considered an invaluable asset to the country and he takes full advantage of his undeserved reputation. The book offers a bitingly satiric critique of Poland's political corruption and venality and the reader can’t quite help admiring Dyzma for his chutzpah. His trickery and deception depends entirely on others’ assessment of him and their willingness to be deceived. Sounds familiar? It’s an amusing and entertaining novel, well worth a read, although there are some flaws. At one stage he becomes involved with some high-society women involved with the occult, which is definitely a step too far, and there’s a very unpleasant interlude with a young prostitute and her assault by the police, which sits in an otherwise comic novel very uncomfortably. But that apart this is a clever and all too plausible exploration of politics and business, and has a universal significance. Wikipedia tells us that Dyzma has become proverbial in Poland as an archetype of the crude opportunist who makes his upwardly mobile way by dint of fortuitous connections with the acquiescence of an oblivious society. Quite. In fact Dyzma comes out of the whole story reasonably well compared to those who surround him. An interesting read indeed.
June 1, 2020
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma is a delightful, entertaining read. The biting political satire explores how even the most incompetent person can rise to a position of power through chance, misunderstandings and sheer bravado. Dyzma is an engaging character. You can't help but enjoy following his adventures, even if you cringe at their ramifications. The prose is easy reading, suggesting a sensitive translation from the Polish, and the story moved along at a good pace, with plenty of action and amusement along the way. An easy 4.5 stars from me.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 17, 2016
Mua gặp dịp sách giảm giá, chỉ mấy ngàn đồng thời đó, hình thức sách bình thường, chất lượng giấy và mực in kém.
Câu chuyện gợi cho ta nhớ đến nhân vật Xuân tóc đỏ trong Số đỏ của Vũ Trọng Phụng, trong bối cảnh của xã hội Ba Lan tư sản.
Câu chuyện gợi cho ta nhớ đến nhân vật Xuân tóc đỏ trong Số đỏ của Vũ Trọng Phụng, trong bối cảnh của xã hội Ba Lan tư sản.
September 25, 2023
nie ma co się rozpisywać, po prostu cudowne!
wariat.
wariat.
August 14, 2024
kudosy dla hrabiego Poniemirskiego
March 15, 2023
Głównym bohaterem jest Nikodem Dyzma, pomieszkujący na chwilę obecną w Warszawie i przede wszystkim próbuje zarobić na życie, grając na mandolinie. Jednak znalezienie zatrudnienia nie idzie mu zbyt dobrze, więc zostaje kombinowanie. Wracając do wynajmowanego pokoju zauważa, że pewnemu chłopakowi, podczas wsiadania do tramwaju, rozsypały się listy. Jeden z nich podnosi Nikodem, ale już nie zdążył go oddać właścicielowi. W środku znajduje się zaproszenie na raut dyplomatyczny, który będzie miał miejsce w Hotelu Europejskim, za kilka godzin. Dyzma, myśląc o dużej ilości jedzenia, decyduje się iść na ten raut, a to co się tam wydarzy zmieni jego życie.
W mocnym skrócie ta książka jest o tym jak cwaniak, kłamca i kombinator został z dnia na dzień bogaczem oraz wpływową osobą na scenie politycznej, z którą każdy chce się liczyć. I nie ważne, że ten kombinator nie ma zielonego pojęcia co robi tylko tak płynie z nurtem. Powieść w zasadzie nie zestarzała się, a opisane sytuacje możemy spokojnie porównać do życia obecnego. Równocześnie smutne jest to, że dzisiaj pełno jest takich ludzi jak Nikodem Dyzma. Ile to razy człowiek przypatrywał się komuś, kto zajmuje wysokie stanowisko i od razu było widać, że ten ktoś nie nadaje się do tej roli, ale wszyscy albo przymykają na to oko albo w ogóle tego nie zauważają. Samą powieść czyta się bardzo lekko, a i czasami pojawiał się malutki uśmieszek, bo niektóre opisane sytuacje zostały całkiem nieźle przerysowane. Oczywiście powieść już swoje lata ma, więc język jest troszeczkę inny, ale nie spowalnia to czytania, a używane słowa są zrozumiałe.
Zostawiam 4 gwiazdki. Bardzo miło spędziłam czas z tą książką, a równocześnie cieszę się, że ruszyłam z czytaniem polskiej klasyki.
W mocnym skrócie ta książka jest o tym jak cwaniak, kłamca i kombinator został z dnia na dzień bogaczem oraz wpływową osobą na scenie politycznej, z którą każdy chce się liczyć. I nie ważne, że ten kombinator nie ma zielonego pojęcia co robi tylko tak płynie z nurtem. Powieść w zasadzie nie zestarzała się, a opisane sytuacje możemy spokojnie porównać do życia obecnego. Równocześnie smutne jest to, że dzisiaj pełno jest takich ludzi jak Nikodem Dyzma. Ile to razy człowiek przypatrywał się komuś, kto zajmuje wysokie stanowisko i od razu było widać, że ten ktoś nie nadaje się do tej roli, ale wszyscy albo przymykają na to oko albo w ogóle tego nie zauważają. Samą powieść czyta się bardzo lekko, a i czasami pojawiał się malutki uśmieszek, bo niektóre opisane sytuacje zostały całkiem nieźle przerysowane. Oczywiście powieść już swoje lata ma, więc język jest troszeczkę inny, ale nie spowalnia to czytania, a używane słowa są zrozumiałe.
Zostawiam 4 gwiazdki. Bardzo miło spędziłam czas z tą książką, a równocześnie cieszę się, że ruszyłam z czytaniem polskiej klasyki.
December 18, 2025
гэны Дызма нагадаў мне аднаго аранжавага прэзідэнта і не толькі яго
November 27, 2023
przeczytana na studia, ale mimo to super się bawiłam, więc miła odmiana
bardzo dobrze pokazuje, jak dużo są wstanie zrobić ludzie żeby nie wyjść na debili, bo skoro już nie widzieli tego co było przed niby, to chociaż lepiej się nie przyznawać…
bardzo dobrze pokazuje, jak dużo są wstanie zrobić ludzie żeby nie wyjść na debili, bo skoro już nie widzieli tego co było przed niby, to chociaż lepiej się nie przyznawać…
July 13, 2022
starring Paweł Kozioł from Ranczo
May 14, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
Nikodem Dyzma wynalazł “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss”.
Ciekawa, sprytna i trafna krytyka elit i snobizmu.
Klasyka warta poznania!
Nikodem Dyzma wynalazł “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss”.
Ciekawa, sprytna i trafna krytyka elit i snobizmu.
Klasyka warta poznania!
November 19, 2023
Ni to dobre, ni to złe. Ot taka zwyczajna książka dla zabicia czasu. Czasu natomiast nie miałam i słuchałam audiobooka na przyspieszeniu, co by się z tym za długo nie pierdolić.
Książka okej, ale trudno cokolwiek więcej na jej temat powiedzieć. Według mnie była zwyczajnie nijaka, czego wyznacznikiem było nieczekanie na rozwój wydarzeń w czasie lektury.
Było jednak kilka interesujących wątków, które nie zostały dostatecznie rozwinięte, by naprawić całość. Pierwszy z nich to postać Kasi i jej dziwaczna relacja z Niną. Nina zdawała się być absolutnie nieświadoma tego, co czuła do niej dziewczyna. Z drugiej strony musiała wiedzieć, że nie łączą ich czysto platoniczne relacje, gdyż pojawiały się wzmianki Kasi o "smaku ust" tej drugiej. Dochodziło między nimi do zbliżeń, ale Nina patrzyła na to przymrużonym okiem, jakby to wszystko były wygłupy. Możliwe, że Nina była też skończenie głupia, co nie wyklucza poprzedniego argumentu. I ku tej opcji właśnie się skłaniam.
Innymi postaciami, które mnie zainteresowały to hrabia Ponimirski i jego umiejętność przejrzenia Dyzmy, pomimo bycia uważanym za niespełna zmysłów. Sam Dyzma był też ciekawą osobą, która była dobra do obserwacji w zmieniającym się środowisku. Prostak i nędzarz, który popełnia przestępstwa (zlecenie pobicia, znajdowanie na kogoś niewygodnego nieistniejących dowodów), a jednocześnie demaskuje machlojki w swoich nowych sferach (krętactwa finansowe Kunickiego). Dlatego nie uważam go za złego bohatera, bo wstąpił on na salony, gdzie każdy ma swoje za uszami, bo idzie się po trupach do celu. Jego postać tylko zilustrowała zepsucie wyższych klas. Myślę, że zarówno Ponimirski jak i Dyzma są świetnymi lustrami, w których odbijał się przekrój społeczeństwa i struktur w nim utrwalonych. Wariat jako jedyny widzący prawdę oraz cham, który sięga szczytu drabiny społecznej przez znajomości, idiotyczne konwenanse i plotki. Poza tym przyjrzałabym się Mańce i jej pracy seksualnej oraz faktem pobicia jej przez policję.
Książka okej, ale trudno cokolwiek więcej na jej temat powiedzieć. Według mnie była zwyczajnie nijaka, czego wyznacznikiem było nieczekanie na rozwój wydarzeń w czasie lektury.
Było jednak kilka interesujących wątków, które nie zostały dostatecznie rozwinięte, by naprawić całość. Pierwszy z nich to postać Kasi i jej dziwaczna relacja z Niną. Nina zdawała się być absolutnie nieświadoma tego, co czuła do niej dziewczyna. Z drugiej strony musiała wiedzieć, że nie łączą ich czysto platoniczne relacje, gdyż pojawiały się wzmianki Kasi o "smaku ust" tej drugiej. Dochodziło między nimi do zbliżeń, ale Nina patrzyła na to przymrużonym okiem, jakby to wszystko były wygłupy. Możliwe, że Nina była też skończenie głupia, co nie wyklucza poprzedniego argumentu. I ku tej opcji właśnie się skłaniam.
Innymi postaciami, które mnie zainteresowały to hrabia Ponimirski i jego umiejętność przejrzenia Dyzmy, pomimo bycia uważanym za niespełna zmysłów. Sam Dyzma był też ciekawą osobą, która była dobra do obserwacji w zmieniającym się środowisku. Prostak i nędzarz, który popełnia przestępstwa (zlecenie pobicia, znajdowanie na kogoś niewygodnego nieistniejących dowodów), a jednocześnie demaskuje machlojki w swoich nowych sferach (krętactwa finansowe Kunickiego). Dlatego nie uważam go za złego bohatera, bo wstąpił on na salony, gdzie każdy ma swoje za uszami, bo idzie się po trupach do celu. Jego postać tylko zilustrowała zepsucie wyższych klas. Myślę, że zarówno Ponimirski jak i Dyzma są świetnymi lustrami, w których odbijał się przekrój społeczeństwa i struktur w nim utrwalonych. Wariat jako jedyny widzący prawdę oraz cham, który sięga szczytu drabiny społecznej przez znajomości, idiotyczne konwenanse i plotki. Poza tym przyjrzałabym się Mańce i jej pracy seksualnej oraz faktem pobicia jej przez policję.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2025
Bardzo dobrze się bawiłam, słuchając tej książki, niejednokrotnie parsknęłam śmiechem, przewróciłam oczami czy otworzyłam usta z niedowierzania. „Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy” to świetny klasyk gwarantujący świetną rozrywkę, przemycając (nie jakoś subtelnie) pewne wartości, uwagi i komentarze dotyczące społeczeństwa.
Swoją drogą, niektóre wątki bardzo mnie zdziwiły – głównie tym, jak progresywne były.
Z wielką chęcią sięgnę po inne książki autora, już nie mogę się doczekać „Znachora”!
Swoją drogą, niektóre wątki bardzo mnie zdziwiły – głównie tym, jak progresywne były.
Z wielką chęcią sięgnę po inne książki autora, już nie mogę się doczekać „Znachora”!
Read
January 30, 2025Przezabawna opowieść! Świetnie pokazuje, jak ludzie wierzą w to, w co chcą wierzyć. Ciekawe postacie, satysfakcjonujący koniec.
Bardzo polecam wykonanie Marcina Popczyńskiego – idealnie oddaje agresję i prostolinijność Dyzmy.
Bardzo polecam wykonanie Marcina Popczyńskiego – idealnie oddaje agresję i prostolinijność Dyzmy.
September 29, 2023
nie bylem pewien, wahałem się między 3 a 4
ogólnie to rozumiem cel książki, jest prześmiewcza, to komedia, ale nikodem tak mnie zraził niektórymi swoimi decyzjami, że nie jestem w stanie dać z czystym sumieniem 4 gwiazdek. czapka z głowy dla autora, ale (spoiler dalej) potraktowanie mańki było obrzydliwe, nie wspominając o morderstwie boczka, który próbował się wycwanić
ogólnie to rozumiem cel książki, jest prześmiewcza, to komedia, ale nikodem tak mnie zraził niektórymi swoimi decyzjami, że nie jestem w stanie dać z czystym sumieniem 4 gwiazdek. czapka z głowy dla autora, ale (spoiler dalej) potraktowanie mańki było obrzydliwe, nie wspominając o morderstwie boczka, który próbował się wycwanić
August 18, 2024
jakie to bylo dobre
November 28, 2025
W serialu bazowanym na książce podobała mi się... muzyka, i to chyba tyle. W książce jest sporo przemyśleń bohatera, które trudno oddać na realia serialu. A to jest według mnie właśnie najlepszy element opowieści. Poza tym fabuła zabawna i ciekawa, a samego motywu, na którym opiera się historia (kariery zbudowanej na nieporozumieniu i kłamstwach) nie widzę za często w literaturze pomimo, że tutaj bardzo wciąga.
April 18, 2025
Jak to u mnie z literaturą piękną - książka potrafiła mnie nudzić, ale, w ogóle, fabuła mi się podobała. Czapka z głów dla autora. Ma w swoim stylu pisania „to coś”, co mnie przekonuje. Przez ponad połowę książki czekałam i zastanawiałam się jak skończy się kariera Nikodema Dyzmy. Szczerze mówiąc, spodziewam się innego zakończenia.
August 11, 2025
Daję 4,5 gwiazdki
Szybko się czytało, przyjemnie i łatwo, ale główny bohater ma 0 morałów jeśli chodzi o sprawę Boczka i parę innych, nawet traktowanie pracowników... (i wsm o to chodzi ale i tak mnie wkurzał czasami)
Ale mega bawiły mnie niektore sentencje, za to plus, jedna z niewielu książek, które kiedykolwiek rozbawiły mnie jakkolwiek
Szybko się czytało, przyjemnie i łatwo, ale główny bohater ma 0 morałów jeśli chodzi o sprawę Boczka i parę innych, nawet traktowanie pracowników... (i wsm o to chodzi ale i tak mnie wkurzał czasami)
Ale mega bawiły mnie niektore sentencje, za to plus, jedna z niewielu książek, które kiedykolwiek rozbawiły mnie jakkolwiek
March 17, 2015
Jeśli ktoś oglądał serial, książki nie musi czytać. Ekranizacja wycisnęła wszystko z tej, niewątpliwie dobrej, powieści. Jednak nie jest to moim zdanie najciekawsze dzieło Mostowicza. Tu wskazałbym - na razie - cykl o doktorze Murku. Wracając do Dyzmy: wydanie, które czytałem ( wydawnictwa MEA), dobija i zabiera przyjemność z czytania z powodu dziesiątków literówek i obciętych zdań. Na plus na pewno ciekawy obraz warszawskiego półświatka, no i postać Leona Kunika, który to kombinator okazuje się tak naprawdę mózgiem stojącym - choć w cieniu - za genialnym planem Nikodema Dyzmy, a więc zbawcy polskiego rolnictwa (i ziemiaństwa).
June 22, 2020
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy via netgalley!
First, the prologue of this book adds a lot of great historical background of this book and the controversy associated with it. I was excited to read this book before the prologue, but afterwards I was even more intrigued!
Second, this book is well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you read how a broke, uneducated man used his street smarts to climb the social hierarchy to the point of declining the position of prime minister!!
This story reminds us of the dangers of entrusting the people in power blindly.
First, the prologue of this book adds a lot of great historical background of this book and the controversy associated with it. I was excited to read this book before the prologue, but afterwards I was even more intrigued!
Second, this book is well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you read how a broke, uneducated man used his street smarts to climb the social hierarchy to the point of declining the position of prime minister!!
This story reminds us of the dangers of entrusting the people in power blindly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2023
Uśmiałam się
September 23, 2020
Sách hay mà tuổi đời lâu quá ít người biết đến. Anh già giới thiệu nói đọc cho vui, Xuân tóc đỏ là hàng fake. Đọc quả nhiên rất vui, có nhiều đoạn đối thoại bật cười thành tiếng. Đọc xong trong đúng 1 ngày, cả ngày hôm đó không muốn làm gì khác, chỉ ôm sách đọc cho vui.
Cuốn sách có bố cục chặt chẽ, làm nổi bật hoàn cảnh xã hội Ba Lan thời đó. Nhân vật chính là tầng lớp đáy xã hội, nghèo kiết xác, gần như đều do số phận sắp đặt mới từng bước ngoi lên. Ban đầu là cảm giác hài hước khi cơ hội đổi đời mở ra cho nhân vật, nhưng càng đọc càng thấy nhân vật này rất nhiều thứ không ổn. Lòng tham lớn quá, ý định ban đầu là cố lừa vài tháng, ôm mớ tiền rồi cho vay sống ung dung, nhưng chìm đắm vào danh lợi, đến khi dám giết người thì mọi thứ đi quá xa. Giết người và lương tâm cũng không cắn rứt gì nhiều.
Xã hội Ba Lan thời đó đan xen giữa quý tộc, chính trị gia và các nhà tư sản, bối cảnh hết sức phức tạp. Mớ hổ lốn đó tạo ra lớp người mộng mơ và hưởng thụ như phu nhân Nina, học thức rất rộng mà quá đỗi ngây thơ. Có lẽ người tỉnh nhất trong thế giới này lại là 1 gã bị coi là điên.
Dịch giả thời đó dịch rất chỉn chu, nếu để tên nhân vật nguyên gốc thay vì phiên âm qua tiếng Việt sẽ ổn hơn. Sách đọc vừa giải trí vừa có thêm chút kiến thức. Chấm 4*
Cuốn sách có bố cục chặt chẽ, làm nổi bật hoàn cảnh xã hội Ba Lan thời đó. Nhân vật chính là tầng lớp đáy xã hội, nghèo kiết xác, gần như đều do số phận sắp đặt mới từng bước ngoi lên. Ban đầu là cảm giác hài hước khi cơ hội đổi đời mở ra cho nhân vật, nhưng càng đọc càng thấy nhân vật này rất nhiều thứ không ổn. Lòng tham lớn quá, ý định ban đầu là cố lừa vài tháng, ôm mớ tiền rồi cho vay sống ung dung, nhưng chìm đắm vào danh lợi, đến khi dám giết người thì mọi thứ đi quá xa. Giết người và lương tâm cũng không cắn rứt gì nhiều.
Xã hội Ba Lan thời đó đan xen giữa quý tộc, chính trị gia và các nhà tư sản, bối cảnh hết sức phức tạp. Mớ hổ lốn đó tạo ra lớp người mộng mơ và hưởng thụ như phu nhân Nina, học thức rất rộng mà quá đỗi ngây thơ. Có lẽ người tỉnh nhất trong thế giới này lại là 1 gã bị coi là điên.
Dịch giả thời đó dịch rất chỉn chu, nếu để tên nhân vật nguyên gốc thay vì phiên âm qua tiếng Việt sẽ ổn hơn. Sách đọc vừa giải trí vừa có thêm chút kiến thức. Chấm 4*
July 30, 2020
I was given an ARC of this book by Northwestern University Press, via Netgalley, and therefore cannot quote it as of yet. There are, however, so many moments I loved in this book. It’s laugh-out-loud humor juxtaposed with the vulgarity of Nicodemus Dyzma’s innermost thoughts paints a wonderfully human portrait. The ending to the novel, although abrupt, is perfection. This is certainly a timely novel as it is a brutal commentary on class politics and the power of “impressions.” Nicodemus could do no wrong in the eyes of the aristocracy and the government; but secretly he was an ignorant, albeit shrewd, and beastly man. I actually really liked his character, despite his shocking flaws. One of the main reasons I felt the need to downgrade this text, however, was the inclusion of a scene of implied sexual assault and occasional use/abuse of “working girls.” The language is also occasionally explicit, and there are two very strange but minor peyote-driven occult-ish scenes. I do feel, however, that given the cultural and societal frameworks in which this was written (1930s Europe), all of these are appropriate to that time and how people behaved.
Nicodemus Dyzma is a caricature of the worst of us, a pig in sheep’s clothing perhaps, but he’s also a cautionary tale of how power corrupts completely. This is “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern” meets Mad Men, except with far fewer deaths...Despite its flaws, I think this book could find its way to being an international classic if given the chance. I recommend this book with a caution about the sexual assault and occasional language.
Nicodemus Dyzma is a caricature of the worst of us, a pig in sheep’s clothing perhaps, but he’s also a cautionary tale of how power corrupts completely. This is “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern” meets Mad Men, except with far fewer deaths...Despite its flaws, I think this book could find its way to being an international classic if given the chance. I recommend this book with a caution about the sexual assault and occasional language.
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