Synopses & Reviews
“These exuberant stories, so startlingly fresh, so vigorous, and so wildly inventive, are a delight…”—Alastair Reid
“Gombrowicz is one of the most original and gifted writers of the twentieth century: he belongs at the very summit, at the side of his kindred spirits, Kafka and Céline.”—Louis Begley
“One of the greatest novelists of our century.”—Milan Kundera
Stunningly original in both style and content, these stories are hilarious yet have an undercurrent of profound moral disquiet and horror when the respectable turns slowly but inexorably into the outrageous, conveying both the horrors of upper-class life and the deepest anguish of the human condition.
Synopsis
Hilarious, disturbing, brilliantly written tales of erotic lepers, duped aristocrats, and the bizarre universe of Witold Gombrowicz.
Synopsis
Fiction. Translated from the Polish by Bill Johnson. "One thing the stories have in common is the element of struggle. . . The other thing they have in common, aside from wicked humor, is an accute sense of the irrational. . . All of this is, for me, thrilling. BACACAY is one of the most remarkable collections of stories in world literature" -Andre Alexis. "Gombrowicz is one of the most original and gifted writers of the twentieth century; he belongs at the very summit, at the side of his kindred spirits, Kafka and Celine. This collection of his stories will serve as an admirable introduction to his oeuvre" -Clare Cavanagh.
Synopsis
A balloonist finds himself set upon by erotic lepers…a passenger on a ship notices a human eye on the deck…a group of aristocrats enjoy a vegetarian dish made from human flesh…a virginal young girl gnaws raw meat from a bone…a notorious ruffian is terrorized by a rat. Welcome to the bizarre universe of Witold Gombrowicz, whose legendary short story collection is presented here for the first time in English. These tales, hilarious, disturbing, and brilliantly written, are utterly unique in world literature. After reading them, youll never be the same.
About the Author
Witold Gombrowicz (1904-1969) is considered the most remarkable Polish prose writer of the 20th century. He is the author of Ferdydurke, Trans-Atlantyk, Pornografia, and Cosmos, as well as plays, stories, and his Diary. Gombrowicz lived in Buenos Aires for over twenty years and spent his last in France. In 1967 he was awarded the Prix Formentor for his contribution to world literature.
Bill Johnston is the Chair of the Comparative Literature Department at Indiana University. His translations include Magdalens Tulli?s Dreams and Stones, Moving Parts, Flaw, and In Red. His 2008 translation of Tadeusz Ró?ewicz?s new poems won the inaugural Found in Translation Prize and was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Poetry Award.