Synopses & Reviews
An influential Polish classic, in English for the first time
In 1956 in New Delhi, Hungarian diplomat Istvan Terey falls dangerously in love with a beautiful Australian ophthalmologist. His loyalty to his wife and children in communist Hungary, to his country, and to his religion tear at him as he must choose between the old life, with its grim realities, and a new life in a free country with the woman he loves.
Stone Tablets shines a spotlight on the somber internal struggles of a communist society. Throughout the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 the diplomatic corps waits, far from the action, afraid for their countrymen and unsure where to place their loyalty or what stance to publicly claim. Even within the corpsdomain of a bull-headed Ambassador, a slippery and conniving Secretary, a meek, hermit-like cryptographer and his precocious young son, and the office secretary, a matronly Jew who hid out the second world war as a prostitute in Siberia, along with the personable and idealistic Terey himselfpetty corruption and interpersonal machinations seethe.
Above all, the book is an exploration of the deeply conflicted feelings of a man torn between his native home, the laws of his religion, and a love more commanding than any he's known.
Kraft's translation unlocks this room in Polish literature that has been largely closed to English-speaking readers.
Wojciech Zukrowski(19162000) was a Polish novelist, screenwriter, and essayist. He worked at the embassy in New Delhi from 1956 to 1959, hence the Indian setting of his novel. In 1996 Zukrowski won the Reymont Award for lifetime literary achievement.
Synopsis
New Delhi, 1956: Hungarian diplomat Istvan Terey is caught between love, politics, and the commands of his religion.
Synopsis
"A novel of epic scope and ambition."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A masterwork.--Wall Street Journal
An influential Polish classic celebrates 50 years--and its first English edition
As Stone Tablets opens, Istvan Terey, a poet and World War II veteran, is serving as cultural attach with the Hungarian embassy in Delhi just a few months before his country is torn apart by the Hungarian Uprising of 1956. He is personable and popular with Indians and Europeans, communists and capitalists, but his outspoken criticisms of corruption in the Hungarian government and the embassy threaten to undermine his career. Meanwhile, he has fallen in love with Margit, an Australian ophthalmologist working in India, who is still living through a tragedy of her own: her fianc died under torture during World War II.
Draining heat, brilliant color, intense smells, and intrusive animals enliven this sweeping Cold War romance. Based on the author's own experience as a Polish diplomat in India in the late 1950s, Stone Tablets was one of the first literary works in Poland to offer scathing criticisms of Stalinism, and was censored when it was first submitted for publication. Stephanie Kraft's translation opens this book for the first time to English-speaking readers.
"A high-paced, passionate narrative in which every detail is vital."--Leslaw Bartelski
Zukrowski is "a brilliantly talented observer of life, a visionary skilled at combining the concrete with the magical, lyricism with realism...a distinguished stylist."--Leszek Zulinski
"A romance fraught with personal and political risk is at the core of this historically important yet previously untranslated novel by a Polish diplomat stationed in India during the Cold War...inspired by the author's own experiences, Zukrowski's precise descriptions of India are memorable, and there is a certain throwback appeal to the depictions of diplomacy conducted through telegrams and glasses of whiskey. But it is Zukrowski's trenchant critique of Stalinism and political message, bold for its time, that make this novel truly noteworthy."--Booklist
Wojciech Zukrowski (1916-2000) was one of Poland's best-known twentieth-century authors. A prolific novelist, screenwriter, and essayist, he was a war correspondent in Vietnam in the early 1950s, and worked at the embassy in New Delhi from 1956 to 1959. In 1996 Zukrowski won the Reymont Prize for lifetime literary achievement.
Synopsis
1956 in New Delhi, Hungarian diplomat Istvan Terry falls dangerously in love with a beautiful Australian ophthalmologist. His loyalty to his wife and children in communist Hungary, to his country, and to his religion tear at him as he must choose between the old life, with its grim realities, and a new life in a free country with the woman he loves.
Wojciech Zukrowski (1916-2000) was a Polish novelist, screenwriter, and essayist. He worked at the embassy in New Delhi from 1956 to 1959, hence the Indian setting of his novel. In 1996 Zukrowski won the Reymont Award for lifetime literary achievement.
About the Author
Wojciech Zukrowski: Wojciech Zukrowski (1916-2000) was one of Poland's best-known twentieth-century authors. A prolific novelist, screenwriter, and essayist, he worked at the embassy in New Delhi from 1956 to 1959, hence the Indian setting of his novel. In 1996 Zukrowski won the Reymont Award for lifetime literary achievement.
Stephanie Kraft: Stephanie Kraft has been a newspaper reporter and freelance writer for almost forty years. She is the author of No Castles on Main Street. She has been traveling to Poland since 1988, and has published translations of short Polish fiction in Metamorphoses, a journal of literary translation.