What is the best Polish book ever written.

z_darius:

Switezianka:
Sienkiewicz is no great literature.

Switezianka:
intellectually shallow

Number 9

From 1901 to 1912, the committee was characterized by an interpretation of the "ideal direction" stated in Nobel's will as "a lofty and sound idealism", which caused Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen, Émile Zola and Mark Twain to be rejected.[4] During World War I and its immediate aftermath, the committee adopted a policy of neutrality, favouring writers from non-combatant countries.[4]

Guest	Edited by: Moderator Feb 5, 09, 22:18 / #
just help me out

Guest	Feb 5, 09, 22:20 / #
come on i want to buy the best book ever in poland

time meansThreads: 9 Posts: 2,309 Joined: Apr 21, 08	Feb 5, 09, 22:22 / #
the adventures of filemon the cat.

McCoyThreads: 46 Posts: 1,755 Joined: Jul 3, 08	Feb 5, 09, 22:23 / #
Guest: the best book ever in poland Przedwojski Roman: Mineralogia, petrografia i geomorfologia.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07	Feb 5, 09, 22:23 / #
Some would say Elementarz ;)

McCoyThreads: 46 Posts: 1,755 Joined: Jul 3, 08	Feb 5, 09, 22:32 / #
or Słownik Ortograficzny

ladykangarooThreads: - Posts: 73 Joined: Jan 2, 09	Feb 5, 09, 23:43 / #
Kodeks Boziewicza and, close second: Trędowata

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07	Feb 5, 09, 23:46 / #
McCoy: Przedwojski Roman: Mineralogia, petrografia i geomorfologia. Got a spare copy? I like a bit of geologia.

ElsshaThreads: 1 Posts: 152 Joined: Jan 26, 09	Feb 5, 09, 23:54 / #
Wiedzmin saga?

McCoyThreads: 46 Posts: 1,755 Joined: Jul 3, 08	Feb 5, 09, 23:54 / #
i'll send you everything i have. treasures of the polish literature.

redevil1987	Jun 27, 09, 19:46 / #
.................goodreads.com/list/show/2023.Best_Polish_Books the list of the best :D

jrr	Jun 27, 09, 20:46 / #
Check out Stanislaw Lem books.

NO 14Threads: 8 Posts: 54 Joined: Dec 15, 07	Jun 27, 09, 21:18 / #
The best ever Polish book for me is called "But I Survived". Its about a man called Tadeusz Sobolewicz & his life during the second world war in Poland, i am not a book fan but i was totally glued to this book from start to finish. There is a Polish version & English version.

buniaThreads: 1 Posts: 159 Joined: May 27, 07	Edited by: bunia Jun 27, 09, 21:20 / #
depends what sort of books your into. If you want something because its polish - go for things like Sienkiewicz, Mickiewicz etc. Most famous and worth reading. Also there is quite few books about "Columbs" generation -WWII generation of young people that is absolutely brilliant. Of that i would say "Kamienie na szaniec" is a good start. If you want just good read - still depends on what books you like. I would recomment Sapkowski but thats because im a fan :) Also Chmielewska is good read.

burnsaThreads: - Posts: 6 Joined: Apr 28, 09	Jun 27, 09, 22:09 / #
Chmielewska "Lesio"

SwiteziankaThreads: - Posts: 525 Joined: Jun 17, 08	Jun 28, 09, 00:15 / #
Sienkiewicz is no great literature. It has got huge historical significance because it was something uplifting for the occupied Poles to read, but in fact these are just adventure books set in important moments of Polish history, intellectually shallow, with awfully flat characters and a lot of ideology and populist nationalism. Something like Hollywood films about the Vietnam war nowadays. If you look for something sophisticated and artistic, better go for Gombrowicz, Różewicz, Lem or Schultz.

TorqThreads: 65 Posts: 4,023 Joined: Apr 10, 09 MEMBER	Jun 28, 09, 01:56 / #
"Pan Tadeusz" by Adam Mickiewicz is a masterpiece and probably the best book ever written in Polish language. I used to know large extracts of it by heart.

RubasznyRumcajsThreads: 9 Posts: 281 Joined: Mar 29, 08	Jun 28, 09, 03:08 / #
"O Szczęściu" (On Happiness) of Wladyslaw Tatarkiewicz. Also Lem is quite a good writer.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Jun 28, 09, 03:15 / #
Switezianka: Sienkiewicz is no great literature. Switezianka: intellectually shallow Number 9 Torq: "Pan Tadeusz" by Adam Mickiewicz is a masterpiece and probably the best book ever written in Polish language. It's a wonderful satire on Poles. I found no other book, or author who drerides Poles and Polish vices so skillfully. What's even funnier is that in Poland the books is taught as the greatest Polish patriotic epic. Not that Mickiewicz was not a patriot, but the book was just one huge joke.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,410 Joined: Aug 29, 07	Jun 28, 09, 10:21 / #
definitely "quo vadis" and "w pustyni is puszczy."

TorqThreads: 65 Posts: 4,023 Joined: Apr 10, 09 MEMBER	Edited by: Torq Jun 28, 09, 10:30 / #
z_darius: It's a wonderful satire on Poles. Of course it is. But I think, no - I'm quite sure, that there is much more in "Pan Tadeusz" than just a satire. Some of the beautiful old Polish customs are also described there, and I simply love the impressive descriptions of the nature and wild-life in it. z_darius: the book was just one huge joke It is definately more than just a satire and it's certainly not "just one huge joke". Also, from linguisitc and poetic point of view, the book is a masterpiece of Polish language.

SwiteziankaThreads: - Posts: 525 Joined: Jun 17, 08	Jun 28, 09, 17:30 / #
z_darius: Switezianka: Sienkiewicz is no great literature. Switezianka: intellectually shallow Number 9 From 1901 to 1912, the committee was characterized by an interpretation of the "ideal direction" stated in Nobel's will as "a lofty and sound idealism", which caused Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen, Émile Zola and Mark Twain to be rejected.[4] During World War I and its immediate aftermath, the committee adopted a policy of neutrality, favouring writers from non-combatant countries.[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature And it wasn't far from the general perception of literary merits in that time. Often, book was judged by its ideological contents more than purely literary quality. Even very conservative Polish teachers sometimes admit Sienkiewicz wrote popular literature.

KrzysztofThreads: 2 Posts: 1,146 Joined: Jul 26, 07	Edited by: Krzysztof Jun 28, 09, 18:08 / #
I agree that the Nobel prize can't be a measure of an author/book quality, just look at the first 50 years: 11 awards for Scandinavian writers (1/4 of the total, because the Prize wasn't awarded in some years) and having among laureates such mediocre authors like the Norwegian Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson is just a laugh (yes, I did read some of his works). Back to the original question (from February), it's strange, you won't ever reach a consensus in such matters, I wonder if the English speaking world has one book that they nominated "the best" :)

axidThreads: - Posts: 27 Joined: Jun 28, 09	Jun 29, 09, 01:22 / #
nah. the question can't be answered as it's too general. if you say what type of literature you are interested in, we will be able to help. I hope You know that You cannot compare romanticism and Mickiewicz to post-modern Lem, crime-satires of Chmielewska and so on. here's a question for you: what is the best book written in English?