Description
Book SynopsisFirst published in Polish in 1932, The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma was Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz's breakout novel. Dyzma is an unemployed clerk who crashes a swanky party, where he makes an offhand crass remark that sets him on a new course. Soon high society - from government ministers to drug-fuelled aristocrats - want a piece of him.
Trade Review“Those with knowledge of Polish letters have long awaited a translation of Dolega-Mostowicz’s classic satire, an all-too-timely tale of a boor’s rise to power, whose crudeness is understood as candor, whose ignorance is taken as wisdom, and whose ambition is unmatched. Thomas and Malachowska-Pasek have masterfully conveyed the absurd humor, rollicking story, and biting critique of the original.” —Daniel W. Pratt, contributor to
Gombrowicz in Transnational Context: Translation, Affect, and Politics “Very few books or characters become proverbial. But
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma is a byword in Polish culture for the accidental rise of an opportunistic swindler to the heights of society and politics. This entertaining novel from interwar Poland remains instructive beyond its context today.” —Stanley Bill, translator of
The Mountains of Parnassus by Czeslaw Milosz
“
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma is still alive, not only as a good read but also as an essential historical document of 1930s Europe and as a trans-historical political satire with immense potential for contemporary readers . . . Cultural historians, political aficionados, and literature lovers will all find something very seductive about the book.” —Michal Pawel Markowski, author of
Wars of Modern Tribes: Fighting for Reality in the Age of Populism Table of ContentsForeword by Benjamin Paloff
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma
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