Whats the best book from Polish author Jacek Dukaj?

2 Comments

1. kismet says:

   October 17, 2009 at 2:57 am

   These are his novels; choose one which has a plot that appeals to you:

   * Xavras Wyżryn (SuperNOWA 1997, containts two small novels – Xavras Wyżryn and Zanim noc)
   o "Zanim Noc" (Before the Night) – during World War II, a Polish collaborator is changed by a haunted house, becoming an entity that can move through the Fourth dimension.
   * Aguerre w świcie (Aguerre at Dawn) (short novel in anthology) Wizje Alternatywne 3, Solaris 2001)
   * Czarne oceany (Black Oceans) (SuperNOWA 2001) – in the mid-21st century, an event resembling technological singularity suddenly takes place, with Earth being transformed into a bizarre world.
   * Córka łupieżcy (The Plunderer’s Daughter) (short novel in anthology Wizje Alternatywne 4, Solaris 2002). Daughter of an archeologist is forced to hide in The City – an uninhabited, multidimentional alien city, that seems to be the ‘essence of all cities’.
   * Extensa (Extensa) (Wydawnictwo Literackie 2002) – in a post-technological singularity world, some people have chosen to remain unchanged and ‘just human’. This is a story of one of them.
   * Inne pieśni (Other Songs) (Wydawnictwo Literackie 2003) – in this alternate Earth, people can change the reality with their thoughts. The Earth is divided into several empires, each controlled by a kratistos – a former human with demigod abilities, who has proven to have the most powerful mind and is able to warp reality within his domain. When the Earth is attacked by aliens, a former nobody, merchant, starts on a path to become somebody much more.
   * Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość (An Ideal Imperfection) (Wydawnictwo Literackie 2004) – a 21st century astronaut is revived several centuries later, in a post-technological singularity world. First in the planned trilogy, this book chronicles how he is caught in the web of a transgalactic intrigue. In a world were a dedicated universes are evolved just to create a more potent weapon, can a normal human become anything more than a toy of a vastly more intelligent beings?

   * Ice (Lód) (Wydawnictwo Literackie 2007) – alternate history; There were no World War I, in 1924 Poland is still under the reign of Russia. Benedykt Gierosławski, talented mathematician, but also compulsive gambler has been sent to the Siberia, to bring his father back to the country. It is said that he is somehow connected with lute – Angels of Frost.
   * Baśń (The Tale) (planned) – when our Earth establishes a trans-dimensional portal to another planet, one where magic exists, secret agents are first sent to gather information on this new place and steal knowledge and artifacts.
2. marybuko says:

   October 17, 2009 at 2:57 am

   I’m of Polish ethnicity. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with Jacek Dukaj. I speak some Polish but don’t read much. I still want to be connected with my Polish heritage and sometimes ask/answer questions in the YA Travel/Poland section. I asked a question 3 wks. ago in that section about Polish authors and books. The person I chose for Best Answers gave a good list of authors and books. If you want to see her answer go to the Travel/Poland section and go to the Resolved Answers section, 3 weeks back. I do recall some Polish authors she mentioned…Sienkiewicz, Milosz, Tokarczuk.

   I live in Salt Lake City and our public library has a large foreign language section. I checked it to see if they had any of the authors she mentioned, and they did. I just checked to see if they have anything by Jacek Dukaj, and unfortunately, they don’t. Have you contacted bookstores in your area? Large bookstore chains can usually order a book, if they don’t have in their inventory.

   Good luck in your search. And it sounds like your wife is lucky to have such a considerate husband like yourself.