Rondo
by Kazimierz Brandys
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InRondo, Kazimierz Brandys eloquently explores many of the obsessions of contemporary literature--politics, war, art, and personal exile--against the backdrop of a touching, enthralling love story. One of the previous century's great literary figures, Brandys "quickened the conscience and enriched the writing of the 20th century" (Time).Rondo is the culmination of a career of gripping portrayals of ordinary people in the mode of Socialist Realism that made him an icon. In his own words, Tom show more is an insignificant man, powerless to effect changes even in himself let alone in others. He is pathologically normal, with "something of Buster Keaton" to him. Yet an initially harmless fabrication motivated by his love for Tola, an actress of the Warsaw stage, will move him to center stage in one of the 20th century's most infamous conflicts and will ultimately change the course of history. Following the Nazi occupation of Warsaw at the outset of WWII, Tola wants to enlist in the Polish Resistance. To protect her, Tom, whose family connections have unexpectedly made him the symbolic heir to Polish nationalism, conscripts Tola into an imaginary political cadre--"Rondo." The idea is innocent at first, little more than a flight of Tom's fantasy, but through its own comic momentum, Rondo unexpectedly becomes a major player in the Polish underground. When Tom is drawn into the internal politics of the real Resistance, the results are not only highly entertaining but telling of the eternal follies of war. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Rondo was published in Poland in 1982. Europa Editions published the English translation last year. The narrator, "Tom", is finally pushed to record his memories of life during World War 2 and his part in the Polish resistance. An article has appeared in a journal by a Professor Janota in which the secret resistance organisation called Rondo and its role in the war is discussed, and "Tom" insists that it is all wrong, and that he invented Rondo as a device to try to protect someone he loved.
The writing in the book is amazing - the characters leap off the page and have stayed with me for days. "Tom" is now an old man, but in the 1930s he was a law student in Warsaw with a school friend called Wladek who had an acting job in the theatre. show more You need to read the book if you want to find out more, but Tom's obsessive love drives the story.
It is also the most challenging book - in terms of knowing what on earth is going on - that I've read in the last few years. If you like Chess Story or Pereira Maintains you will probably like this one, but don't read it if you're looking for something fast. You will want to keep reading if you can stand the confusion. "Tom" tells the story as if the reader already knows the public version of events. I felt like a strong wind was pushing me over every few pages! You might also want to have a quick look at Wikipedia if you don't know anything about Poland during WW2 and the uprising. I waded through Norman Davies' tome on how Poland got done over by the Allies a few years ago, and it helped me a lot, but I don't recommend that book unless you are REALLY into the detail. show less
The writing in the book is amazing - the characters leap off the page and have stayed with me for days. "Tom" is now an old man, but in the 1930s he was a law student in Warsaw with a school friend called Wladek who had an acting job in the theatre. show more You need to read the book if you want to find out more, but Tom's obsessive love drives the story.
It is also the most challenging book - in terms of knowing what on earth is going on - that I've read in the last few years. If you like Chess Story or Pereira Maintains you will probably like this one, but don't read it if you're looking for something fast. You will want to keep reading if you can stand the confusion. "Tom" tells the story as if the reader already knows the public version of events. I felt like a strong wind was pushing me over every few pages! You might also want to have a quick look at Wikipedia if you don't know anything about Poland during WW2 and the uprising. I waded through Norman Davies' tome on how Poland got done over by the Allies a few years ago, and it helped me a lot, but I don't recommend that book unless you are REALLY into the detail. show less
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Europa, Europa!
13 works; 3 members
Author Information
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Rondo
- Original publication date
- 1982
- Important places
- Warsaw, Poland
- Important events
- World War II
- First words
- Se non si ha la fortuna di possedere un nome celebre è arduo sperare che la redazione di una rivista risponda a una rettifica, anzi non si può essere in alcun modo sicuri che la lettera venga pubblicata.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Ho scritto quest pagine in un solo esemplare, senza copie. La persone che le leggerà dopo la mia morte, è pregata di consegnarle al prof. Wladislaw Sznej-Janota, il quale sicuramente mi sopravviverà. Egli ne farà ciò che meglio crede.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 891.8537 — Literature & rhetoric Literatures of other languages East Indo-European and Celtic literatures West and South Slavic languages (Bulgarian, Slovene, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, and Macedonian) Polish Polish fiction 1919–1989
- LCC
- PG7158 .B63 .R6813 — Language and Literature Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language Slavic. Baltic. Albanian Slavic Polish
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 75
- Popularity
- 426,322
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.92)
- Languages
- 8 — Dutch, English, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Serbian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 13
