Being There (novel)
Being There is a satirical novel by the Polish-born writer Jerzy Kosinski, published in 1970.[1] Set in America, the story concerns Chance, a simple gardener who unwittingly becomes a much sought-after political pundit and commentator on the vagaries of the modern world.
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jerzy Kosinski |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Pages | 141 |
| ISBN | 0-370-01453-7 |
| Preceded by | Steps |
| Followed by | The Devil Tree |
A film based on the book was made in 1979; Kosinski co-wrote the film's screenplay with Robert C. Jones.
Background
When Jerzy Kosinski published Being There, wrote historian Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska, "most Polish critics immediately recognized [his book] as a version of Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (Nikodem Dyzma's Career) by Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz, a novel from the interwar period, and Kosinski was accused of plagiarism",[2] as he was with his first novel.
With his first novel, The Painted Bird, published in 1965, Kosinski was accused of plagiarizing a book published in the Second Polish Republic by the Polish ethnographer Henryk Biegeleisen.[2]
References
- eNotes.com, copy-paste excerpts from: 1971 and 1973 periodicals including Times Supplement (1971), Chicago Review (1973), Harper's (1973), Critique (1973), Hudson Review (1973), and Books and Bookmen (1973). Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- Adamczyk-Grabowska, Monika (2001). "The Role of Polish Language and Literature". In Wolitz, Seth L. (ed.). The Hidden Isaac Bashevis Singer. University of Texas Press. p. 137. ISBN 029279147X.
External links
- Short synopsis, 2014 Guardian News.
- Being there / Jerzy Kosinski Catalogue of the British Library.