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Diary Witold Gombrowicz

Diary By Witold Gombrowicz

Summary

A single-volume edition of Diary, Gombrowicz's acclaimed masterpiece, now with previously unpublished pages restored

Diary Summary

Diary by Witold Gombrowicz

A single-volume edition of Diary, Gombrowicz's acclaimed masterpiece, now with previously unpublished pages restored

Just before the outbreak of World War II, young Witold Gombrowicz left his home in Poland and set sail for South America. In 1953, still living as an expatriate in Argentina, he began his Diary with one of literature's most memorable openings:

Monday
Me.
Tuesday
Me.
Wednesday
Me.
Thursday
Me.

Gombrowicz's Diary grew into a vast collection of essays, short notes, polemics, and confessions on myriad subjects-from political events to literature to the certainty of death. Not a traditional journal, Diary is instead the commentary of a brilliant and restless mind. Widely regarded as a masterpiece, this brilliant work compelled Gombrowicz's attention for a decade and a half until he penned his final entry in France, shortly before his death in 1969.

Long out of print in English, Diary is now presented in a convenient single volume featuring a new preface by Rita Gombrowicz, the author's widow and literary executor. This edition also includes ten previously unpublished pages from the 1969 portion of the diary.

Diary Reviews

Ferdydurke is certainly a spontaneous work, but the Diary is even more so, and . . . even more rewarding.-John Bayley, New York Review of Books

A heroic translation. . . . English-speaking readers can finally experience the Diary as Gombrowicz intended it-as a single, coherent work . . . his major creative endeavor.-Ruth Franklin, New Yorker

Having this book in my hands, I felt a joy at the thought that strong personalities, like that of Gombrowicz, sooner or later find recognition thanks to the sheer intensity of their existence.-Czeslaw Milosz, New York Times

If ever a life demanded a diary, this was one.-Paul West, Washington Post

Yale University Press by reprinting in a beautiful fat paperback an updated, complete edition of the Diaries of Witold Gombrowicz has done a singular important, essential and remarkable job.-Thomas McGonigle, ABC of Reading

Widely considered the Polish author's masterpiece . . . the Diary lacks for nothing: history, politics, philosophy, literature, art, music, love, death, humor, communism, Poland, Europe, writing-everything is there.-Paris Review Daily

The new complete version of Witold Gombrowicz's Diary is one jubilant, gruesome, unsparing self-portrait.-Adam Thirlwell, New Statesman

About Witold Gombrowicz

Witold Gombrowicz (1904-1969) was a Polish-born writer of novels, short stories, and plays. His works have been translated into more than thirty languages. Lillian Vallee, an instructor at Modesto Junior College, is an award-winning translator of literature from the Polish.

Additional information

GOR005421877
9780300118063
0300118066
Diary by Witold Gombrowicz
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Yale University Press
20120619
800
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Diary