Review

""[A] subtle and satisfying translation."--The Times Literary Supplement

"In taking us back to a world that is long gone, Choucas throws into relief much of the ranting and rhetoric of our own times. I closed the book feeling that I had been transported to a dream-like but strangely familiar setting, an unsettling sensation that has left me wanting to read more of Nalkowska's work."--European Literature Network

"This is a welcome translation of one of the better-known Polish modernist novels, which reveals a supreme depth about intersubjective relations, while sustaining insight into the characters mostly through their words and gestures. The generally non-intruding and nonspeculative aspect of the narrator, who does not claim any responsibility and relies on her seemingly superficial observations, brings to mind the behavorist method as the main representation of the character's psychology."--Bozena Shallcross, University of Chicago

"The characters' stories and their views on specific nations lead Nalkowska to explore the psychological sources of nationalism. Their nationalism is not ideological or rooted in political doctrine. It is, rather, a mishmash of stereotypical images of other nations, as well as emotional schemata that are not grounded in personal experience. Even as they suffer from deadly diseases, the characters fail to realize that their nationalism is an affliction too."--Wlodzimierz Bolecki, Institute of Literary Research, Polish Academy of Sciences"

About the Author

Ursula Phillips is a translator of both literary and academic works and a writer on Polish literature. Her most recent translation, the novel The Heathen by Narcyza Zmichowska, is also published by Northern Illinois University Press.Zofia Nalkowska (1884-1954) was a celebrated Polish novelist and playwright. She rose to prominence in interwar Poland and was among a group of key early feminist writers.