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The Palimpsests - Paperback
$16.95
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by Aleksandra Lun (Author), Elizabeth Bryer (Translator)
An absurdly dark tragi-comedy of language and literature. Czeslaw Przęśnicki is an Eastern-European immigrant writer who survived the long toilet paper lines of communist Poland, the loss of his lover Ernest Hemingway following a passionate affair, and the beatings of the Antarctic literary community for his forays into novel-writing in their native tongue. In The Palimpsests, we find him languishing in a Belgium asylum (a country, we are persistently reminded, that has had no government for the past year), undergoing Bartlebian therapy to strip away his knowledge of any language that is not Polish, his native tongue.
Despite, or perhaps because of, its absurdity, The Palimpsests (originally written in Spanish by Polish writer Aleksandra Lun) is characterized by an unquestionable timeliness, relevant to today's discussions on immigration, senses of cultural belonging and ownership, and personal relationships to language, complicated and simple, adopted and native. Peppered with appearances by Vladimir Nabokov, Samuel Beckett, Joseph Conrad, and of course, Przęśnicki's former lover Ernest Hemingway, it is the perfect book for lovers of the art of writing.
Front Jacket
Przesnicki, an Eastern-European immigrant writer, has survived long Soviet toilet paper lines, the loss of his lover Ernest Hemingway following a passionate affair, and the beatings of the Antarctic literary community for his forays into novel-writing in their native tongue. In The Palimpsests, Aleksandra Lun's stunning debut novel, we find him languishing in a Belgium asylum (a country, we are persistently reminded, that has had no government for the past year!), undergoing Bartlebian therapy to strip away his knowledge of any language that is not Polish, his native tongue.
Despite or perhaps because of its absurdity (by turns comic and tragic), The Palimpsests is characterized by an unquestionable timeliness, relevant to today's discussions about immigration, senses of cultural belonging and ownership, and personal relationships to language, complicated and simple, adopted and native. Peppered with darkly comic cameos from famous writers like Vladimir Nabokov, Samuel Beckett, Joseph Conrad, and of course, Przesnicki's former lover Ernest Hemingway, it is the perfect book for lovers of language and the act of writing. Originally written in Spanish by Polish writer Aleksandra Lun, The Palimpsests has been expertly translated into English by Elizabeth Bryer.
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Standard U.S. returns are accepted for eligible new, unopened items within 30 days of carrier delivery. Returns are by mail. Customers are responsible for standard return shipping, there is no restocking fee, and standard exchanges are not offered. Once an approved return is received and inspected, the refund is issued to the original payment method within 5 business days. Damaged, defective, or incorrect items are handled at no return-shipping cost to the customer.
Return eligibility is subject to the full policy. Opened, read, or unsealed books with broken seals or visible wear are final sale. Digital downloads, gift cards, and personalized products are non-refundable. Original shipping charges are not refunded for standard returns. Contact us within 7 days of delivery about damaged, defective, or incorrect items.
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