The authors-Marek S. Huberath, Andrzej Sapkowski, Tomasz Kołodziejczak, Andrzej Zimniak, and Jacek Dukaj-range from age thirty to sixty and represent the best of Polish SF and fantasy. General readers as well as those interested in Polish and Slavic literature will find these “dark tales” strangely illuminating.
Advance Praise for A Polish Book of Monsters
“Rendered into living-and-breathing English by Stanisław Lem’s talented American translator, these five sophisticated tales by several generations of Polish writers belong to the contested terrain of fantasy and science fiction. While some authors engage a fabled past to examine moral categories, others follow Lem’s example, opting for a genre hospitable to philosophical speculation about the future. True to many sci-fi writers’ self-identification as prophets, they predict a dark future for humanity, ever enamored of power, violence, and possession. In conception and stylistic virtuosity, these boldly imaginative narratives of unflagging momentum are vivid achievements that unsettle and seduce chiefly through the authors’ ability to create utterly convincing alien worlds that nonetheless refract our own. As the translator-editor justly observes, fans of Philip K. Dick will have no difficulty detecting his corrosive vision hovering over these colorful fantasies, which explore universal issues in a quintessentially Polish mode. In short, this collection offers a gripping read.”
–Helena Goscilo, Ohio State University
“This is an outstanding collection of well-nigh virtuoso translations of a handful of the best work in Polish fantastic fiction from the past couple of decades. It should be of interest not only to those already familiar with Polish literature and culture, but to a mainstream literary audience, as well as a sophisticated science-fiction/fantasy/horror-fiction audience.”
-Christopher Caes, University of Florida
“These translations are superb. Kandel creates a distinct voice and style for each author, with particular skill in word-creation and conveying humor; the stories themselves are striking and memorable. This book will make an excellent text for courses in science fiction and fantasy, popular culture, and Eastern European literature.”
-Sibelan Forrester, Swarthmore College
About the Translator
Michael Kandel received his Ph.D. in Slavic literature at Indiana University and taught at George Washington University. He worked as an editor at Harcourt, where he acquired authors Jonathan Lethem, Ursula K. Le Guin, James Morrow, and others. He has written science fiction, short stories, and novels (Bantam, St. Martin‘s); and is presently an editor at the Modern Language Association. He has translated from Polish to English works by Paweł Huelle and Andrzej Stasiuk, and is perhaps best known for his translations of the works of Stanisław Lem.
A Polish Book of Monsters
Edited and translated by Michael Kandel
Published by PIASA Books
ISBN 978-0-940962-70-5
List price $15.00
PIASA members’ price $12.00
PIASA members may order A Polish Book of Monsters directly from PIASA by calling (212) 686-4164.
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Kathleen Cioffi
Series Editor
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