October 20, 2004
Van het Boekenfront
Some time ago colleague and friend to be Ernst W. (don’t forget to visit his
—steadily growing yet rather nice— website) told me to read the book Ferdydurke
by Witold Gombrowicz. He then passed me a copy of this (often translated)
book to lend, and I started reading it. Although I’m not done readin’ yet, I guess
it’s save to say it’s one of the best and most awkward books you’ll ever read.
It’s a 1939 book about a man who’s changing into to the person that other
people have decided him to become, simply because they’re already seeing
him as that person. The man is obviously not too sure of what he is, as he
cannot escape their judgement while he’s looking for his true self. It’s just
more convenient to become his own mask in a way. Terribly funny surreal
beauty, baby! 100 years after Witold was born, here’s a Snij/HuMobist book
tip you won’t regret reading.
As I found out just now, the book’s also been adapted for celluloid in a french/
polish coproduction of a Jerzy Skolimowski (who I guess is, like Gombrowicz
himself, Polish) film. I haven’t seen it, but there’s a quite nice review on the
IMDb right here.