JENIEC I DZIEWCZYNA, KORNEL FILIPOWICZ (BOOK REVIEW)

 In this post, I shall review Jeniec i dziewczyna (The Prisoner and the Girl),  a micronovel by Kornel Filipowicz, a Polish writer who was considered the master of a short form.  Kornel Filipowicz (1913- 1990) was best known for his short stories, but he also wrote novels, screenplays and poems.  This micronovel, set during WW2, proved to be a touching and interesting read. I must admit that I was expecting to like it, because not too long ago, I reviewed and enjoyed another of Filipowicz's micronovels. I found both of these micronovels in one of my husband's  vintage editions. It's lovely when your significant other likes books, so I can always roam his library when mine falls short. Anyhow, I really enjoyed this micronovel. I'm looking forward to sharing more about it with you. 

U ovoj objavi osvrnut ću se na Jeniec i dziewczyna (Zarobljenik i djevojka), mikroroman Kornela Filipowicza, pisca koji se smatrao majstorom kratke forme. Kornel Filipowicz (1913.-1990.) bio je najpoznatiji po svojim kratkim pričama, ali je pisao i romane, scenarije i pjesme. Ovaj mikroroman, smješten u vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata, pokazao se dirljivim i zanimljivim štivom. Moram priznati da sam očekivala da će mi se svidjeti, jer sam ne tako davno pročitala još jedan Filipowiczev mikroroman, a i taj mi se vrlo svidio (kao što sam i napisala u svome ogledu). Pronašla sam oba ova mikroromana u jednom od suprugovih starinskih izdanja. Lijepo je kad se i tvoja druga polovica zanima za knjige, tako da uvijek mogu lutati njegovom bibliotekom kad iscrpim svoju. U svakom slučaju, jako sam uživala u ovom mikroromanu. Veselim se što ću s vama podijeliti više o tome. 

THE PRISONER  AND THE GIRL, A MICRONOVEL BY KORNEL FILIPOWICZ

Published in 1964, the Prisoner and the Girl is a micronovel set in Switzerland during the Second World War. The story is told in a third person narrative. The style of writing is simple and descriptive. The author pays great attention to details in writing, especially when he is describing his principal characters. The story opens with a piece of information: during a June afternoon Maciej Tuhovicz has crossed the French- Swiss border without even noticing it because the path hasn't changed significantly. Together with other Polish soldiers he moved from the road and observed the mountains that seemed almost unreal to him. It can be argued that Switzerland is described almost a mountain oasis of some kind, a place of silence, hidden away from horrors of war. The author gradually introduces more information about Maciej, the protagonist of this story. For example, Filipowicz described how Maciej had to give up his weapon to a Swiss soldier and how he hesitated not because he didn't want to but because he had a slow way of doing things. 

Soon into the story, we are introduced to this group of captive Polish soldiers. They often talk of war in their captivity.  Switzerland choose to remain neutral during WW2. So, the Polish soldiers that found themselves there were taken captive by Swiss authorities. They were not treated badly, but their freedom was taken away from them. Kornel Filipowicz introduces us to a number of these Polish prisoners of war, all very different one from another. In a short span of time, the writer managed to infuse these literary creations with a life of their own. I suppose that is why he was considered the master of short form.  The author used this beginning part of the story to make comments and conclusions about Poles. You could say that Filipowicz is describing their national spirit, characteristics and culture. Moreover, the author makes numerous comments about the futility of war. In that sense, you could call this story anti-war prose. Nevertheless, the war is not the only theme this author explores in The Prisoner and The Girl. As the title of this novel would imply, there's a girl.

This micronovel explores a romance between a local Swiss girl and a Polish soldier. Romance is at the core of this story.  The girl mentioned in the title is a local Swiss girl. Her name was Inga and she often cycled around on her bicycle. It is while cycling that Inge met a group of Polish prisoners who were employed by Swiss to work on a road. When a wheel on her bicycle falls off, the protagonist Maciej offers to fix it and so their relationship slowly starts.  Inga and Maciej are two very different people, coming from different cultures but they fall in love. Their love story was described very well. The author managed to avoid stereotypes and cliches. Initially, there are no great feelings. They are simply two young people who like one another. Inga even seems a bit cold towards Maciej. However, it is not long before they decide to elope. That's only the start of the story. 

 The author did a great job describing Switzerland from the perspective of Polish prisoners during WW2. The nature becomes a sort of a character in the micronovel as well. It really is a well plotted and executed story. The characters are well portrayed, especially the protagonists of the story. Their portrayal is subtle and understated. The writer more hints at emotions, that shows them openly and that somehow made this story seem more real to me. Perhaps because that's the case with real life as well. Definite answers are not given to us, rather they are something we must decipher slowly.  Indeed, the human drama of this micronovel feels quite real and convincing.  The author achieved fantastic balance between showing the outer and inner life of its protagonists. The ending was very well written and absolutely conviencing.   I do recommend this micronovel! It is touching and emtional, without being sentimental. Intelligent and concise without being pretentious. 

ZAROBLJENIK I DJEVOJKA, MIKROROMAN KORNELA FILIPOWICZA

Objavljen 1964., Zatvorenik i djevojka je mikroroman smješten u Švicarsku tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata. Priča je ispričana u trećem licu. Stil pisanja je jednostavan i deskriptivan. Autor pridaje veliku pažnju detaljima u pisanju, posebno kada opisuje svoje glavne likove. Priču otvara podatak: tijekom lipanjskog poslijepodneva Maciej Tuhovicz je prešao francusko-švicarsku granicu a da to nije ni primijetio jer se put nije bitno promijenio. Zajedno s drugim poljskim vojnicima maknuo se s ceste i promatrao planine koje su mu se činile gotovo nestvarnim. Može se tvrditi da je Švicarska opisana gotovo kao nekakva planinska oaza, mjesto tišine, skriveno od strahota rata. Autor postupno uvodi više podataka o Macieju, glavnom liku obog djela.  Primjerice, Filipowicz je opisao kako je Maciej morao dati svoje oružje švicarskom vojniku i kako je oklijevao ne zato što nije želio, već zato što je u svemu što je radio bio pomalo spor.

Ubrzo se upoznajemo s ovom grupom zarobljenih poljskih vojnika. Zarobljeni Poljaci često razgovaraju o ratu, što je i za očekivati. Švicarska je odlučila ostati neutralna tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata. Dakle, poljske vojnike koji su se tamo zatekli zarobile su švicarske vlasti. S njima se nije postupalo loše, ali im je oduzeta sloboda. Kornel Filipowicz upoznaje nas s poljskim ratnim zarobljenicima, koji se međusobno jako razlikuju. U kratkom vremenskom razdoblju, pisac je uspješno udahnuo život svojim književnim tvorevinama . Pretpostavljam da su ga zato smatrali majstorom kratke forme. Pisac je ovaj početni dio priče iskoristio za komentare i zaključke o Poljacima. Moglo bi se reći da Filipowicz opisuje njihov nacionalni duh, karakteristike i kulturu. Štoviše, autor daje brojne komentare o uzaludnosti rata. U tom smislu ovu priču možete nazvati antiratnom prozom. Ipak, rat nije jedina tema koju ovaj autor istražuje u Zarobljeniku i djevojci. Kao što bi naslov ovog romana implicirao, tu je i djevojka.

Ovaj mikroroman istražuje romansu između lokalne djevojke i poljskog vojnika. Romantika je u srži ove priče. Djevojka koja se spominje u naslovu je Švicarka. Zvala se Inga i često se vozila na svom biciklu. Tijekom vožnje biciklom Inge je upoznala ovu grupu poljskih zatvorenika koje su Švicarci zaposlili da rade na cesti. Kad joj otpadne kotač na biciklu, protagonist Maciej se ponudi da ga popravi i tako njihova veza polako počinje. Inga i Maciej su dvije vrlo različite osobe, dolaze iz različitih kultura, ali se zaljubljuju. Njihova ljubavna priča je vrlo dobro opisana. Autor je uspio izbjeći stereotipe i klišeje. U početku nema velikih osjećaja. Oni su jednostavno dvoje mladih ljudi koji se sviđaju jedno drugom. Inga se čak čini pomalo hladna prema Macieju. Međutim, ne prođe dugo prije nego što odluče pobjeći. To je zapravo tek početak priče.

 Autor je sjajno opisao Švicarsku iz perspektive poljskih zarobljenika tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata. Priroda postaje svojevrsni lik i u mikroromanu. Sve u svemu, priča je stvarno dobro zacrtana i izvedena. Likovi su odlično prikazani, posebno protagonisti priče. Njihov je prikaz suptilan i nenaglašen, ali baš zbog toga upečazljiv. Pisac više nagovještava emocije, nego  ih otvoreno pokazuje i zbog toga mi se ova priča nekako čini stvarnijom. Možda zato što je tako i u stvarnom životu. Definitivni odgovori nisu nam dati, nego su nešto što moramo polako dešifrirati. Doista, ljudska drama ovog mikroromana djeluje sasvim stvarno i uvjerljivo. Pisac je postigao odličnu ravnotežu između opisa vanjskog i unutarnjeg stanja likova. Završetak je bio vrlo dobro napisan i posve uvjerljiv. Dirljiv i emotivan je ovaj mikroroman, ali nije sentimentalan. Inteligetan i sažet, a opet nimalo pretenciozan.  Preporučam ovaj mikroroman!

Thank you for reading and stopping by. Hvala na posjeti i čitanju.