Novel
Zając
Adolf Dygasiński · 1900
Opening lines
Piękne są latem Morzelany!
Morzelany is beautiful in summer!
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from pl.wikisource.org
Synopsis
On the estate of Morzelany, an old grey hare that has lost an ear has for years escaped the dogs, the foxes and the hunters. The book follows its seasons, its flights and even its dreams, and, in parallel, the lives of the men of the estate: Malwa, a naive gamekeeper who lets himself be exploited by his half-brother Tetera, an old poacher as cunning as a fox, and a whole household of servants and hunters.
Context
The novel first appeared as a serial in the Kurier Warszawski in 1898, with three chapters cut, and then in book form in 1900. The author, trained in the natural sciences, follows side by side the life of an animal and that of the men who hunt it, hiding nothing of the brutality of the world he describes: hunts, fights between animals, violence done to the weakest. It has been read as an illustration of the struggle for life, which governs animals and people alike.
Who it is for
A novel that follows the animals as much as the people; the cruelty of some scenes makes it unsuitable first of all for children. No French translation.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the peak of Polish naturalism, and the book by which its author has remained in memory.
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