Gustaw Herling-Grudziński’s Followers (63)

Gustaw Herling-Grudziński

Born

in Kielce, Poland

May 20, 1919

Died

July 04, 2000

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs, Literature & Fiction

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Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (May 20, 1919 - July 4, 2000) was a Polish writer, journalist, essayist and soldier. He is best known for writing a personal account of life in the Soviet gulag - A World Apart.

He was born in Kielce. His studies of Polish literature at Warsaw University were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War (German invasion of Poland). During the Fall of 1939 he co-founded an underground resistance organization "Polska Ludowa Akcja Niepodległościowa, PLAN". As the organization's courier he traveled to then Soviet occupied Lwów (Lviv), but was arrested in March 1940 by the NKVD and sentenced on fabricated espionage charges. Imprisoned in Vitsebsk and a gulag in Arkhangelsk region for 2 years, he was released in 19 Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (May 20, 1919 - July 4, 2000) was a Polish writer, journalist, essayist and soldier. He is best known for writing a personal account of life in the Soviet gulag - A World Apart.

He was born in Kielce. His studies of Polish literature at Warsaw University were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War (German invasion of Poland). During the Fall of 1939 he co-founded an underground resistance organization "Polska Ludowa Akcja Niepodległościowa, PLAN". As the organization's courier he traveled to then Soviet occupied Lwów (Lviv), but was arrested in March 1940 by the NKVD and sentenced on fabricated espionage charges. Imprisoned in Vitsebsk and a gulag in Arkhangelsk region for 2 years, he was released in 1942 under the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement. He joined Gen. Władysław Anders' Army (Polish II Corps) and later fought in North Africa and in Italy, taking part in the battle of Monte Cassino. For his valor in combat he was decorated with the Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration.

In 1947 he co-founded and initially co-edited the political and cultural magazine Kultura, then published in Rome. When the magazine moved to Paris, he settled first in London and finally in Naples, Italy, where he married Lidia, a daughter of the philosopher Benedetto Croce. He also wrote for the Italian "Tempo presente" run by Nicola Chiaromonte and for various dailies and periodicals.

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Works

His most famous book, A World Apart, was translated into English by Andrzej Ciolkosz and published with an introduction by Bertrand Russell in 1951 (the 2005 edition would feature an introduction by Anne Applebaum). By describing life in the gulag in a harrowing personal account, it provides an in-depth, original analysis of the nature of the Soviet communist system. Written 10 years before Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, it brought him international acclaim but also criticism from Soviet sympathizers.

A selection from the Journal Written at Night, a journal that he wrote for 30 years, was translated by Ronald Strom and published as Volcano and Miracle (1997). A collection of his short stories, The Noonday Cemetery and Other Stories (2003), has been translated by Bill Johnston.

Awards

He was the winner of many literary prizes: Kultura (1958), Jurzykowski (1964), Kościelskis (1966), The News (1981), the Italian Premio Viareggio prize, the international Prix Gutenberg, and French Pen-Club. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle. ...more

Combine Editions
Gustaw Herling-Grudziński’s books

Average rating: 3.94 · 13,104 ratings · 842 reviews · 94 distinct works • Similar authors

	Inny świat 3.98 avg rating — 11,968 ratings — published 1951 — 69 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wieża 3.53 avg rating — 410 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wieża i inne opowiadania 3.73 avg rating — 210 ratings — published 1988	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Island: Three Tales by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Ronald Strom (Translation) 3.91 avg rating — 89 ratings — published 1960 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dziennik pisany nocą 1971-1972 (Dziennik pisany nocą, #1) 3.92 avg rating — 66 ratings — published 1973 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Skrzydła ołtarza: Opowiadania (Pisma zebrane #2) 3.71 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Biała noc miłości 3.47 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 1999 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gorący oddech pustyni 3.81 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Najkrótszy przewodnik po sobie samym 3.84 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2000 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Volcano and Miracle: A Selection of Fiction and Nonfiction from The Journal Written at Night by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Ronald Strom (Editor) 4.14 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 1996 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński…

Series by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński

Dziennik pisany nocą (6 books)
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Gustaw Herling-Grudziński

3.95 avg rating — 95 ratings

Opowiadania zebrane (2 books)
by

Gustaw Herling-Grudziński

3.81 avg rating — 21 ratings

Quotes by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (?)

“I to właśnie wówczas, w ciemności, uświadomiłem sobie po raz pierwszy w życiu, że jedynie samotność jest w życiu człowieka stanem graniczącym z absolutnym spokojem wewnętrznym, z odzyskaniem indywidualności. Tylko w pochłaniającej wszystko pustce samotności, w ciemnościach zacierających kontury świata zewnętrznego można odczuć, że się jest sobą aż do granic zwątpienia, które uprzytamnia nagle własną nicość w rosnącym przeraźliwie ogromie wszechświata.”
― Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Inny świat

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“„W normalnym państwie – odpowiedział – istnieją ludzie zadowoleni, średnio zadowoleni i niezadowoleni. W państwie, w którym wszyscy są zadowoleni, zachodzi podejrzenie, że wszyscy są niezadowoleni. Tak czy owak, tworzymy zwartą całość”.”
― Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Inny świat

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“Była w nich nie rozpacz zbliżającej się śmierci, ale beznadziejność trwającego na przekór wszystkiemu życia.”
― Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Inny świat

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See all Gustaw Herling-Grudziński's quotes »

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