Den Schatten fangen

by Andrzej Szczypiorski

A noted Polish author presents a coming-of-age novel about the sheltered son of a prominent Polish family whose awakening into manhood is overshadowed by the sense of doom engulfing his country on the eve of World War II.

Genres: Polish Literature, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Born in Warsaw in 1924, Szczypiorski was a journalist and novelist. He took part in the Warsaw Uprising and was imprisoned after the fall of the Uprising in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. He died on 16 May 2000.

He began working as a journalist in 1946. Since the appearance of his first collection of stories in 1955, he had published more than 20 volumes of novels, reportage, newspaper columns, essays and sketches. Szczypiorski aligned himself with the democratic opposition in the late 1970s, being interned during Martial Law (1981-1982) and then, in 1989, being elected Senator (holding office until 1991). After resigning from an active political role, he became one of the country's most highly respected columnists, as well as a moral and intellectual authority.

Szczypiorski's novels, like his newspaper columns, are predominated by two issues: contemporary Polish-German relations and the moral and political conflicts of recent decades. He has made his mark as a mediator engaged in improving relations among the Polish, German, and Jewish peoples. He won enormous renown for his novel Poczatek / The Beginning, (known in Germany and elsewhere as The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman), in which he depicted the different attitudes of Poles, Jews and Germans during the Nazi Occupation. This novel became a great success above all - but not only - in the German-speaking countries (winning the Austrian State Prize for European Literature as well as the Nelly Sachs Prize). Szczypiorski saw literature as "a kind of mission... entrusted to writers by society". Szczypiorski tried to remain true to this calling in both his fiction and his autobiographical writing, like From the Martial Law Notebook, published in London in 1983. The first edition of The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman, which came out in Paris in 1986, was an immediate success. It was followed by Night, Day and Night, a fascinating study of the mechanism of political provocation. Next came the convincing psychological portrait Self-Portrait with Woman (1994), and collections of stories including American Whiskey, which won the German Catholic Art and Culture Award. Polish literary critics paid the most attention to the parable-as-novel A Mass for Arras (1971), which recounted authentic fifteenth-century historical events (plague, famine, and the persecution of Jews and heretics). Szczypiorski sat down to write this novel in the autumn of 1968, in response to the dramatic and shameful events of the preceding spring - the anti-Semitic campaign and attacks on intellectuals orchestrated by the communist authorities. The issues concealed "between the lines" were perfectly clear to the first Polish readers, and A Mass for Arras was regarded as an important commentary on current events by a writer with moral concerns.

He was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.


Bibliography
1963 Behind the walls of Sodom (pl.: Za murami Sodomy)
1966 Journey to the edge of valley (pl.: Podróż do krańca doliny)
1971 Mass for the town of Arras (pl.: Msza za miasto Arras)
1974 And they passed by Emaus (pl.: I ominęli Emaus)
1983 Notes from Martial law (pl.:Z notatnika stanu wojennego)
1986 Beginning (pl.: Początek)
1990 American whisky and other stories (pl.: Amerykańska whisky i inne opowiadania)
1991 Night, day and night (pl.: Noc, dzień i noc)
1994 Self-portrait with a woman (pl.: Autoportret z kobietą)
1997 Sins, virtues, desires (pl.: Grzechy, cnoty, pragnienia}
1999 Three short stories (pl.: Trzy krótkie opowiadania)
1999 Play with fire (pl.: Gra z ogniem)


Awards
1972 Polish PEN-Club Prize
1988 Austrian State Prize for European Literature
1989 Nelly Sachs Prize
1994 Herder Prize

Reviews

[em ✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I LOVED this book. The Shadow Catcher takes us into the world of Krzyś, a young boy living in Warsaw just before the invasion by Germany that began WW2. This is not the type book I typically read, as historical fiction doesn’t usually call to me, but this book was so captivating. The descriptions, from the setting to Krzyś’ thoughts, were so immersive. I really love character driven stories so it was very fascinating to me to read about his perspective on life.

“When I die, he thought to himself, I'll see it all as it really is, in the light of day, while I myself will remain invisible. I'l see everything in the tiniest detail, every nook and cranny, every blade of grass, every droplet... I'll soar above the earth like a bird, and there will be no shadow anywhere. Everything will be clear, full, lush. Everything will be simple and understandable.”

Ugh the writing is just so beautiful. And why was he so relatable?! Much of this story is dedicated to Krzyś’ thoughts on the world, religion, love, family, and many things we wonder about as we grow up. For example, his relationship with his mother really hit hard for me. Like any child, he always wanted her love but has come to accept that he doesn’t get it. And she doesn’t seem to know how to show love.

“She was always under the illusion that school constituted his entire world. Beyond school he simply did not exist. She seemed not to comprehend the fact that he too, quite independently of mathematics, biology, or Latin, thought, felt, and interacted with himself and with the world.”

Krzyś’ relationship to the world becomes the main focus of this book which is often explored as he discusses feeling a duality between the “world within him and that outside him”, a feeling he comes to identify as loneliness. Loneliness is also a major theme as Krzyś feels alienated and like an outsider to the world. Books that have this theme are ALWAYS going to do it for me. And that ending? GUTTED me. Can’t recommend enough.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle coming-of-age story under the shadows of Love and Death, this work is not as complex as SEIDENMANN but is moving in its own quiet way. Sad, too, to have read three years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine....

[Trauermaerchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't horrible but I was honestly quite underwhelmed.

I enjoyed the perspective it was written in, the writing felt quite unique but I wanted a little bit more. Stylistically, the ending was by far the best part.

The character dynamics were decently interesting and had the potential to make the plot feel more engaged but honestly? I really didn't care for any of the characters. If anything, I felt bad for the women in this book but not in the way a tragedy would make me want to pick it up.

Again, this isn't necessarily a bad book but I didn't really find anything to care about because all of the aspects I liked were either overshadowed or just not worked out enough.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to completely disagree with critics who consider this book Kundera or Melville-esque in its metaphysical undertones.

This book is far more limited in scope than a Melville or Milan. It's more of a Salinger text, but even less universal than "Catcher in the Rye." It's not a coming-of-age tale, the main character never really becomes anything.

The language is still great though even through translation. Very simple but able to express very deep ideas in simplicity--something I'm finding characteristic of Polish literature.

The duck hunting scene stands out the most in my mind. The rest of the book came off either obvious or mediocre.

[Joan Cobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman, but then this is an introspective review of a 15 year old's life. Is he lonely because he is an only child or because we are all alone inside our heads? Interesting but not as memorable as Szczypiorski's other novels.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman. I was disappointed.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

- not really very memorable