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The Doll
by
Warsaw under Russian rule in the late 1870s is the setting for Prus’s grand panorama of social conflict, political tension, and personal suffering. The middle-aged hero, Wokulski, successful in business, is being destroyed by his obsessive love for a frigid society doll, Izabela. Embattled aristocrats, the new men of finance, Dickensian tradesmen, and the urban poor all co
...more
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Paperback, 702 pages
Published
December 19th 1996
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published 1890)
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The Doll by Bolesław Prus is undeniably a great masterpiece of Polish realism in literature. This is an epic and detailed tale exploring XIX century Warsaw, tale in which Prus created a vivid picture of the city and people on the background of the economic, ideological and social transformations.
I’ve always loved reading about this nonexistent any more world. I mean that one recorded only on sepia-toned photographs. Men in the tailcoats, women in white gowns, multicultural society, Poles, Jew ...more

You've probably never heard of this book, but it comes damn close to meeting War and Peace on its own terms.
History rolls forward. The aristocratic scumbags are replaced by capitalist scumbags. The solutions to yesterday's problems become new problems and we don't get anywhere. A great man becomes a great man in pursuit of a vain and hopeless goal that eventually destroys him. A world of fops, fools, scoundrels, and nihilists loses something it desperately needs.
We can be 99% certain that societ ...more
History rolls forward. The aristocratic scumbags are replaced by capitalist scumbags. The solutions to yesterday's problems become new problems and we don't get anywhere. A great man becomes a great man in pursuit of a vain and hopeless goal that eventually destroys him. A world of fops, fools, scoundrels, and nihilists loses something it desperately needs.
We can be 99% certain that societ ...more

things they didn't teach us in school:
1) wokulski is heavily depressed throughout the whole story not just the last few chapters
2) every dude is a misogynist
3) might have been accidental but basically everyone is Gay™ ...more
1) wokulski is heavily depressed throughout the whole story not just the last few chapters
2) every dude is a misogynist
3) might have been accidental but basically everyone is Gay™ ...more

In writing this majestic novel about fin de siècle 19th century Warsaw, Prus illustrated all the social currents that would make Poland such a cauldron of differing identities in the following century. Ostensibly a story about the excruciating infatuation of a successful merchant, Wokulski, for a noble's daughter, the book is also about three generations of men coming to terms with Poland's past and present and trying to break away from the Nobles' Republic in order to create a modern future for
...more

"The Doll" is as a landmark work of Polish literature that will be of tremendous interest to anyone of Polish descent or having friends who received their education in Poland. It examines all of the major political, cultural and social issues that were debated in Poland in the second half of the nineteenth century. Because The Doll" is taught in Polish secondary schools, the Anglophone reader is assured the pleasure of being able to discuss the work with any of his or her friends in the expatria
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A book well known and loved in Poland but less well known abroad. This is a shame as I’d have no hesitation in putting it in the same league as Tolstoy - and like Tolstoy this is a huge book, almost 700 pages long. It is helped by a very good translation.
At one level a love story and the power of love to distort someone life, but it is also a story of the relationships between classes - especially between the aristocracy and the self-made man, and it can be read as an existential exploration of ...more
At one level a love story and the power of love to distort someone life, but it is also a story of the relationships between classes - especially between the aristocracy and the self-made man, and it can be read as an existential exploration of ...more

This is ‘the’ acclaimed Polish classic written by Prus serialised in 1897 and full novel form in 1890. It is set in Warshaw in Poland then split between Russian, Austrian and Prussia; the local history preceding the events of the novel appear quite complicated but are detailed to some extent in the book’s notes but uprisings, unification and the elites, politics, modernity etc are the backdrop.
The story is a Dickensian length of 679 pages small font text and a weighty tome – I in fact read the e ...more
The story is a Dickensian length of 679 pages small font text and a weighty tome – I in fact read the e ...more

I will say this, I was lucky with this book. I was in love and unhappy and the heroe in the book was reflecting my mood and emotions, so I read this book in one breath. nevertheless this is one of the best polish classic books.
Someone in this reviews told that Prus is boring. I don't know about his other works but this book is nothing like boring. And although the book had been written about century ago it's still actual.
I can't describe whole book, it's soo much more then one could describe in ...more
Someone in this reviews told that Prus is boring. I don't know about his other works but this book is nothing like boring. And although the book had been written about century ago it's still actual.
I can't describe whole book, it's soo much more then one could describe in ...more

One of the best novels written by Polish writers ever. Really, if you are considering which book by Polish writers to read you should choose this one. It isn't a pleasant story. It is one of those that helps one to better understand people and changes in society. One of those that it is really hard to forget.
Many levels, many points of views.
An amazing study of society and a deep study of human nature.
This book made me think why (during reading it) I was constantly expecting that Izabela would h ...more
Many levels, many points of views.
An amazing study of society and a deep study of human nature.
This book made me think why (during reading it) I was constantly expecting that Izabela would h ...more

3,5/5 stars
Well so far this book was the best required reading that I've read in high school. ...more
Well so far this book was the best required reading that I've read in high school. ...more

Amazing. A comprehensive portrait of Polish society in the 1870s. It's all there: Nobility, new bourgeoisie, romance, money, Jews, Christians, shops, trains, toys, dolls, beer, France, Russia, romanticism, positivism, existentialism, capitalism, socialism, nihilism. If you want to read only one book from Polish literature, read this one.
...more

A beautifully written book that provides a heartbreaking and tragic narrative with social context and a broad picture of Polish society in the late 1800s. Prus was able to capture the climate of the time and through his beloved Stas, Ignacy and others, give the reader a clear eyed view into the changing dynamics and hopes of a nation, as well as the driving forces behind its leading members of society.

Apr 28, 2011
Cole
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
People who think War and Peace is too cinematic and want something more "human."
Recommended to Cole by:
Milan
I have been reading this book for a year. 1) It's long and hard to carry around. 2) I don't want it to end. 3) Polish society from a hundred years ago takes a very long time to immerse oneself into so I have to block out an hour at a time to read it and I rarely have a spare hour.
Picked it up on Kundera's rec'. ...more
Picked it up on Kundera's rec'. ...more

Jan 10, 2015
Martyna
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
didnt-finish,
half-stars
1.5 stars

It took me some time to get into the story but it was worth the effort. I liked the author's writing style, the atmosphere of the 19th century Warsaw and the way he described - so precisely! - people's thoughts and feelings.
What I didn't like was that each character was stupid in his/her own way and sometimes I simply wanted to shout at them. Wokulski did not see anything beside his Izabela, Rzecki went on and on about "politics" and "Napoleon heir", Izabela was into her high society status... a ...more
What I didn't like was that each character was stupid in his/her own way and sometimes I simply wanted to shout at them. Wokulski did not see anything beside his Izabela, Rzecki went on and on about "politics" and "Napoleon heir", Izabela was into her high society status... a ...more

worst experience of my fucking life, thank gods it's finally over
...more

All in all - a terrific experience. The Polish Anna Karenina, of sorts. A nuanced and thoughtful criticism of aristocracy, and an ode to entrepreneurship. Also a fascinating character study of people stuck between the two worlds, and the search for meaning. In that sense - quite a bit ahead of its time, highlighting the psychological struggles of a person stuck between two worlds, and what social mobility is possible (or impossible). I also loved the detailed study of the psychology and social-p
...more

It’s said there are only two plots: someone comes to town; someone leaves town. In late 19th century Warsaw no one from the upper class/aristocracy leaves and society becomes indolent, backward, and frivolous. The merchant Witulski leaves to make his fortune and to come back to win the beautiful, aristocratic, flighty Bela. A clash of two world views - modern, mercantile, striving vs. reactionary, caste bound, complacent - plays out in Witulski’s obsession. Witulski’s fluctuating state of mind i
...more

Since it took me six months to read, I'll gather my thoughts a bit before writing a review.
...more

May 04, 2012
Dwight
added it
My review
The Doll takes place over an eighteen-month period during 1878-9 and looks at Polish society, with most of the focus on the growing conflict between the upper classes and the emerging tradesmen. Two ideologies are contrasted in the novel—the older Romantic ideal and the newer Positivist outlook. From the New York Review Books’ page:
The Doll takes place over an eighteen-month period during 1878-9 and looks at Polish society, with most of the focus on the growing conflict between the upper classes and the emerging tradesmen. Two ideologies are contrasted in the novel—the older Romantic ideal and the newer Positivist outlook. From the New York Review Books’ page:
Prus’s work centers around the stories of three men from three different generations: Wokulski, the fatally flawed and hopelessly love-struck hero; Rzecki, t...more

Prus has been compared to Chekhov and it's an apt comparison. His lengthy book is ultimately an intimate tale following three unlikely characters: a self-made millionaire longing for acceptance, a hopeless Romantic longing for the days gone by, and an idealistic scientist. The characters are interesting and well-drawn. It's a wonderful insight into Poland in the late 19th century with many disturbing bits of foreshadowing: anti-Semitism, the useless aristocracy, and misguided nationalism. The ch
...more

"The Doll" is a Warsaw-classic, i.e. it not only shows the "lovestory" of a wealthy salesman to a decadent impoverished noble young lady, but also the capital's development at the end of the 19th century.
...more

Rzecki and Wąsowska were the best characters, don't @ me. Also, I'm pretty sure that the fact that I almost cried in the last chapter says a lot about the quality of the book. I think it's worth it, in the circumstance that you have a LOT of time on your hands.
...more

I have to admit that's the first school lecture book that moved me so much. It's really deep and full of emotions in any kind from anger to angst, along with happiness.
...more

May 21, 2017
Michał/Michael Nikodem/Nicodemus Hołda/Holda
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
historical-novels
This book is lesson in relationship placed in 19th centaury Warsaw.
It’s about, how we can feel love toward someone, by driving ourselves into feelings based on our imagination from permanent thinking about someone. And yes, we all do this at some level, especially at the beginning of friendship. But I do think that, when you enjoy presence of someone, you want to spend more time with them rather than over process and agonize things that happened only for one. And here attachment to social class ...more
It’s about, how we can feel love toward someone, by driving ourselves into feelings based on our imagination from permanent thinking about someone. And yes, we all do this at some level, especially at the beginning of friendship. But I do think that, when you enjoy presence of someone, you want to spend more time with them rather than over process and agonize things that happened only for one. And here attachment to social class ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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NYRB Classics: The Doll, by Bolesław Prus | 2 | 51 | May 02, 2018 11:42PM | |
dulls more | 1 | 8 | Jul 31, 2017 11:06PM |
Bolesław Prus (pronounced:[bɔ'lεswaf 'prus]; Hrubieszów, August 20, 1847 – May 19, 1912, Warsaw), whose actual name was Aleksander Głowacki, was a Polish journalist and novelist who is known especially for his novels The Doll and Pharaoh. He was the leading representative of realism in 19th-century Polish literature and remains a distinctive voice in world literature. Głowacki took the pen name "P
...more
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