Gottland Quotes

“This we know: in order to survive in unfavorable circumstances, a small nation has to adapt.”
― Mariusz Szczygieł, Gottland

“When efforts were being made for 'Gottland' to appear on the French market, I heard that there were fears that it might not attract any readers. It wasn't certain if anyone in the West would be interested in what a Pole has to say about the Czechs. I could understand that — a representative of one marginal nation writing about another marginal nation is unlikely to be a success.”
― Mariusz Szczygieł, Gottland

“She suddenly asks: 'What are you most afraid of?'

'I don't know,' I say. 'Illness, perhaps.'

'Because what drives me nuts lately is people who are prepared to do anything for money. I find them really frightening.”
― Mariusz Szczygieł, Gottland

“Ponoć nie było w tym stra­chu, nie było la­men­tu, nie było roz­pa­czy. Był tylko smu­tek.”
― Mariusz Szczygieł, Gottland

“The committees scour the bookstores, printing and publishing houses, paying particular attention to secondhand bookstores. There, they requisition countless copies of 'Incautious Maidens' or 'Flames at the Metropole.' So that those who prefer the false view of the world presented in cheap novels will never find refuge again.”
― Mariusz Szczygieł, Gottland

“You can't measure everyone by your own yardstick. For the people I have loved I have a different yardstick. - Lenka Procházková”
― Mariusz Szczygieł, Gottland