The Shadow Catcher: A Novel (Andrze Szczypiorski) - Softcover

Szczypiorski, Andrzej

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080213565X ISBN 13: 9780802135650

Publisher: Grove Press, 1998

Synopsis

Andrzej Szczypiorski is one of the major figures in world literature. In The Shadow Catcher, he tells the story of a boy who comes of age as the world around him begins to fall apart. At fifteen, Krzys is the adored and sheltered son of a wealthy Polish family; it is the moment just before World War II, which will forever change their lives, but Krzys is only partly aware of what is happening around him. He lives in a world shrouded in silent cries and fleeting whispers -- here his awakening into manhood is accompanied by a sense of imminent doom. The Shadow Catcher is a richly evocative, heartbreaking novel about the loss of innocence and the vanishing of the old world.

About this title

Review:

Published originally in 1976, The Shadow Catcher is the fourth of Polish writer Andrzej Szczypiorski's novels to appear in English. The protagonist is 15-year-old Krzys, a sensitive boy who, in the summer of 1939, goes on holiday to the country. Rumors of war waft on the periphery, but no one takes them seriously. Over the course of just a few days, young Krzys falls in love, explores the nature of identity, faith and passion, and meditates on the position of the large Jewish population in Poland--a community the boy considers an integral part of his nation. The novel ends before war is declared, but readers know the eventual fates of both Poland and its Jews during the Nazi occupation. The Shadow Catcher is not so much a historical novel as a remembrance of a world about to disappear forever and the unsuspecting souls who peopled it.

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Polish

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 080213565X
• ISBN 13: 9780802135650
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176