Bacacay (book)
Encyclopedia
Bacacay is a short story collection by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz
. The stories were originally published in 1933, in an edition called Pamiętnik z okresu dojrzewania ("Memoirs from puberty" or lit. "Memoirs from the time of immaturity"), which was Gombrowicz's literary debut. In 1957 it was re-released as Bakakaj, and included five additional stories.
"The Memoirs of Stefan Czarniecki" (1926, "Pamiętnik Stefana Czarnieckiego")
"A Premeditated Crime" (1928, "Zbrodnia z premedytacją")
"Dinner at Countess Pavahoke's" (1928, "Biesiada u hrabiny Kotłubaj")
"Virginity" (1928, "Dziewictwo")
"Adventures" (1930, "Przygody")
"The Events on the Banbury" (1932, "Zdarzenia na brygu Banbury")
Bakakaj edition only:
"Philidor's Child Within" (1935, "Filidor podszyty dzieckiem")
"Philibert's Child Within" (1935, "Filibert podszyty dzieckiem")
"On the Kitchen Steps" (1929, "Na kuchennych schodach")
"The Rat" (1937, "Szczur")
"The Banquet" (1946, "Bankiet")
.
was published in 2004 in the United States through Archipelago Books
.
reviewed the book in The Washington Post
upon the American release in 2004, and called the stories "all highly accomplished". Begley described Gombrowicz as an aesthete with an element of moralism, comparing "Dinner at Countess Pavahoke's" to Jonathan Swift
's A Modest Proposal
, but wrote that "the effervescent and amusing stories in Bacacay should be read in the spirit of fun and not in search for an aesthetic system or clues to his psyche".
Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Marian Gombrowicz was a Polish novelist and dramatist. His works are characterized by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and an absurd, anti-nationalist flavor...
. The stories were originally published in 1933, in an edition called Pamiętnik z okresu dojrzewania ("Memoirs from puberty" or lit. "Memoirs from the time of immaturity"), which was Gombrowicz's literary debut. In 1957 it was re-released as Bakakaj, and included five additional stories.
Contents
"Lawyer Kraykowski's Dancer" (1926, "Tancerz mecenasa Kraykowskiego")"The Memoirs of Stefan Czarniecki" (1926, "Pamiętnik Stefana Czarnieckiego")
"A Premeditated Crime" (1928, "Zbrodnia z premedytacją")
"Dinner at Countess Pavahoke's" (1928, "Biesiada u hrabiny Kotłubaj")
"Virginity" (1928, "Dziewictwo")
"Adventures" (1930, "Przygody")
"The Events on the Banbury" (1932, "Zdarzenia na brygu Banbury")
Bakakaj edition only:
"Philidor's Child Within" (1935, "Filidor podszyty dzieckiem")
"Philibert's Child Within" (1935, "Filibert podszyty dzieckiem")
"On the Kitchen Steps" (1929, "Na kuchennych schodach")
"The Rat" (1937, "Szczur")
"The Banquet" (1946, "Bankiet")
Writing process
The stories in the first edition were written from 1926 to 1932, and the second from 1935 to 1946. One exception was "On the Kitchen Steps", which was written in 1929, but omitted from the first edition to avoid the interpretation that it was about the writer's father. "Philidor's Child Within" and "Philibert's Child Within" were also featured in the novel FerdydurkeFerdydurke
Ferdydurke is a novel by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz, published in 1937. In this darkly humorous story, Joey Kowalski describes his transformation from a 30-year-old man into a teenage boy. Kowalski's exploits are comic and fervid -- for this is a modernism closer to Dada and the Marx...
.
Publication
The book was first published in 1933. Upon the 1957 re-release, Gombrowicz decided to change the original title since it had led to misinterpretations. He chose Bakakaj as the new title because it did not mean anything at all. An English translation by Bill JohnstonBill Johnston (translator)
Bill Johnston is a prolific Polish language literary translator and associate professor of comparative literature at Indiana University. His work has helped to expose English-speaking readers to classic and contemporary Polish poetry and fiction...
was published in 2004 in the United States through Archipelago Books
Archipelago Books
Archipelago Books is an American not-for-profit literary publisher dedicated to promoting cross-cultural exchange through international literature in translation. Located Brooklyn, New York, it publishes small to mid-size runs of international fiction, poetry, and literary essays...
.
Critical response
Louis BegleyLouis Begley
Louis Begley is an American novelist.-Early life:Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in Stryj at the time part of Poland and now in Ukraine, as the only child of a physician...
reviewed the book in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
upon the American release in 2004, and called the stories "all highly accomplished". Begley described Gombrowicz as an aesthete with an element of moralism, comparing "Dinner at Countess Pavahoke's" to Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's A Modest Proposal
A Modest Proposal
A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, commonly referred to as A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in...
, but wrote that "the effervescent and amusing stories in Bacacay should be read in the spirit of fun and not in search for an aesthetic system or clues to his psyche".