Being There (novel)
| File:BeingThere.jpg First edition cover | |
| Author | Jerzy Kosinski |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Pages | 165 |
| ISBN | 0-370-01453-7 |
| Preceded by | Steps |
| Followed by | The Devil Tree |
Being There is a satirical novel by the Polish-born writer Jerzy Kosinski, published in 1970.[1] Set in America, the story concerns Chance, a simple gardener who unwittingly becomes a much sought-after political pundit and commentator on the vagaries of the modern world. It has been suggested that Kosinski modeled the character of Chance after a former greenhouse manager named Jerry Jarvis who became the national leader of the transcendental meditation movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s,[2] whom Kosinski had met at the local TM Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and who embodied the calm and simple manner of Chauncy Gardiner.[3] The Cambridge TM Center was for years located at the corner of Chauncy and Garden Streets.
A film based on the book was made in 1979; Kosinski co-wrote the film's screenplay with Robert C. Jones.
Background
When Kosinski published Being There, wrote historian Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska, "most Polish critics immediately recognized [his book] as a version of Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (Nikodem Dyzma's Career) by Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz, a novel from the interwar period, and Kosinski was accused of plagiarism".[4]
References
- ^ eNotes.com, copy-paste excerpts from: 1971 and 1973 periodicals including Times Supplement (1971), Chicago Review (1973), Harper's (1973), Critique (1973), Hudson Review (1973), and Books and Bookmen (1973). Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ^ "Jerry's Slideshow of Maharishi and Guru Dev".
- ^ "Jerry Jarvis on Jan 12 2009". YouTube.
- ^ Adamczyk-Grabowska, Monika (2001). "The Role of Polish Language and Literature". In Wolitz, Seth L. (ed.). The Hidden Isaac Bashevis Singer. University of Texas Press. p. 137. ISBN 029279147X.
External links
- Short synopsis, 2014 Guardian News.[permanent dead link]
- Being there / Jerzy Kosinski Catalogue of the British Library.
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