Polish writers may not be so familiar with the Russian reader. However, the classical layer of literature of this country is very original and especially dramatic. Perhaps this is due to the tragic fate of the Polish people, many centuries of conquest and division of land, with the Nazi invasion, the destruction of the country and its difficult recovery from ruins.
However, Polish writers are also known to us on the other hand, as the brightest representatives of such popular genres as science fiction and ironic detective. We will tell you about the most notable writers of Poland of the 20th and 21st centuries, whose fame went beyond the borders of their native country.
Senkevich Henrik
At the end of the 19th century, Sienkiewicz became the most famous Polish writer. Books of Polish writers are not often awarded the largest world prizes, but in 1905 Senkevich became a Nobel Prize in Literature. It was given for all his literary work.
One of his most famous works is the historical saga “By Fire and Sword”, which tells of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1894, he writes his next iconic work, Quo Vadis, in the Russian translation of “Camo Griadeshi”. This novel about the Roman Empire secures for Senkevich the glory of the master of the historical genre in literature. To this day, this novel remains very popular and is translated into various languages. His next work was the novel “Crusaders” about the attacks of the Teutonic Order on Poland.
At the outbreak of World War I, Sienkiewicz left for Switzerland, where he died in 1916 and was buried there. Later his remains were reburied in Warsaw.
Lem Stanislav
Polish futurist writer Stanislav Lem is familiar to the whole world. Such famous works as “Solaris”, “Eden”, “Voice of the Lord” and others belong to his pen.
He was born in 1921 in the city of Lviv, which was then Polish. During the German occupation, miraculously did not get into the ghetto thanks to fake documents. After the end of the Second World War, he moved to Krakow under the repatriation program, where he studied as a doctor. In 46, Lem published his first story, and already in 51 came his debut novel “Astronauts,” which instantly made him famous.
All the writer's work can be divided into several groups. One is a serious work in the spirit of science fiction. Another is written by him as a satirical writer. These are grotesque works such as Cyberiada and Peace on Earth.
Polish science fiction writer - author of works that are translated into 40 languages and more than 30 million copies of his books have been sold in the world. Some of his works are filmed.
Gombrovich Vitold
This is a Polish writer, satirist, playwright of the period of 50-60s of the 20th century. His first major novel, Ferdidurka, produced a great response. He forever divided the literary world of Poland into admirers and critics of his work, among whom were other Polish writers.
A month before the start of World War II, Gombrovich sailed on a ship to Argentina, where he was going through the terrible years of war in exile. After the end of hostilities, the writer understands that his work is forgotten at home, but gaining fame abroad is not easy. Only in the mid-1950s did Poland begin to reprint his old works.
In the 60s, popularity returned to him, largely thanks to the new novels Cosmos and Pornography, which are published in France. In the history of world literature, Vitold Gombrovich remained a master of words and a philosopher, more than once entered into a dispute with history.
Vishnevsky Janusz
Few modern Polish writers are as famous in the world as Janusz Wisniewski. Despite the fact that he now lives in Frankfurt am Main, his works are always colored by the unique charm of Polish prose, its drama and lyricism.
Vishnevsky’s debut novel “Loneliness on the Net” about virtual love literally blew up the world. For three years the book was a bestseller; it was filmed and translated into many languages.
However, the author’s subsequent works do not leave readers indifferent, because he writes about love, about the strength of this feeling and about his weakness, about everything that the reader knows, but sometimes he cannot express it in words.
Khmelevskaya John
The works of Mrs. Khmelevskaya are not considered to be high true literature, and it is not surprising, because its genre is an ironic detective story. However, it is impossible to refuse her fame. Khmelevskaya’s books became so popular not only thanks to intrigue and cunningly twisted detective stories, but also to the charm of her characters. The main character of many books has been deducted from the author - courageous, ironic, smart, gambling, Mrs. John didn’t leave anyone indifferent. Khmelevskaya wrote off the rest from her friends, relatives and colleagues. By the will of her imagination, many became victims or criminals, and, as they later noticed with a laugh, they could not get rid of the imposed image.
Her own life threw her many stories - romance novels, dizzying meetings, travels and much less pleasant events of World War II, the occupation of Warsaw, the difficult economic fate of the country. All this brought to her books that lively language and sharp humor, which spread far beyond the borders of her native country.