Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
23 used & new from £3.55
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Last Supper
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

The Last Supper (Paperback)

by Pawel Huelle (Author), Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (22%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 14? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
20 new from £3.55 3 used from £3.58

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Poland: A History by Adam Zamoyski

The Last Supper + Poland: A History
Price For Both: £18.98

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The Last Supper by Pawel Huelle

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Poland: A History by Adam Zamoyski

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Poland: A History

Poland: A History

by Adam Zamoyski
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £11.99
A Minor Apocalypse

A Minor Apocalypse

by Tadeusz Konwicki
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £8.99
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall

by Kazuo Ishiguro
3.8 out of 5 stars (11)  £7.49
Nine

Nine

by Andrzej Stasiuk
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £5.99
Between Each Breath

Between Each Breath

by Adam Thorpe
4.1 out of 5 stars (7)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Serpent's Tail (20 Nov 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1852429801
  • ISBN-13: 978-1852429805
  • Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 12.6 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 305,385 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
"'Book lovers queue here' Scotland on Sunday 'A writer whose work is full of depth and allusion... wonderfully absurd humour' Independent on Sunday 'An intelligent, intriguing and atmospheric novel worthy of its inspiration. It is admirably served by Antonia Lloyd-Jones' nuanced and readable translation' Independent 'A delightful period piece... His style is charmingly effective, the book written with an understated wit very much of the era in which it is set, and gently, deceptively provocative' Observer"

Product Description
Set in Gdansk, the story centres on a single day in the near future, when twelve men have been invited by their mutual friend, an artist, to model at a photographic session for a modern version of The Last Supper. The histories of the twelve men are revealed through their thoughts on the day: their wayward behaviour is a reflection of the role of the Church in Polish society today. The reunion is disturbed as a wave of terrorist bombs paralyses the city, creating upheaval and a sense of unease. Provocative, witty and heretical, The Last Supper raises fundamental questions about the nature of belief in modern society: it is a brilliant, erudite novel of ideas.

See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars A Last Supper for the modern world, 30 Nov 2008
By A Common Reader "See all mybook reviews at ww... (Sussex, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
I was pleased to hear that Serpent's Tail have published Pawel Huelle's new book, The Last Supper. I have previously enjoyed Huelle's collection of short stories, his novel Who Was David Weisner? and also his prequel to Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, Castorp, all of which show Huelle to be a substantial European literary figure.

It is important to remember when reading the book is that it is set a few years into the future, when some of the trends Pawel sees in contemporary Polish life have come to fruition. The book will be interesting to anyone who wants to understand the Polish cultural scene, and in any case, many of its concerns are European in scope rather than being wholly confined within one nation.

Huelle's story is about twelve men who have been invited to a theatre in Gdansk by the artist Mateusz, to pose for a photograph depicting a modern interpretation of The Last Supper which he will use as a reference for a major new painting. Mateusz is tired of the modern art scene with its avant garde approach, and wants to show that there is still a place for a painting which will move and inspire people through a finely-executed and inspiring theme. Each chapter concerns one of the men who have been invited to pose for the photograph and the book comprises a selection of word pictures around these men, each one in some way being characteristic of an aspect of contemporary Polish life.

The book is very concerned with the state of the Catholic Church, which Huelle sees as becoming more nationalistic, fundamentalist and anti-Semitic, partly in response to the growing influence of Islam (Huelle actually forsees a Mosque being built in Gdansk and also terrorist explosions in the city). However, wider themes of art and culture are covered, and the writing is in many ways post-modern, notably when it describes the impossibility of finding a middle way between a reactionary traditionalism on the one hand and an absurd avant-gardism on the other. W B Yeats oft-repeated phrase applies here: "things fall apart, the centre cannot hold", for when the fault-lines have been found in comfortable old truths, there is no going back to the security they offered. When the cultural context of the old truths has disappeared, they struggle like fish on the river-bank.

To Huelle, Polish culture is essentially Christian, but Christ somehow fails to find traction, and prophetic voices are lost among the general cultural chaos. This theme recurs throughout the book. Even when a Jewish scroll from the book of Zachariah descends above a Mass being conducted by an anti-Semitic priest, nothing really happens other than a suggestion that genuine judgement may be taking place in some other realm unseen by the participants. Huelle lives on the edge of dichotomy where faith does not bring peace, and contradiction is everywhere: the gay man who falls in love with a mystical Sufi dancer, the devotion of the masses somehow provoked by an exploitative and corrupt Catholic heirarchy, the "Islamic terrorism" which turns out to be the work of a recovering Polish alcoholic.

Huelle focuses on the work of the 19th century artist David Roberts who followed a devotional path of painting Biblical scenes while on location in Jerusalem. Roberts' work is contrasted with avant-gardists who see the destruction of such "kitsch" works of art as an authentic artistic statement in themselves, as valid as the work of creation that went into the original painting. At one point, Huelle criticises the Turner Prize and artists such as Damien Hirst, perhaps forgetting the success of galleries like London's Tate Modern which are thronged with people young and old who are hungry to experience new forms of artistic expression.

This book is essential reading for anyone who follows modern European literature. It is a challenging read and in my view would benefit from a prologue to set some context for non-Polish readers. For someone who enjoyed Huelle's other books, this will be a departure from what is expected, but on the other hand it will stimulate thought and will widen viewpoints.

As with Huelle's other books, The Last Supper benefits from a stylish and lucid translation by Antonia Lloyd Jones. I am totally ignorant of the Polish language, but as with all good translations, I forgot that the book was not written in English.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

Up to 50% off Dental Care

Braun Oral-B Professional Care 6000 Rechargeable Toothbrush - Pack of 2
Put a sparkle in your smile with up to 50% off selected Oral-B and Philips rechargeable toothbrushes.

›Up to 50% off power toothbrushes

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (74)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (463)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (165)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (81)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates