- Hardcover: 396 pages
- Publisher: Znak (Jan 2008)
- Language Polish
- ISBN-10: 8324010955
- ISBN-13: 978-8324010950
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 15.4 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Product Description
Review
"At their heart, the best works of literature usually have a simple story and Madame is no exception....Madame is that wonderfully rare achievement: a book for adults who understand that questions and answers are interchangeable."
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Madame tells the story of a self-absorbed Polish teenager as he pursues intellectual maturity - and the woman of his dreams, his French teacher 'Madame' - in the communist-dominated Warsaw of the early 1970s. Libera paces his exuberant young hero's fulminations, fantasies and discoveries beautifully, building a remarkably subtle characterisation of a free mind in a repressive culture. This is one of those rare novels which reminds us why we love books. A consummate literary entertainment.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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First Sentence
For many years I used to think I had been born too late. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
For many years I used to think I had been born too late. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Beautiful intriguing book. Some lovely descriptions intertwine the lighter elements relating to 'Madame', and the boy's fantasies concerning her, and the darker elements relating to the suppression of academic freedom under a communist-run state. Sweetly observed study of a boy's youth and defining moments. The Washington Post compares the novel to 'Portrait of an Artist' - 'Madame' offered me more insight into the fascinations and infatuations of a boy as he matured - and in addition there was a fabulous sense of place. The insights into the Polish spirit are very worthwhile and there are lots of great literary references. Perhaps the millions who have read 'Memoirs of a Geisha' and Louis de Bernieres' work might think of giving this a try - it's a very genuine book. (I've never reviewed anything at all but wanted to write about Madame as it really deserves to be read and it looked lonely on Amazon's website with no-one saying how great it is!) (from Melanie in Brockley)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This wonderful novel combines so many ingredients difficult to find in modern fiction : wit,suspence, erudition, a tremendous sense of place and time, vivid characters.It also gives us a great portrait of a middle class life in Poland under communism, something that an average English-speaking reader knows nothing about.
I love this book and cannot recommend it highly enough. Agnieszka Kolakowska's translation is excellent, it really doesn't read like a translation at all, again a rare thing.
I love this book and cannot recommend it highly enough. Agnieszka Kolakowska's translation is excellent, it really doesn't read like a translation at all, again a rare thing.
Format:Paperback
In this exceptionally good novel Libera uses the infatuation of a precocious schoolboy with his French teacher to contrast the drab and corrupt culture of post war Poland with the sparkle of French literary and artistic society.
"Madame's" background intertwines with different aspects of wartime and postwar Polish experience producing a remarkable account that is mostly unknown to Western readers (but could explain a lot of present day Poland), and as a bonus, and perhaps on a more superficial level, the story is an emotional roller coaster of a game with a great dénouement.
"Madame's" background intertwines with different aspects of wartime and postwar Polish experience producing a remarkable account that is mostly unknown to Western readers (but could explain a lot of present day Poland), and as a bonus, and perhaps on a more superficial level, the story is an emotional roller coaster of a game with a great dénouement.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
item in poor condition
Book was described as 'good' but it has arrived with page edges turned down,has been subjected to water at the front and,most importantly, it has a horrible sticky stain inside the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by dc
A Great Book!
This is a fantastic book! A jewel! It makes you want to read it agiain after you have finished.
Published 24 months ago by Max
Lose yourself in this masterful novel...
The author has the gift of making the ordinary interesting...fascinating even. I read this a couple of years ago and it's still very fresh in my mind. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2010 by Acinom
Madame
Since I am Pole I read that book in Polish. If you like beautiful language, nice and not simple vocabulary, have imagination, like playing with words, know different languages,... Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2004
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