{"product_id":"a-thousand-peaceful-cities-jerzy-pilch-9781934824276","title":"A Thousand Peaceful Cities","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"If laughter actually is the best medicine, fortunate readers of this wonderful novel will surely enjoy perfect health for the rest of their days.\"--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA comic gem, Jerzy Pilch's \u003ci\u003eA Thousand Peaceful Cities\u003c\/i\u003e takes place in 1963, in the latter days of the Polish post-Stalinist \"thaw.\" The narrator, Jerzyk (\"little Jerzy\"), is a teenager who is keenly interested in his father, a retired postal administrator, and his father's closest friend, Mr. Traba, a failed Lutheran clergyman, alcoholic, and would-be Polish insurrectionist. One drunken afternoon, Mr. Traba and the narrator's father decide to take charge of their lives and do one final good turn for humanity: travel to distant Warsaw and assassinate the de facto Polish head of state, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party, Wladyslaw Gomulka--assassinating Mao Tse-tung, after all, would be impractical. And they decide to involve Jerzyk in their scheme...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJerzy Pilch\u003c\/b\u003e is one of Poland's most important contemporary writers and journalists. In addition to his long-running satirical newspaper column, Pilch has published several novels, and has been nominated for Poland's prestigious NIKE Literary Award four times; he finally won the Award in 2001 for \u003ci\u003eThe Mighty Angel\u003c\/i\u003e. His novels have been translated into numerous languages.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Frick\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jerzy Pilch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1934824275\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781934824276\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Open Letter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/15\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 143\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.58h x 5.54w x 0.47d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Best Books\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/15\/2010 pg. 13","brand":"Jerzy Pilch","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44125593403647,"sku":"9781934824276","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6d0f148d-85a3-4941-907d-34d8563a69cc.jpg?v=1687443493","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-thousand-peaceful-cities-jerzy-pilch-9781934824276","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}