Just when I thought this list of books couldn’t get any more depressing, in steps The Painted Bird. This novel by Jerzy Kasinski is the story of an orphaned, homeless Jewish boy during War World 2. We see the world through the eyes of a horribly mistreated six year old. This one sounds like a great, peppy read for summer.
A few facts about The Painted Bird and its author Jerzy Kasinski:
- The novel was published in 1965 by Houghton Mifflin.
- Kosinski initially presented the book as autobiographical before it was discovered to be fictional years later.
- In fact, some critics have claimed The Painted Bird was plagiarized from several popular Polish novels.
- Kasinski wrote 14 novels, two of the most famous being The Painted Bird and Being There, which was adapted into an Academy Award winning film in 1979.
- Kasinski lived a tortured life and struggled with being accused of plagiarism. He committed suicide in 1991.
A dark, depressing book from a suicidal author. Let’s get on with it.
Anyone familiar with it?
