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== Notable novels == Kosiński's novels have appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, and have been translated into over 30 languages, with total sales estimated at 70 million in 1991.<ref name = "Greenwood">{{Cite web |url=http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/HJO%252f.aspx |title=Greenwood Press advertisement |access-date=June 19, 2007 |archive-date=July 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713143018/http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/HJO/.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> === ''The Painted Bird'' === ''[[The Painted Bird]]'', Kosiński's controversial 1965 novel, is a fictional account that depicts the personal experiences of a boy of unknown religious and ethnic background who wanders around unidentified areas of Eastern Europe during World War II and takes refuge among a series of people, many of whom are brutally cruel and abusive, either to him or to others. Soon after the book was published in the US, Kosiński was accused by the [[People's Republic of Poland|then-Communist]] Polish government of being [[Anti-Polish sentiment|anti-Polish]], especially following the regime's [[March 1968 events|1968 anti-Zionist campaign]].<ref name="NYT">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7DA1039F931A15757C0A96F948260 "Poland Publishes 'The Painted Bird'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320214601/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/22/books/poland-publishes-the-painted-bird.html |date=March 20, 2022 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 22, 1989.</ref> The book was banned in Poland from its initial publication until the fall of the Communist government in 1989. When it was finally printed, thousands of Poles in Warsaw lined up for as long as eight hours to purchase copies of the work autographed by Kosiński.<ref name="NYT"/> Polish literary critic and University of Warsaw professor [[Paweł Dudziak]] remarked that "in spite of the unclear role of its author, ''The Painted Bird'' is an achievement in English literature." He stressed that, because the book is a work of fiction and does not document real-world events, accusations of anti-Polish sentiment may result only from taking it too literally.<ref name="culture.pl">Dudziak, Paweł. [https://archive.today/20130416081123/http://www.culture.pl/web/english/resources-film-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/jerzy-kosinski JERZY KOSIŃSKI], 2003. Retrieved April 10, 2007. {{langx|pl|"Efektem kolektywnego tłumaczenia i niejasnej do końca roli samego "autora" w tworzeniu wersji ostatecznej, jest wyjątkowe pod względem językowym, wybitne dzieło literatury anglojęzycznej."}}</ref> The book received recommendations from [[Elie Wiesel]] who wrote in ''The New York Times Book Review'' that it was "one of the best ... Written with deep sincerity and sensitivity." [[Richard Kluger]], reviewing it for ''Harper's Magazine'' wrote: "Extraordinary ... literally staggering ... one of the most powerful books I have ever read." [[Jonathan Yardley]], reviewing it for ''The Miami Herald'', wrote: "Of all the remarkable fiction that emerged from World War II, nothing stands higher than Jerzy Kosiński's ''The Painted Bird''. A magnificent work of art, and a celebration of the individual will. No one who reads it will forget it; no one who reads it will be unmoved by it."<ref name = "Barnes&Noble">[http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?z=y&btob=&isbn=0-8021-3422-X#TABS From book promotional advertisement by Barnes & Noble]{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> === ''Steps'' === ''[[Steps (novel)|Steps]]'' (1968), a novel comprising scores of loosely connected vignettes, won the U.S. [[National Book Award for Fiction]].<ref name=nba1969/> American novelist [[David Foster Wallace]] described ''Steps'' as a "collection of unbelievably creepy little allegorical tableaux done in a terse elegant voice that's like nothing else anywhere ever". Wallace continued in praise: "Only [[Kafka]]'s fragments get anywhere close to where Kosiński goes in this book, which is better than everything else he ever did combined."<ref>{{cite news |last=Zacharek |first=Stephanie |url=http://www.salon.com/books/bag/1999/04/12/wallace/ |title=Overlooked |work=Salon |date=April 12, 1999 |access-date=March 19, 2010 |archive-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725190640/http://www.salon.com/books/bag/1999/04/12/wallace |url-status=live }}</ref> Samuel Coale, in a 1974 discussion of Kosiński's fiction, wrote that "the narrator of ''Steps'' for instance, seems to be nothing more than a disembodied voice howling in some surrealistic wilderness."<ref>Samuel Coale. The Quest for the Elusive Self: the Fiction of Jerzy Kosiński. ''Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction''. 14, (3), pp. 25–37. Quoted in: Harold Bloom. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CLhZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+disembodied+voice+howling+in+some+surrealistic+wilderness.%22 ''Twentieth-century American Literature.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401143539/https://books.google.com/books?id=CLhZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+disembodied+voice+howling+in+some+surrealistic+wilderness.%22 |date=April 1, 2023 }}. Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. {{ISBN|0-87754-804-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-87754-804-1}}</ref> === ''Being There'' === [[File:Jerzy Kosiński (by Rob Mieremet, 1973).jpg|thumb|Jerzy Kosiński (1973)]] One of Kosiński's more significant works is ''[[Being There (novel)|Being There]]'' (1971), a satirical view of the absurd reality of America's media culture. It is the story of Chance the gardener, a man with few distinctive qualities who emerges from nowhere and suddenly becomes the heir to the throne of a Wall Street tycoon and a presidential policy adviser. His simple and straightforward responses to popular concerns are praised as visionary despite the fact that no one actually understands what he is really saying. Many questions surround his mysterious origins, and filling in the blanks in his background proves impossible. The novel was made into a [[Being There|1979 movie]] directed by [[Hal Ashby]], and starring [[Peter Sellers]], who was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for the role, and [[Melvyn Douglas]], who won the award for Best Supporting Actor. The screenplay was co-written by award-winning screenwriter [[Robert C. Jones]] and Kosiński. The film won the 1981 [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] (Film) Best Screenplay Award, as well as the 1980 [[Writers Guild of America Award]] (Screen) for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium. It was nominated for the 1980 [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]] Best Screenplay Award (Motion Picture).<ref name = "imdb">{{IMDb name|0467085|Jerzy Kosiński|section=awards}}</ref>
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