Editing Jerzy Kosiński (section)

=== ''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&nbsp;... Written with deep sincerity and sensitivity." [[Richard Kluger]], reviewing it for ''Harper's Magazine'' wrote: "Extraordinary&nbsp;... literally staggering&nbsp;... 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>