Świat Książki Warszawa 2004 129 x 226 165 pages hardcover ISBN 83-7391-728-4 Translation rights: Bertelsmann Media
Jerzy Pilch
The Holy Father’s Skis
About the autor Excerpt
In his play, The Holy Father’s Skis, Jerzy Pilch develops a theme that appeared in his last novel, City of Woes (2004). The play is set in the present day in the village of Granatowe Góry, situated in the foothills of the mountains, where the locals are electrified by the news that Pope John Paul II is apparently planning a pilgrimage and intends to visit the place where he used to go skiing in his youth, and – who knows? – might stay there for some time. The protagonists are original characters who are gifted, as ever in Pilch’s writing, with unusual charisma. They include Father Kubala (“a Bible expert who knows all about cars”, the mad teacher Professor Chmielowski (“a passionate football fan”), the mayor of Granatowe Góry, Jan Nepomucen Wojewoda (“an anticlerical with left-wing leanings”) and his unhappy wife, Joanna What-Shall-I-Wear. Rumours of the Pope’s imminent arrival prompt them to re-evaluate their own lives and make somewhat chaotic attempts to come into conformance with the moral standards of the Pope’s teachings, which naturally leads to all sorts of comical incidents. However, it would be hard to describe this play as a comedy – it is far more the author’s sad and bitter attempt to settle scores with Polish Catholicism, which involves more empty ritual than concentrating one’s thoughts in prayer, and also an effort to understand the phenomenon of the Pope, who is loved by the Poles, revered even as a ‘divine idol’, but who at the same time is regarded more and more rarely as a spiritual leader or authority.
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