5 Quotes by Mariusz Szczygieł

The committees scour the bookstores, printing and publishing houses, paying particular attention to secondhand bookstores. There, they requisition countless copies of 'Incautious Maidens' or 'Flames at the Metropole.' So that those who prefer the false view of the world presented in cheap novels will never find refuge again.

When efforts were being made for 'Gottland' to appear on the French market, I heard that there were fears that it might not attract any readers. It wasn't certain if anyone in the West would be interested in what a Pole has to say about the Czechs. I could understand that — a representative of one marginal nation writing about another marginal nation is unlikely to be a success.

A Czech could either work for the Germans, or work for the Germans.

This we know: in order to survive in unfavorable circumstances, a small nation has to adapt.

W Polsce krzywda jest moralnie słuszna i tylko ofiary są poza podejrzeniami. Winę za niepowodzenia własnej rodziny przypisujemy zawsze innym.