Without Dogma [Hardcover]

Henryk Sienkiewicz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

Readers of Henryk Sienkiewicz in America, who have known him only through Mr. Curtin's fine, strong translations, will be surprised to meet with a production so unlike _Fire and Sword,_ and _The Deluge,_ that on first reading one can scarcely believe it to be from the pen of the great novelist. Even to those most unfamiliar with her history, it grows lifelike and real as it speaks to us from the pages of these historical romances. Only a very great genius can unearth the dusty chronicles of past centuries, and make its men and women live and breathe, and speak to us. These historical characters are not mere shadows, puppets, or nullities, but very real men and women, our own flesh and blood. His warriors fight, love, hate; they embrace each other; they laugh; they weep in each other's arms; give each other sage counsels, with a truly Homeric simplicity. They are deep-versed in stratagems of love and war, these Poles of the seventeenth century! They have their Nestor, their Agamemnon, their great Achilles sulking in his tent. Oddly enough, at times they grow very familiar to us, and in spite of their Polish titles and faces, and a certain tenderness of nature that is almost feminine, they seem to have good, stout, Saxon stuff in them. Especially where the illustrious knights recount their heroic deeds there is a Falstaffian strut in their performance, and there runs riot a Falstaffian imagination truly sublime. . . .

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henryk (Adam Alexander Pius) Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) was a novelist, born in Wola Okrzejska, Poland. He studied at Warsaw, traveled in the USA, and in the 1870s began to write articles, short stories, and novels. His major work was a war trilogy about 17th-c Poland, beginning with Ogniem i mieczem (1884, With Fire and Sword), but his most widely known book is the story of Rome under Nero, Quo Vadis? (1896), several times filmed, notably in 1951 by Mervyn Le Roy (1900-87). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: IndyPublish.com (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414227868
• ISBN-13: 978-1414227863
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very different book from Sienkiewicz, but I loved it!, September 9, 2002

By 

The Pete (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Without Dogma (Paperback)

First of all, this book is nothing like the Trilogy or "Quo Vadis". It's not an action-packed, Romanticist epic, the tone is more restrained, and the pacing is much slower. "Without Dogma" is really a psychological novel in which the storytelling is done through the thoughtful diary entries of the main character (Leon).

I won't delve into the story too much since I don't want to give anything away. Basically, this is a love story told from the viewpoint of a man who lacks "dogma". I think Sienkiewicz uses this word broadly to include religious dogma as well as other beliefs and sacred cows.

Unlike Sienkiewicz's more famous novels, narration really rules versus dialogue. Also, several key scenes are only referred to in the diary entries rather than played out for the reader. This approach might become tiresome for some, but I really got hooked.

Sienkiewicz handles the diary format masterfully and I was pulled into the story. At many points, I simply could not put it down. Often I felt happy for Leon when he made a step forward, other times he frustrated me so badly I wanted to reach into the book and strangle him. He came alive for me, warts and all, is what I guess I'm saying.

The translation is very crisp and reads smoothly. No problem there at all. I enjoyed this just as much as his more famous works, just in a different more cerebral way. There's no battles or kidnappings, but it's a gripping peek inside a man's mind as he faces some rather difficult emotional conflicts.