Turning the standard Gothic narrative on its head, this mesmerising tale weaves seamlessly between intrigue and humour; painting vivid characters in minute strokes, with an attention to detail that can only astound.

A young man named Walchak started working with Maya, a future tennis player, in the isolated countryside. The nearby 170 room castle, owned by an insane prince, a devoted servant, and a diabolical secretary, is naturally haunted. Due to their disparate social classes, Maya and Walchak naturally fall in love as they learn how similar they are to one another and how much they dislike one another. The clue to the prince's insanity is hidden in the castle's haunted room, where a towel that Walchak finds shivering and moving bears the key to the secretary's plot to seize control of the castle. Trials and separations, a brief stay in Warsaw, a helpful clairvoyant who solves the mystery, and finally, the solution but not before a murder.

I really enjoyed The Possessed and finished reading it over just two sittings. On the surface it's a classic Gothic mystery featuring all the expected tropes of that genre. But underneath it is a gentle pastiche, making fun of its own plot and characters (the twitching towel made me laugh every time it appeared). I enjoy Gothic tales, so it was fun to see them presented in a way that was mostly tongue-in-cheek but serious enough at times that you could read it as a Gothic story with a thread of humour as well. A very enjoyable book, and the translation felt fluid, the prose highly readable, throughout. I am giving it 4.5 stars.

Possessed by Witold Gombrowicz - what a novel. I've never read anything by Gombrowicz before but love translated novels, and this gothic masterpiece is a credit to both author and translator. If anything, the ending seemed a little abrupt, but re-reading it, that kind of worked. Brilliant in every way. My grateful thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the copy.

It was only in the last years of his life that Polish writer and playwright Witold Gombrowicz (1904 – 1969) started to receive the international recognition he deserved, including being nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature four consecutive times. Until then, ostracization by the Polish literary establishment, his subsequent refusal to publish his works in his native country, and his voluntary exile of many years in Argentina, meant that his oeuvre had limited success, despite the initial critical acclaim received for his first novel Ferdydurke in 1937. Ferdydurke was followed by Opętani (“The Possessed”), but this novel had a more complicated genesis. It was serialised in two Polish daily newspapers under the pseudonym Zdzislaw Nieweski, but the publication stopped short with the outbreak of the Second World War. The identity of the real author remained generally unknown until a few days before Gombrowicz death. The Possessed was first published in book form posthumously and the first translation into English appeared in 1980. After the discovery of the three final parts of the novel in 1986, the complete version was published in 1990 and will now be issued by Fitzcarraldo Editions in a translation by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, celebrated as the translator of Olga Tokarczuk (amongst others). It will be the first complete version in English rendered directly from the original language.

What drew me to The Possessed – apart from the fame of the translator, and the fact that I have a soft spot for Fitzcarraldo Editions – is the fact that this novel is both a pastiche and a parody of Gothic fiction. I’m always intrigued when a writer not particularly known for horror or the Gothic ventures in to the genre. In this case, Gombrowicz comes up with a convoluted story which is borderline crazy, in line with his penchant for absurd situations. Young tennis coach Marian is employed by rising tennis star Maja as her personal trainer and he travels to the countryside residence where she lives with her mother. Maja and Marian discover to their amazement an unexpected similarity of soul and character, and despite the fact that Maja is engaged to the married, the two young protagonists are drawn into a frustrating love-hate relationship. The matter is complicated by the weird goings-on at the nearby castle of Myslocz, where a mad prince awaits the return of the mysterious Franio, while his secretary – Maja’s betrothed – devises schemes to inherit the prince’s fortune.

Gombrowicz throws into the mix all the Gothic tropes one could think of – dilapidated old buildings, dark forests, underground passages, nightly escapades, demonic possession, murders, suicides, family secrets, a haunted kitchen towel (!) and, in the last chapter, an erudite clairvoyant who, like Van Helsing in Dracula, will prove crucial to the solution of the mystery of Myslocz. This sounds like Walpole ramped up to the max, and it is, but there are also elements of social, psychological and coming-of-age fiction thrown into the mix. This is most evident in the chapters set in Warsaw, where Maja and Marian both embark on a voyage of self-discovery.

I’m not sure this whole comedic horror jumble works, but it certainly is great fun and a good introduction to the thematic concerns of major figure of 20th century Continental fiction.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-possessed-by-witold-gombrowicz.html

This was a really intense but my gosh the writing was really strong. This is a very multi layered story that keeps you on the edge of your toes.