The Spring to Come

Coming Spring
AuthorStefan Żeromski
Original titlePrzedwiośnie
TranslatorBill Johnston
LanguagePolish
GenreNovel
PublisherCentral European University Press
Publication date
1924
Publication placeUnited States
Published in English

2007
Media typePrint (Paperback)
ISBN963-7326-89-8

The Polish novel Przedwiośnie (a title translated alternatively as First Spring,[1] Before the Spring,[2] Early Spring,[3] Springtime,[4] or Spring To Come[5]) was written by leading Polish neoromantic writer Stefan Żeromski, and first published in 1925, the year he died.[6] The book has been translated and published in the U.S. as the Coming Spring in 2007.[7]

The novel consists of three parts: Szklane Domy (Glass Houses), Nawłoć (Nawłoć Estate), and Wiatr od wschodu (The Eastern Wind). It is set between 1914–1924, before and during the reconstitution of Poland as the Second Polish Republic, including the Polish-Soviet war. As the Russian Revolution breaks out, the main character, Cezary Baryka, escapes from Baku with his father, a Polish political exile from Siberia (see also, Poles in Azerbaijan).[8] The father dies en route to the newly formed Polish state. Cezary enters Poland alone, the country of his parents, having never been there before.[9] The novel tells of his disillusionment as the Poland he discovers does not resemble that of which his father told him; a feeling only magnified by the Baryka's deep suspicion of the Bolshevik solutions about the poor.[7]

In 1928, an adaptation of the novel was premiered, directed by Henryk Szaro - the film is now considered lost. A live action version was released in two formats in Poland on 2 March 2001, adapted and directed by Filip Bajon, produced by Dariusz Jabłoński, and featuring Mateusz Damięcki as Cezary Baryka. It was the third most popular film in Poland for the year with 1.7 million admissions.[10] A five-hour miniseries version was broadcast on Polish television, and a 138-minute cut distributed to theatres.

  1. ^ The Review of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Volume 24. Page 10. Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk (Polish Academy of Sciences), Zakład Narodowy Imienia Ossolińskich "Ossolineum", 1980.
  2. ^ Bill Johnston, The faithful river By Stefan Żeromski. Page ix. Northwestern University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8101-1596-4.
  3. ^ Adam Michnik, Irena Grudzińska-Gross, Roman S. Czarny, In search of lost meaning: the new Eastern Europe. Page 81. University of California Press, 2011. ISBN 0-520-26923-3.
  4. ^ Geert Lernout, Wim Van Mierlo, The reception of James Joyce in Europe. Page 231. Continuum International, 2004. ISBN 0-8264-5825-4.
  5. ^ Marci Shore, "Caviar and ashes": a Warsaw generation's life and death in Marxism, 1918-1968. Page 26. Yale University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-300-11092-8.
  6. ^ Review of Przedwiośnie[usurped] with discussion on the themes of the 1925 novel and 2001 movie.
  7. ^ a b The Coming Spring by Stefan Zeromski, translated and with an introduction by Bill Johnston, Central European University Press, Tra edition, May 2007.
  8. ^ "Ciekawostki na temat Przedwiośnia Stefana Żeromskiego - RMF Classic". www.rmfclassic.pl. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  9. ^ "Przedwiośnie - streszczenie - Stefan Żeromski". poezja.org (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  10. ^ Hollender, Barbara (24 December 2001). "Homegrown pix gain in Europe". Variety. p. 7.