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Being There (Kosinski, Jerzy) Kindle Edition
One of the most beloved novels by the New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award–winning author of The Painted Bird and Pinball, Being There is the story of a mysterious man who finds himself at the center of Wall Street and Washington power—including his role as a policy adviser to the president—despite the fact that no one is quite sure where he comes from, or what he is actually talking about. Nevertheless, Chauncey “Chance” Gardiner is celebrated by the media, and hailed as a visionary, in this satirical masterpiece that became an award-winning film starring Peter Sellers.
As wise and timely as ever, Being There is “a tantalizing knuckleball of a book delivered with perfectly timed satirical hops and metaphysical flutters” (Time).
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherGrove Press
- Publication dateDecember 1, 2007
- File size7272 KB
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"Being There is one of those rare books which echoes in the mind long after you have finished it. It will survive as a seminal work of the Seventies."--New York Post.
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Product details
- ASIN : B005012GJM
- Publisher : Grove Press; Reprint edition (December 1, 2007)
- Publication date : December 1, 2007
- Language : English
- File size : 7272 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 162 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #304,007 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #408 in Humorous Literary Fiction
- #873 in Satire Fiction
- #2,285 in Contemporary Literary Fiction
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This is a charming story of a man, a gardener, who has lived a sheltered life in the home of a wealthy man, without money, ID, nor record of his existence. We never learn whether he is the son, grandson or friend of the wealthy benefactor, but we do learn that he is very simple and concrete in all his dealings with others.
Some people have complained that the book left them with a sense of incompleteness. They should go back and watch the movie, because that incompleteness was corrected in the script.
I recommend Roger Ebert’s two reviews he wrote (the first when the movie came out, and the second, years later as a reflection). They are far more articulate than I could hope to be.
This movie, to me, is a gently cynical and sarcastic evaluation of the superficial reality of television and its impact on, or reflection of our culture. This has become magnified by the internet. And for this reason remains relevant.
We are deeply affected by appearances and often build our relationships and values upon such sand.
Peter Sellers is brilliant and profoundly controlled and understated in this most amazing performance.
Writer has an easy flow and I will pick up more of his novellas.
A fast read, but with rich imagery. A tour de force, but not yet dated. His books were taught in college in the 1970s and 1980s, and, as much as some professors tried, they really couldn't ruin him.
This book is for everyone, including very young kids.
Deserves its high ranking in the Modern Library top 100.
Top reviews from other countries
No decir nada parece significar todo.
A donde podremos llegar en una sociedad que solo escucha lo que desea escuchar?
Chance wird in Gespräche über Politik verwickelt, zu denen er nichts beitragen kann, weil er über keinerlei politische Bildung verfügt. So antwortet er mit Geschichten zu seinem Garten, die als sinnbildliche Anspielungen auf die Regierungsgeschäfte missverstanden werden. So zitiert der Präsident ihn, stellt ihn als wichtigen Berater dar, der Wirtschaftsmagnat will Chance in seinen Aufsichtsrat berufen, die Zeitungen berichten über Chance, das Fernsehen macht ihn zum Stargast in der wichtigsten Talkshow und am Ende wird er als Präsidentschaftskandidat gehandelt.
Eine herrliche Farce, mit leichter Feder geschrieben, schon vor 50 Jahren. Nur etwa 100 Seiten umfasst der Band und ist dabei ausgesprochen gehaltvoll. Natürlich hat das Buch etwas ungemein Aktuelles, kann man sich doch kaum des Gedankens erwehren, dass viele heutige Politiker auch nicht kompetenter sind als Chance und mit ähnlich dünnen Sprüchen durch die Talkshows kommen. Nur dass sie dies mit voller Absicht verfolgen, während Chance die Dinge ausgesprochen unfreiwillig zustoßen.
Weltklasse!