''The Gates of Paradise'' (Polish: ''Bramy raju'') is a novel by Polish writer

Jerzy Andrzejewski Jerzy Andrzejewski (; 19 August 1909 – 19 April 1983) was a prolific Polish writer. His works confront controversial moral issues such as betrayal, the Jews and Auschwitz in the wartime. His novels, ''Ashes and Diamonds'' (about the immediate ...

published in 1960. The novel consists of 40,000 words written in two sentences, with nearly no

punctuation Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. An ...

, making it an exercise in

constrained writing Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern. Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form. D ...

. The second sentence contains only four words: "I szli całą noc" ("And they marched all night"). The book tells the story of the Children's Crusade of 1212 trying to reach the Holy Land. The idealistic

naivety Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

of major participants is contrasted with the

cynicism Cynic or Cynicism may refer to: Modes of thought * Cynicism (philosophy), a school of ancient Greek philosophy * Cynicism (contemporary), modern use of the word for distrust of others' motives Books * ''The Cynic'', James Gordon Stuart Grant 1 ...

of others, who are morally corrupted while in charge. The author makes

allusion Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...

s to a somewhat similar situation existing in communist Poland of his own time. Jerzy Andrzejewski (1909-1983)
''University of Glasgow'' College of Arts. Slavonic studies.

Notes and references

1960 novels Polish historical novels Media about the Children's Crusade Constrained writing Novels set in the 13th century 20th-century Polish novels Polish novels adapted into films {{1960s-hist-novel-stub

See also

Notes and references