Jerzy Kosinski Books In Order

Novels

  1. The Painted Bird (1965)
  2. Steps (1968)
  3. Being There (1970)
  4. The Devil Tree (1973)
  5. Co*ckpit (1975)
  6. Blind Date (1977)
  7. Passion Play (1979)
  8. Pinball (1982)
  9. The Hermit of 69th Street (1986)

Collections

  1. Passing by (1988)

Non fiction

  1. Conversations With Jerzy Kosinski (1993)

Novels Book Covers

Collections Book Covers

Non fiction Book Covers

Jerzy Kosinski Books Overview

The Painted Bird

Originally published in 1965, in hardcover, by Houghton Mifflin, this is the definitive, revised edition of the author’s novel. Now regarded as a late modern classic, it has been completely revised by the author, who has also added an introduction. Jerzy Kosinski was not at all happy with the first edition 1965, which was heavily cut and bowdlerized. This edition restores whole sections that did not appear in the previous one and also incorporates changes the author subsequently made. This is a graphically violent and deeply affecting novel of human brutality as seen through the eyes of a young orphan during the Holocaust. It is a powerful tale of a young Polish boy trapped during German occupation in World War II, and the brutalities that traumatize his childhood as he wanders alone from one village to another. This is a savage, unrelenting book, running the gamut from innocence to wanton barbarism, with whistle stops at everything in between. It is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving books written in the 20th century. One of the canonical titles of the century’s literature, and Kosinski’s finest, unsurpassable and magisterial achievement, this is the author’s highly praised third novel, the first published under his own name. His first two were under the pen name of Joseph Novak, The Future is Ours Comrade&No Third Path.

Steps

A portrayal of men and women both aroused and desensitized by an environment that disdains the individual and seeks control over the imagination.

Being There

A modern classic now available from Grove Press, Being There is one of the most popular and significant works from a writer of international stature. It is the story of Chauncey Gardiner Chance, an enigmatic but distinguished man who emerges from nowhere to become an heir to the throne of a Wall Street tycoon, a presidential policy adviser, and a media icon. Truly ‘a man without qualities,’ Chance’s straightforward responses to popular concerns are heralded as visionary. But though everyone is quoting him, no one is sure what he’s really saying. And filling in the blanks in his background proves impossible. Being There is a brilliantly satiric look at the unreality of American media culture that is, if anything, more trenchant now than ever.

The Devil Tree

A searing novel from a writer of international stature, The Devil Tree is a tale that combines the existential emptiness of Camus’s The Stranger with the universe of international playboys, violence, and murder of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Jonathan Whalen’s life has been determined from the start by the immense fortune of his father, a steel tycoon. Whalen’s childlike delight in power and status mask a greater need, a desire to feel life intensely, through drugs, violence, sex, and attempts at meaningful connection with other people whether lovers or the memory of his dead parents. But the physical is all that feels real to him, and as he embarks on a journey to Africa with his godparents, Whalen’s embrace of amoral thrill accelerates toward ultimate fulfillment. Now in a Grove Press paperback, Kosinski’s classic, acclaimed as ‘an impressive novel…
it should confirm Jerzy Kosinki’s position as one of our most significant writers’ Newsweek ‘Savage…
Whalen is a foolproof, timeless American character.’ Mary Ellin Barrett, Cosmopolitan

Co*ckpit

Meet Tarden, an ex superspy who, thriving on psychological pressure, penetrates the lives of others, leading his momentary partners in a ruthless dance of complex intrigue.

Blind Date

Blind Date is a spectacular and erotically charged psychological novel that shows Jerzy Kosinski, author of Being There and The Painted Bird, at the height of his power. George Levanter is an idea man, a small investor, an international playboy, and a ruthless deal maker whose life is delivered in a series of scorching encounters, each more incredible than the last. From Moscow to Paris, from a Manhattan skyscraper to a California mass murder, Blind Date is a dizzying vision of life among the beautiful people and the thrill seekers.

Passion Play

In a masterpiece of love and loss by one of the world’s greatest writers, Fabian travels in his VanHome from one end of the country to the other, searching, judging, and testing himself most of all.

Pinball

Jerzy Kosinski’s best selling novel Pinball, which he wrote for George Harrison, is a rock n roll mystery centered on a superstar named Goddard who has, despite his success, managed to keep his identity secret, even from his closest friends. But a beautiful young woman, obsessed with finding Goddard, stalks him relentlessly, driven by a secret goal that justifies all means. Ricocheting with humor and bursting with erotic intensity, Pinball is a game as intricate, unpredictable, suspenseful, and complex as life.

The Hermit of 69th Street

Explores the life of Norbert Kosky, a fifty five year old Holocaust survivor, immigrant to America, and successful but tortured writer in search of spiritual order and freedom.

Passing by

A collection of essays by the late author of The Painted Bird features pieces about polo and skiing, levitation, the streets of New York, present day Poland, the Cannes film festival, celebrities, and more.

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