The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel by Magdalena Zyzak
Set in the quaint (though admittedly backward) fictional nation of Scalvusia in 1939, The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel follows the exploits of a young swineherd with romantic delusions of grandeur. Desperate to attract the voluptuous Roosha, the Gypsy concubine of the local boot-and-shoe magnate, Barnabas and his short-legged steed Wilhelm get embroiled in a series of scandals and misadventures, as every attempt at wooing ends in catastrophe. After the mysterious death of an important figure in the community, a witch-hunt ensues, and a stranger falls from the sky. Barnabas begins to see the terrible tide of history turning in his beloved hometown. The wonderfully eccentric supporting cast includes a priest driven mad by a fig tree, a gang of louts who taunt our reluctant hero at every turn, and a dim-witted vagabond with a goat for a wife. Even as her characters brush up against one of the darkest moments of the twentieth century, Magdalena Zyzak's humour and prose delight in the absurdities of the human animal.| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780805095104 |
| ISBN 10 | 0805095101 |
| Title | The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel |
| Author | Magdalena Zyzak |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Henry Holt & Company Inc |
| Year published | 2014-01-14 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |