Being There (Kosinski, Jerzy)

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. Review " 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. From the Publisher Chauncey Gardiner is the great enigma: a hero of the American media. TV loves him; print pursues him. He is a household face. He is the one everybody is talking about, though nobody knows what HE is talking about. No one knows where he has come from, but everybody knows he has come to money, power and sex. Was he led to all this by the lovely, well-connected wife of a dying Wall Street tycoon? Or is Chauncey Gardiner riding the waves all by himself because, like a TV image, he floated into the world buoyed up by a force he did not see and could not name? Does he know something we don't? Will he fail? Will he ever be unhappy? The reader must decide. " 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. A quirky, brilliant novel starring Chauncey Gardiner, an enigmatic man who rises from nowhere to become a media phenomenon—“a fabulous creature of our age” ( Newsweek ). 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 ). A quirky, brilliant novel starring Chauncey Gardiner, an enigmatic man who rises from nowhere to become a media phenomenon -- "a fabulous creature of our age" ( Newsweek ). 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 )