Today, communication on the Internet is an integral part of the life of any person. However, in 2001 it was still exotic for many. In that year, the famous Polish novelist Janusz Wisniewski published his work on virtual communication between a man and a woman - "Loneliness in the network."
A bit about the author
Unlike many other writers, this author was engaged in the exact sciences and very successfully for the first 40 years of his life. He is a master of physics and economics, a doctor of computer science and a professor of chemistry.
Yanush Vishnevsky began his career as a writer with a book on chemistry in English: Recent Advances In Chemical Information II. After 5 years, he published another scientific work - The Beilstein System: Strategies for Effective Searching.
In fiction, his debut was the novel "Loneliness on the Net." The book glorified Vishnevsky almost throughout the CIS.
Having become famous thanks to an artistic novel, its creator switched to writing. Since 2001, he annually publishes novels and short stories. There are no prohibited topics or plots for this author. Its heroes are men and women, faced with various hardships of life and looking for their own path to happiness.
This is Martha Goebbels, who was disappointed in love; and a woman before menopause; and the girl Matilda, who invented herself as a fictional friend, to come to terms with her illness; and many others.
As for his personal life, the writer has two daughters: John and Hell. Vishnevsky has been divorced for many years. At the moment he lives in Germany, but often comes to his homeland in Poland.
In his hometown of Torun, the writer has his own star on the local Walk of Fame.
Background of writing and structure of the novel
Vishnevsky had the idea to write such a book back in the late eighties, but then he did not have enough time and inspiration.
In the late nineties, the writer divorced his wife and this event greatly influenced him. To cope with the experiences, the author undertook to write the work "Loneliness in the network." The novel helped the writer throw out the accumulated emotions and restore emotional balance, and in addition, he discovered the whole world the amazing talent of Vishnevsky.
2 years after publication in Poland, the book was translated into Russian, Czech, Croatian and Vietnamese, and in 2006 - into Ukrainian and Lithuanian.
Structurally consists of 10 chapters and the epilogue “Loneliness in the network”. The author in each chapter talks alternately about the events occurring in the life of each of the two main characters, in addition, the content of their letters to each other is given. As a rule, the writer calls the acting characters: He and She. Although in the course of the plot it turns out that His name is Yakub, and the heroine remains anonymous.
The novel "Loneliness in the network": content
It all starts with the fact that the main character mixed up the train schedule and, having stopped at a train station in Berlin, accidentally saved the life of a stranger who wanted to throw himself under the train. The next day he receives an e-mail from an unknown person. In it, a woman tells in the most intimate details about her unhappy love for no one LJ, with whom she had an affair several years ago. It turns out that the stranger chose on the Internet at random, a person with similar initials (JL) and decided to talk to him, not being afraid that he could somehow harm her. Yakub himself was struck by this frankness and pain, and he entered into correspondence.
At first, they talked on common topics, but later their relationship became more and more close, and they began to reveal their innermost secrets to each other, as well as send gifts by mail. Time passed, and the stranger with Yakub realized that they just needed to meet. Due to a plane crash, which, fortunately, the protagonist was late for, his lover found him dead. These experiences and the “resurrection” of Yakub brought the man and woman closer together, and they spent a magical night together.
After some time, the heroine discovered that she was expecting a baby, but did not know from whom. After all, the father of her child can be both a spouse and Yakub. When it turned out that this was her husband’s son, the woman broke up with her pen pal, but she was very hard pressed to break up. When she had a baby, she, contrary to the wishes of her husband and relatives, called him Yakub.
The hero himself for several months wrote a letter to his beloved, but did not receive an answer. Realizing that she would not return, the man visited the graves of his relatives and went to the train station in Berlin to commit suicide.
“Loneliness on the net. Triptych "(S @ motnosc w sieci. Tryptyk)
Most readers found such a sad ending romantic and completely logical. Vishnevsky himself admitted in several interviews that he had originally planned to finish the novel in a different way. Therefore, after 2 years, he published S @ motnosc w sieci. Tryptyk.
This publication contained additional chapters, copyright comments, and reviews. “Loneliness on the net. Triptych ”is also supplemented by a post-epilogue in which the author differently presents the ending of the novel.
So, Yakub, having ordered a taxi to the station, meets in the taxi the same man whom he accidentally saved from suicide a year ago. The saved one tells how his fate has changed: he has found his beloved woman and is now happy. After listening to him, Jakub abandons his plan and returns to the hotel.
It is worth noting that such an ending gives completeness to the novel “Loneliness on the Net”. The end in which the hero is saved by a stranger whom he once helped - looks like karma that rewards Yakub for his noble deed and gives hope for happiness in the future.
Film adaptation
In the wake of popularity in 2006, based on the novel, a movie of the same name was shot.
The creators of the picture corrected the plot and gave the lovers a happy ending, in which the heroine herself came to Yakub. By the way, in the film adaptation she received the name Eva.
main characters
The main character in the work is a middle-aged Pole programmer named Yakub.
He is smart, well educated and makes good money. But, despite all the above advantages, this man is terribly lonely. Most of the people he loved died. Accepting his loneliness, Yakub unexpectedly meets a soul mate on the net. The stranger fascinates him, but he is madly afraid to betray his feelings and lose her. For this reason, having written in a rush a lot of superfluous, as it seems to him, the programmer hack the server so that his message does not reach his beloved.
Despite falling in love with a pen-pal, the protagonist of the book “Loneliness on the Net” does not fully understand many of her motives. The plot of the novel makes it clear that Yakub is very self-centered, and the woman plays for him the role of an understanding listener, able to delve into his suffering. For this reason, the hero simply does not understand the motives that prompted her to part with him. For many months he is trying to get her back, and then decides to commit suicide. Many readers call Yakub too weak-willed because of his decision to die, rather than start actively fighting for his beloved woman. Others call this behavior nobility.
Even more controversy is the nameless heroine of the book "Loneliness in the network." A description of the character and appearance of this woman is given literally at the very beginning of the book. She is already not young, but still good-looking and liked by many men. The heroine is quite smart and observant, but does not seek to make a career, although she could. At the very beginning of the novel, having stayed at the presentation, she remarks that the new product that they plan to bring to the Polish market will not be successful. However, the heroine’s boss is under the spell of a young Belgian making a presentation and signs a contract disadvantageous to shareholders.
The nameless woman has a husband, whom she loves in her own way, but over the years their violent passion faded. In addition, the heroine dreams of becoming a mother, but her husband is against. Feeling that in a few years she may even become unable to give birth, a woman cheats on her husband and stops giving birth control pills. Soon she becomes pregnant, but a miscarriage occurs. The saddest thing is that the husband does not even notice this, and the unfortunate woman has to experience her grief in solitude.
By writing the first stranger that came across on the Internet, the heroine wants to speak out to him, but gradually she becomes a listener of someone else's pain. Over time, a woman passionately falls in love with Yakub, however, does not dare to admit it even to herself. Finding herself in a position, she deep down wants her child to be from her beloved, but when fate makes a choice for her, she humbles herself and transfers all her feelings to her son.
To someone who has read the novel, the heroine seems to be an adventurer languishing with boredom. So, on the one hand, she laments her husband’s indifference, but when he, in a fit of passion, has sex with her, the woman complains to her friend that her husband raped her. Because of boredom, she falls in love with the unfortunate Yakub, but later throws it away, like a toy that has tired her. Guided by such opinions, some readers leave completely unflattering reviews about the main character.
“Loneliness in the network” contains references to other characters, which can conditionally be attributed to the main ones. First of all, this is the beloved woman of Yakub - Natalia. She was born deaf and dumb, but thanks to the care of her parents she was able to grow up a tender and intelligent woman. With the main character, they fell in love at first sight and soon became the happiest in the world. However, later the girl died under the wheels of the excavator, and Yakub nearly lost his mind because of this.
Despite death, Natalia is always with her beloved, her image occupies his mind and heart. In this case, the hero is not ready to tell anyone about what happened. Only a pen pal, he risks telling about his deceased beloved. The woman’s reaction to this story serves as a peculiar sign that she is his soul mate.
An important role in the plot is played by the husband of the nameless heroine of the novel “Loneliness on the Net”. The book does not contain many references to him, although he also quite strongly influences the actions of an unnamed woman. That's just, unlike Natalia (which, as it were, inspires Yakub), the husband of the main character is more like a stone on her neck. According to the reviews of the woman herself, her husband never cheated on her, he is caring and reliable.
At the beginning of family life, there was a wild passion between spouses, but over the years it faded. The husband spends most of his time working, he does not like some of her friends and does not want children, dreaming of living for himself. He has long perceived his wife as part of the furniture, although he faithfully loves her. This hero is ambiguous: he causes both contempt and pity overnight.
Minor Heroes
In the novel by Janusz Wisniewski there are a huge number of episodic characters. Because of this, many critics leave reviews of the book as too long in their reviews of the work “Loneliness on the Net”.
Frankly, this is a bit of truth. Indeed, for example, without a story about a priest and a nun, he would have lost the novel “Loneliness on the Net” a little. Briefly about the fate of these people, Yakubu was told in a psychiatric hospital, where he ended up after the death of Natalia. So father Andrzej fell in love with the nun. At first they just corresponded, and then they began to kiss and sleep together.
When the church authorities learned about this, the lovers were separated. Surviving the incident, the nun committed suicide. And the priest, learning about this, cursed God and went crazy.
The story of Yakub's friend, drug addict Jim, does not play a special role either, although this character is no less interesting in itself than father Andrzej.
But the former lover of the main character - a Polish scientist with the initials LJ - plays a rather important role in the plot, because it was because of him that the heroine wrote it to Yakubu. A woman characterizes him as a caring man who truly knows how to listen; as well as a great lover who knows how to excite not only the body, but also the soul.
Parents of Natalia look worthy of respect. So, her father, being a communist and holding a very high post, dared to admit that he was homosexual and leave his spouse for another man. The abandoned wife did not forgive him. At the same time, she did not say the words of her thin daughter about her father, because, contrary to offense, she respected him for honesty and courage.
In addition to the above characters, many more appear in the work "Loneliness in the network." The novel can be safely called an encyclopedia of unfortunate fates. Among the secondary heroes are a young prostitute from Romania, a man who stole Einstein’s brain, and the best friend of the protagonist who hid Yakub’s letters from her so as not to torment her and many others.
The problems of the novel
As the title says, this book is about human loneliness. However, the author overly thickens the colors. Some critics attribute this to his psychological state, at the time of writing the novel (Vishnevsky just survived a divorce). Some readers have the impression that the writer is persistently trying to squeeze a tear from them, telling numerous stories with a sad ending. The problem of loneliness presented in the novel is hyperbolized, but the indifference and cruelty of others is shown quite realistically.
According to some, the book should be called “Depression on the Web,” because the writer was great at creating such an atmosphere in his novel.
Among other problems raised by the writer in his work, the issue of honesty with himself and others is a red thread. The main character is unable to tell the truth to her husband in person, although online, with a stranger, more than frank. The opposite is Natalia’s father, who confessed to homosexuality at a time when it was possible to go to jail. The fate of the priest is also indicative. At one time, they did not have the spirit to leave the church to be together. The ending is sad - a woman commits suicide, and father Andrzej curses God and leave the church, but it’s too late.
Loneliness on the Net: Book Reviews
Immediately after publication, this work caused a lot of conflicting reviews. Some were delighted with the depth of experiences of the main characters, as well as the way a male writer was able to deeply penetrate the subtleties of female psychology.
Others, on the contrary, left purely negative reviews. "Loneliness in the network" actually divided the Polish society into two opposing camps, but did not leave anyone indifferent - and this is a significant achievement.
Both opponents and fans of the novel agree that some moments in the book are far from reality. For example, the fact that a miracle gynecologist was able to determine the age of a six-week-old fetus with an accuracy of 4 days without any instruments.
Quite doubtful, according to many believing readers, the story of a priest and a nun looks like. At the end of the 20th century, when a work takes place, the influence of religion on society has become much less. Thus, it is unlikely that such passionately in love heroes simply did not go into the world. After all, it turns out that they were more afraid of church authorities than of God. Therefore, they could not rebel against them, but against the Creator of the universe - easily (suicide and renunciation).
Another drawback noted by attentive readers is the excessive sentimentality of the novel. However, this feature is characteristic of many Polish books. Take, for example, the legendary The Witcher cycle. The second book in the series, The Sword of Destiny, is rather sad and depressing. And the mega-popular novel “The Witch Doctor”, based on which the movie of the same name was shot, is incredibly dull reading matter, despite the interesting plot.
Quotes
Despite conflicting reviews, “Loneliness on the net” is quoted even by those who did not like the novel. Most of all, the readers remembered the phrases about love and loneliness.
Also often found, taken from the book "Loneliness in the Network", quotes of an ironic nature.
- There may not be a library at an American university, but a Cola machine will be required.
- Weekend - these are two days in which there is no need to go to work.
- Men are so vain that they long for only beautiful women to get to know them on the Internet.
- Every night, only firefighters have fire.
- You know what? I dreamed here that you hanged yourself. I woke up with great joy.
- Jazz is Black's revenge for white slavery.
Entertaining facts
- Some characters of the novel had real prototypes. So, in Yakub it is easy to recognize Janusz Wisniewski himself. With a woman who became the prototype of the main character, the writer met in the UK. And Jim is a real-life drug addict from the United States.
- Those who are not very familiar with the Polish language sometimes confuse the name of the author of the novel, calling him not Janusz, but Jan Wisniewski.
- "Loneliness on the net" contains many frank scenes described surprisingly naturalistic. In Vishnevsky’s novel, almost all intimate heroes are exposed in front of each other. Because of this, at times it seems that this book is oversaturated with “strawberries”.
- Janusz Wisniewski wrote “Loneliness on the Net” in 2001, when carbonated drinks with caffeine (energy) were just beginning to appear in the CIS. One of the first to enter the Polish market was the Red Bull brand. In the novel, in addition to alcohol of an unspecified brand, the heroine constantly drinks this energy drink. Some readers suspect that the author was paid for hidden advertising. However, Vishnevsky himself did not comment on this fact.
Despite its advantages and disadvantages, today it belongs to the category of cult novel "Loneliness in the Network." Quotations from this work over a decade and a half have already become catchphrases not only in Poland, but also abroad. To criticize or praise this novel - each reader decides for himself. In any case, this book will not leave anyone indifferent.