Being There

Just yesterday I re-read Jerzy Kosinski’s Being There. Kosinski is a brilliant and fascinating writer and this compact, 118 page novel about an illiterate yet lovable simpleton, whose utterances are taken as cogent, sage counsel disguised as gardening metaphors by the powerful elite (including the President of the United states) is a knuckle ball of a book with metaphysical connotations. Published in 1971, this tale of the hero Chauncey Gardiner, who has essentially been raised by television and goes through life using this vicarious experience as his guide in all his doings, is eerily prescient given the current state of conditions in our society.

Consider the following passage from page 88. Through a series of serendipitous circumstances, our protagonist Chauncey Gardiner is at a dinner party with several powerful people from the United Nations. He is addressed by one of them.

“All right, Mr. Gardiner,” he said, “the President’s speech was reassuring. Still and all, these are the facts; unemployment is approaching catastrophic proportions, unprecedented in this country; the market continues to fall toward 1929 levels; some of the largest and finest companies in our country have collapsed. Tell me sir, do you honestly believe that the President will be able to halt this downward trend?”

“Mr. Rand said that the President knows what he is doing,” Chance said slowly. “They spoke; I was there; this is what Mr. Rand said after they were finished.”

“What about the war?” the young woman sitting on Chance’s left said, leaning close to him.

I'll stop there. This book is such a simple, quick read and yet such an intricate and subtle creation that it speaks volumes to all of us about the convoluted state of today’s society. The more mundane Chance’s pronouncements become the more they are taken to be the wise advice of an illustrious sage. It gets to the point where Chance is feted internationally as a man of substance and conviction. He is quickly elevated to the status of a moral compass and mouthpiece which society as a whole is desperately seeking. This book will resonate with readers today like never before. On top of all that, it's a fun read. The movie version, starring Peter Sellers as Chance, has en ending which is one of the most allegorical and talked about to this day.