Episodic, fictionalised memoir of alcoholism (or "alcohology" as it's referred to at one point), at first frustratingly disconnected and annoyingly self-aware (one early chapter is simply a grab bag of quotes from a hit parade of rummy writers), but which gradually coheres as (maybe) a path to, or glimpse of, sobriety comes into view. Like many an alcoholic, the author knows himself both too well and not at all, and this is reflected in the elegant self-flagellations of his prose style. It must have been tricky to translate, but Bill Johnston's English version reads flawlessly.

I bought this book by mistake. I got it in my mind that it was the source story for Wojciech Has's 1950 masterpiece of alcoholic cinema The Noose, and only when it arrived at my door did I notice it was published 50 years later than that film. But I'm glad I read it. The best bit is the haunting, lyrical digression into the narrator's grandfather's story of frostbitten vodka-tinctured self-destruction, but I also really like how the book ends, with an apparently genuine encomium to the transformative power of love. Not easy to pull off. ( )

Normally, reading about alcoholism is about as interesting as watching other people getting drunk, so I wasn't really in a rush to read this book. However, when I finally got around to it, I found that Pilch does a pretty good job of explaining the appeal of alcohol. His narrator may be detached and satirical enough to demand our attention, but at th same time he's implicated so deeply in his alcoholic persona that we can follow him some way along the road. I wasn't quite at the point of searching the bathroom cabinet for untapped bottles of after-shave as I read it, but I had the feeling that I could begin to see why someone might want to do that. Pilch shows us a sort of Catch-22 of drinking: you have to be mad to destroy your life with alcohol, but with the world in its current state you would have to be mad not to... ( )

This is a strange and compelling book which I consumed avidly on the tube, but it's going to be hard to describe it without making it sound tedious. It's mostly about an alcoholic drinking. But it is more interesting than that sounds. ( )

LibraryThing Review: i think Jerzy Pilch is a phenomenal writer! In "The Mighty Angel" Pilch bombards the reader with the experience of being a regular on an "alco" ward in a rehab facility. Question.....Are the characters, like Don Juan the Rib, the Queen of Kent, and the Hero of Socialist Labor, representations of aspects of the narrator, or individuals? The narrator's perspective on alcoholism, alcoholics & alcohol is gritty, tough, and incredibly insightful. Is it just a coincidence that the narrator is named Jerzy, is a writer, and has been to rehab eighteen times? Just read this masterpiece and see how the narrator fares. This is my second Pilch novel and they were both five star reads! ( )

I read this for the Reading Globally Poland theme read. Pilch is one of the most well known contemporary writers in Poland, but little known outside Poland. I enjoyed the book, which is a satire about an alcoholic writer who's been in rehab 18 times, until about two-thirds of the way through when I started feeling I already got the idea, and I also found the ending a little puzzling. Pilch works in comments about the recent and not so recent history of Poland, mostly in a humorous way, and creates some memorable characters and stories. However, since Wikipedia describes the book as "a satirical take on the "drinking novel" genre," and I am completely unfamiliar with this genre, I think I probably missed a lot of the satire.

Similar to the previous review, I was hoping that I would like the book more than I actually did. Even so, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a short, amusing read. For the most part, the novel consists of the narrator relating the stories of other "alcos" on the ward. This makes the book a bit fragmented, which I found to be effective, but some might not like the style. ( )

Jerzy Pilch is one of the most important contemporary Polish authors and journalists. The Mighty Angel was published in 2000, and won the NIKE Literary Award the following year. It was translated into English and published by Open Letter Books last month.

Jerzy was a moderately successful writer, until his life became consumed by alcoholism. He has been admitted to the alco ward of his local hospital 18 times. There he is detoxified and pumped full of vitamins and nutrients, under the care of the unstable Dr. Granada, and is given harsh therapy by Moses Alias I Alcohol ("if you do not quiet yourselves, I, alcohol, will destroy you"). However, each time he is released, he immediately goes to his favorite bar, The Mighty Angel, to see who is still there and what has happened since his internment, and he resumes his habit.

Jerzy writes about several characters who are also "frequent fliers" in the alco ward, which becomes their preferred residence. They give each other hilarious nicknames, such as The Most Wanted Terrorist in the World, the Hero of Socialist Labor, and Don Juan the Rib. Their stories are both funny and tragic, with hilarious experiences and lost love. However, their individual spirit and love of life, along with the group's support, allow each of them to go on.

This novel was very good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to, ergo the moderate rating. ( )