Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

The Peasants by Władysław Reymont

Blurb from Goodreads

In the village of Lipce, scandal, romance and drama crackle in every hearth. Boryna, a widower and the village’s wealthiest farmer, has taken the young and beautiful Jagusia as his bride – but she only has eyes for his impetuous son Antek. Over the course of four seasons – Autumn to Summer – the tangled skein of their story unravels, watched eagerly by the other peasants: the gossip Jagustynka, pious Roch, hot-blooded Mateusz, gentle Witek … Richly lyrical and thrillingly realist, at turns comic, tragic and reflective, Wladyslaw Reymont’s magnum opus is a love song to a lasting dream of rural Poland, and to the eternal, timeless matters of the heart.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday, everyone! Technically, it is already Tuesday. So yes, another late Goodreads Monday update. Nevertheless, I hope you all had a restful weekend and had prepared for the tedious workweek ahead. I hope you were able to slow down and take a rest. Still, it feels like the weekend simply passed us by. I know. Nearly everyone have a covert – or maybe overt – loathing for Mondays. I am no exception. Viewed from a different perspective, I see Mondays as a window of opportunity to start afresh. It is a chance to work on our goals; ironically, the start is often the most difficult part. I hope everyone is starting or has started the workweek on a high note. I hope everyone makes it through – or survives – the workweek. I hope that the weekend equipped everyone for the tedious week ahead. I wish you all the best for the week ahead.

Time does fly fast. Just like that, we are already eight month into the year. We are already in the ninth month although the ghost month just started late in August and crossed to September. It cannot be denied that time is taking its natural course. Well, I guess I should still be thankful that the year seems uneventful. Regardless, I hope that the notorious ghost month is going well for everyone. I hope that September is going to be a good month for everyone and that 2025 is treating everyone gently, and with kindness. I hope that as 2025 moves forward, everyone is showered with blessings, positivity, healing, and growth. I hope good news and kindness will come knocking on everyone’s doors in the coming months. I wish success and blessings for everyone. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit.

In September, I will still pursue works of European literature. While going through my reading challenges – I am lagging behind in most of them – I realized that several of the books I listed in them are part of my reading goals and challenges. As such, this foray into European literature is timely as I am starting to fear that I might not be able to complete these reading challenges. My current read, Fredrik Backman’s latest novel, My Friends, however, is not part of these reading challenges. However, it is a book I am looking forward to. Anyway, since I have been immersing myself in the works of European literature, I have also been featuring works of European writers in my weekly Goodreads Monday update. This week, I am featuring Władysław Stanisław Reymont’s The Peasants.

It was only recently that I came across the Polish writer. During a recent venture into the local bookstore, Reymont’s The Peasants immediately grabbed my attention. One, I have never encountered Reymont before. Two, the novel is hefty and I am prefer thick books. Third, Reymont is a Polish writer and apart from Nobel Laureate in Literature Olga Tokarczuk and Andrzej Szczypiorski, I can’t recall any other Polish writers whose works I have read. However, it would take me about three returns to the bookstore before I finally acquired a copy of the book. Imagine my surprise when I learned – just today – that Władysław Stanisław Reymont is the awardee of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature. This furthers the case for The Peasants which was originally published as Chłopi in four parts between 1904 and 1909. It is a book that I need, or perhaps must read.

The Peasants, from the blurb alone, seems to hold a lot of promise. It is the portrait of life in turn-of-the-century Poland. It is also a searing commentary both about politics and society as a whole. On top of this, it promises to be a primer for Polish customs and traditions. Yes, the novel seems to be a step away from the at times mind-boggling work of his fellow Nobel Laureate in Literature Tokarczuk, but it is this promise of a different literary landscape that makes me look forward to The Peasants. If I can, I will try to read the book this year although the remaining months of the year is already stacked. If not, I will definitely read the book next year. How about you, fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!