No rating, as this is not a finished work, and it was never intended for publication.

This is not to say that I object to its publication - in general, I come down on the side of archival papers of notable historical figures and writers being open to public perusal. Milosz is certainly notable both historically and as a writer, so I'm glad that this material has been translated and is now available to English-speaking students of history and literature, as well as any other interested parties.

However, marketing this as an unfinished science fiction novel is a bit of an exaggeration. It's more like a few bits and ideas and scraps of background information and themes that might've been been used to start on a dystopian science fiction novel, if the author had decided to write it (he decided against it; this publication also includes his notes on why.)

There are some thoughts on the future, on society, rather a lot on religion (and its perceived decline).  A few character sketches, but nothing to link them together, and no hint of a proposed plot. 

Undoubtedly interesting to those who want to delve into Milosz' thoughts and themes, but I wouldn't suggest this as a place to start introducing oneself to the Nobel Prize-winning writer.

Many thanks to Yale University Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are unaffected by the source of the book.

It is important to first clarify that this work is unfinished, which goes a long way to explain the fragmentary nature of the narrative. Indeed, it seems inaccurate to call the prose 'narrative' as there is very little structure or plotting. Instead what we have, is one writer creating a philosophical treatise about his dark feelings toward the future of civilization. The book is bleak in this regard. The prose, however, is fascinating and challenging. Given that this is a translation from the Polish original, some credit should be given to the translator. Milosz was a prize winning poet, so you would expect a lyrical quality to the prose, but in fact, it is economical and straightforward. Perhaps my favourite episode deals with the journey of an astronaut at 99.5% of light speed. This is the most clean cut science fiction present in the novel. It is a truly thought provoking read, but I'm not sure whether I would place it in the fiction section!

Sometimes authors, even the most famous and lauded of them, do not publish the books that they write. Though Czesław Miłosz has been dead for over a decade now, Yale University Press has resurrected one of his long buried manuscripts.

 Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004) was a Polish writer and poet who survived two world wars - he helped ferry several Jews out of Nazi territories - as well as a chillier conflict. He defected from Communist Poland in 1951 and made his way to the United States where he worked as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and continued his writing. He won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1980. With his experience and renown, Miłosz could have published any book that he wanted.

Instead he decided that not all novels needed an audience.

Between 1968 and 1971, Miłosz worked on a science fiction novel that would become The Mountains of Parnassus. The book explores a future in which religion, patriarchy, and other hierarchical systems no longer exist. Tyranny, repression, and the dangers of technology, however, survive. For a man like Miłosz, a man who lived in the beauty of words and wrote poetry for a pope, this future, one without art or faith, was the most terrible one he could create. But Miłosz never did publish the book.

Instead, he donated the manuscript along with many of his other papers to a library at Yale University where they sat and languished. Recently, however, first a Polish publisher and then Yale University Press decided to bring the book back to life.

The Mountains of Parnassus is a compelling novel that evokes its the political and spiritual tensions of the late 1960's. Despite the brilliance of the prose, I can't help but wonder whether of not the book should have been published. People argue that that writings of brilliant minds mustn't remain hidden, but I wonder if that is always the case. I suppose the point is an unnecessary one to explore here; in the 1970's Miłosz did send the manuscript to his editor who refused to publish it. The ghosts of other manuscripts with hazier histories linger though.

Perhaps this book is the appropriate one to inspire these thoughts. In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus was home to the Muses after all. It was there that the arts in all of their forms flourished. Perhaps it should be there that we consider what must be done with art once it has been created.