Being There is satire by Polish writer Jerzy Kosinski, in which a simple gardener named 'Chance' is unwittingly hailed as a political and media sensation able to rise above notions of self, inhabiting the paradox of 'Dasein', the state "in which one is, and is not, at the same time".
Chance has never left the home of the Old Man, happily working in the walled garden. He was born by chance to a simple woman who died in childbirth; Chance himself cannot read or write. He only knows the garden. His meals are provided by the cook. He likes to watch TV.
Sheltered all his life, he is forced to leave when the Old Man dies, and all he takes with him are some of the Old Man's fine clothes.
On the street, a limosine backs into him and the owner, Elizabeth Eve, insists he be seen by the doctors treating her husband at their home. She mishears when he says he is Chance the Gardener, and calls him Chauncey Gardiner. Benjamin Rand is an influential industrialist with the ear of the President, and the couple happily invite Chauncey to stay. In this rarified level of wealth, he looks correct and they assume by his quiet demeanour he is a part of their world. He has seen rooms like this on TV.
His enigmatic answers to questions intrigue them - "In a garden growth has a season, there are spring and summer but also fall and winter. We quietly tend the garden while the plants sleep", and people assume he has deep insight. When he does not understand them, he repeats their words back, they brighten and are pleased. When they speak Russian, he is amused and they perceive he speaks (and naturally) reads the language. After meeting the President and attending United Nations events, the government can find no identification, no bank book, no driver's license. Who is Chauncey Gardiner? Media attention peaks and he is sought after as a political pundit, standing in for the Vice-President on a national news program. People quote him: but what he is saying?
It is no secret that Elizabeth Eve is enamoured with Chauncey, and with Benjamin in ill health, perhaps Chauncey could move into his place of power.
"I know the garden very well. I have worked in it all my life."
Published in 1971, Being There has emerged as a seminal work of the 1970's. Reading it was a pleasure. It is a beautifully constructed gem.
As a reader, should my experience be tainted by accusations of plagiarism when Polish critics immediately recognized this book as a version of 'Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy' (The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma) by Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz? Another Kosinski work The Painted Bird also fell under these accusations.
I found this held the magic of myth, a satire on what people choose to believe, especially blind where power is concerned. It reminded me of the great film Network, where, even when the curtain is raised on the sham of how power exploits, the followers still choose to believe.
Jerzy Kosinski co-wrote the 1979 Hal Ashby directed film starring Peter Sellars and Shirley Maclaine. Among many literary awards, Kosinski won the National Book Award for Steps in 1969.
1971 / Paperback / 120 pages
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