A Mass for Arras

A medieval outbreak of witch-burning and anti-Semitism provides the basis for Polish novelist Szczypiorski's ( The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman ) stunning political allegory of the ever-present danger of totalitarianism. In 1461, after losing a fifth of its population to plague and famine, the French town of Arras descends into barbarism. Lechery, looting and book-burning give way to greater violence as the townspeople find scapegoats in Jews and women, slaughtering the former as agents of Satan, the latter as witches. The PEN Club Award-winning author depicts this historical episode through the eyes of the guilt-ridden Jan, a Christian intellectual who participates in the mass hysteria but later escapes the herd mentality after he finds himself suspected of heresy. Jan recoils from his mentor, Father Albert, a proto-fascist demagogue, but when his other role model, David, Bishop of Utrecht, absolves all citizens of their sins, Jan recognizes the horrifying consequences of unquestioning acceptance of authority. This resonant story is a timely meditation on crimes committed in the name of religion and on the misplaced faith the ruled place in their rulers. The translation preserves the pungent medieval atmosphere, evoking a mindset that, the author implies, is very much alive today. (July)