Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

The sagacity of a blank slate

Jerzy Kosinski was born and educated in Poland. As a young man he fled the communist regime in his native country and emigrated to America, where he became a successful novelist. He enjoyed great commercial success and critical acclaim in the late ‘60s and 1970s. He was even somewhat of a minor celebrity, making multiple appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and acting in a few feature films, most notably Warren Beatty’s Reds. Kosinski’s name is not so well-known nowadays, but many will recognize the title of his 1971 novel Being There because of the popular film adaptation starring Peter Sellers.

Being There is the story of Chance, a humble gardener who has led a very unique existence. Orphaned as a young boy, he was taken in by a wealthy lawyer referred to only as the Old Man. Chance has lived his whole life in the Old Man’s Manhattan mansion, working as his gardener. He receives no pay but is provided with food, shelter, and clothing. Though he’s probably in his thirties or forties at the time this novel takes place, Chance has never been outside the walls of the Old Man’s property. Everything he knows about the outside world he has learned through television. The garden and his television are all he needs to be content. Chance was never formally adopted by the Old Man, and there is in fact no record whatsoever of his existence. When the Old Man dies, therefore, the estate lawyers evict him from the premises, and Chance is forced to make his own way in the world. 

This is a comedic novel, the running joke being that no one Chance encounters in the outside world seems to recognize his childlike intelligence and lack of almost any life experiences. He falls in with wealthy and powerful people who misinterpret his every simple utterance about gardening as sage wisdom. Thus, with very little effort or intention on his part, Chance rises to great heights of political power, commercial success, and media celebrity.

Being There is a very short novel that barely qualifies as a novella. The edition I read was 142 pages, but I’ve never seen a trade paperback with so many blank pages and so much white space. The story is based on a very simple premise, and it sometimes reads like the same joke being told over and over again. Nevertheless, it is very cleverly done. Kosinski satirizes American political and media culture, and some scenes really do inspire laughter. Kosinski has said that he based the character of Chance on a real person, a guru of transcendental meditation. Polish critics, however, accused Kosinski of plagiarizing a previous Polish novel. I’m sure Being There was probably very unique and innovative at the time it was published. Over the past half century, however, we’ve seen many variations of this theme in film and television­—the childlike blank slate who is perceived as a savant. There are touches of Chance in Forrest Gump, Rain Man, and Woody Allen’s Zelig, for example, as well as many other comedic protagonists who suffer from amnesia or stereotypes of autism. I wouldn’t say those later productions necessarily copied Being There, but one’s accumulated familiarity with such plot lines renders Kosinski’s novel somewhat predictable.

Despite such predictability, overall I enjoyed Being There. It’s a quick and fun read. I doubt it is Kosinski’s most profound work of literature, but there are certainly depths of insightful social commentary beneath the simple storyline. After reading this, I definitely would like to check out more of Kosinski’s novels.