The Painted Bird

The Painted Bird is a novel by Jerzy Kosinski and was implied to be based on his experiences during World War II. However it is now widely considered that the events depicted were fictional, and that Kosinski did not for example wander the countryside of Eastern Europe during the war. It is also considered as a racist book, that is intended on inciting hatred against peasants - depicting most Poles as sub-human.

The book describes Polish peasants engaging in incest, drowning, and meaningless violence - such as eyeballs being plucked out.  Kosinski shows his deep hatred toward peasants and his complete ignorance about their life. He describes them using the same paint as Anti-Semitic books described Jews.

The real wartime experiences of Jerzy Kosinski were as follows: he survived under forged identity in the family of Catholic Poles in relatively safe and warm conditions. A Catholic priest had issued a forged baptism statement, that was the common practise in the Polish Catholic Church during the WW2. He was reunited with his parents after the war, but he has never showed any gratitude towards his rescuers. According to Kosinski's biographer, his family survived the war by pretending to be Christians, and this may have instilled in him a propensity to dissemble.

All of Kosinski's works after 'The Painted Bird' were rejected by major publishers.