Jakub Wędrowycz is the protagonist of a number of short stories by Andrzej Pilipiuk, a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

science fiction and fantasy writer. Wędrowycz is an

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

, an elderly

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

producer, poacher, amateur

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person ...

and fighter against all sorts of supernatural forces dwelling around his village, from

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...

to vampires, demons and devils, as well as more mundane threats such as

Russian mafia The Russian mafia ( or ), also known as Bratva ( ; ) less as Obshchak (Общак) or Brigades (Бригады) , is a collective of various organized crime related elements originating or/and operating in Russia. In December 2009, Timur ...

, policemen and tax inspectors. Wędrowycz debuted in a short story published in 1996, and has been featured in dozens of short stories and several book anthologies. With time, Wędrowycz became the most easily recognizable characters of Pilipiuk's

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

and humorous prose, as well as one of the icons of modern Polish

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

. Many official illustrations of Wędrowycz, particularly for the books, have been done by Polish illustrator .

Fictional character biography

Wędrowycz lives in Stary Majdan, Gmina Wojsławice, in a rural part of

Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...

. Born in the 1900s, he has Ukrainian (

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

) roots. During his youth in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

he finished only three classes of elementary school (which he later burned). He has

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

, spiritual abilities, and is generally described as an

. He is also a

producer and a

poacher Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunti ...

. The character has been described as

Character analysis

The name "Jakub Wędrowycz" is a wordplay based on a literal translation of

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

into Polish. He is seen in Poland as a combination of popular negative stereotypes and vices of Poles, which nonetheless evokes sympathy. He is an

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

. He is also a rebel, mistrustful and often openly defying government and authority figures.

Reception and significance

Wędrowycz has been described as the most original and easily recognizable characters of Pilipiuk's

and humorous prose, as well as one of the icons of modern Polish

. Outside Poland, books featuring Wędrowycz have also been translated into Czech, and have been described as very popular in the Czech Republic. Some Wędrowycz books have also been translated into Russian. Polish writer

Jacek Dukaj Jacek Józef Dukaj (pronounced: ; born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. His fiction explores such themes as alternate history, alternative physics and logic, human nature, religion, the relationship between science a ...

has written that Wędrowycz is "one of the most colorful, original and memorable characters in

Polish science fiction and fantasy Science fiction and fantasy in Poland dates to the late 18th century. However, science fiction as a genre in Polish literature truly began to emerge at the end of the 19th century under the influence of Jules Verne's work. During the latter yea ...

", comparable to

Andrzej Sapkowski Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer. He is best known for his series of books '' The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous monster-hunter, Geralt of Rivia. The saga has been popularized through television ...

Geralt of Rivia Geralt of Rivia () is a fictional character and the protagonist of '' The Witcher'' series of short stories and novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He is a magically enhanced monster-hunter known as a "witcher", who possesses supernatural ...

, the main character of ''

The Witcher ''The Witcher'' (, ) is a series of 9 fantasy novels and 15 short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous witcher, Geralt of Rivia. Witchers are monster hunters given superhuman abilities for the ...

'' series. Wędrowycz has spawned a

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. The genre was introduced with ''Magic: The G ...

and a fandom convention, ''Dni Jakuba Wędrowycza'' (''Days of Jakub Wędrowycz''). The card game was released in 2011. The convention has been held in Wojsławice, a village featured in many stories related to Wędrowycz, since 2006. In 2013, during the eighth annual convention, a tall wooden monument of Jakub Wędrowycz was unveiled. In 2019, plans for raising a similar statue of another character from the series, Jakub's friend Semen Korczaszko, were announced. In 2016, a regional branch of

PTTK ''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country. The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...

, a Polish tourist organization, created a badge for those who visit local tourist attractions related to the Wędrowycz stories.

Appearances in media

Wędrowycz first appeared in Pilipiuk's debut work, a short story called ''Hiena'' (''Hyena'') in the February 1996 issue of '' Fenix'' magazine. His first book appearance was in the 2001 short story collection ' (''The Chronicles of Jakub Wędrowycz''), the first in a series of several short story collections on the character. As of 2020 there are nine collections of short stories on Wędrowycz published by Pilipiuk: * ''Kroniki Jakuba Wędrowycza'' (''The Chronicles of Jakub Wędrowycz'', 2001) * ''Czarownik Iwanow'' (''Ivanov the Wizard'', 2002) * ''Weźmisz Czarno kure'' (''Ye Shall Take a Black Hen'', 2002) * ''Zagadka Kuby Rozpruwacza'' (''Mystery of Jack the Ripper'', 2004) * ''Wieszać każdy może'' (''Anyone Can Be a Hangman'', 2006) * ''Homo bimbrownikus'' (''Homo moonshinicus'', 2009) * ''Trucizna'' (''Poison'', 2012) * ''Konan Destylator'' (''Conan The Distiller'', 2016) * ''Karpie Bijem'' (''Carps I Beat'', 2019) Wędrowycz also makes minor or cameo appearances in a few other stories and books by Pilipiuk. And he also appeared, with Pilipiuk's permission, in the book ''Czas Herkulesów'' (2017) by Polish writer . In 2011, the comic book ''Dobić dziada'' (''Finish Off the Geezer''), featuring Wędrowycz, was published. A sequel, ''Zabójca'' (''Killer''), was published in 2014.

References

External links

official page of Polish publisher of Wędrowycz book, the "Fabryka Słów" publishing house
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedrowycz, Jakub Fictional alcohol abusers Fictional exorcists Fictional farmers Fictional monster hunters Fictional outlaws Fictional Polish people Fictional paranormal investigators Literary characters introduced in 1996 Science fantasy characters Fictional characters from the 20th century