City of Lions

(Paperback)

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Lviv, Lwow, Lvov, Lemberg. Known by a variety of names, the City of Lions is now in western Ukraine. Situated in different countries during its history, it is a city located along the fault-lines of Europe's history.

City of Lions presents two essays, written more than half a century apart - but united by one city.


Jozef Wittlin's sensual and lyrical paean to his Lwow, written in exile, is a deep cry of love and pain for his city, where most people he knew have fled or been killed.


Philippe Sands' finely honed exploration of what has been lost and what remains interweaves a lawyer's love of evidence with the emotional heft of a descendant of Lviv.


With an illuminating preface by Eva Hoffman and stunning new photographs by Diana Matar, City of Lions is a powerful and melancholy evocation of central Europe in the twentieth century, with a special resonance for today's troubled continent.

Reviews

'[Philippe Sands'] essay makes for a sober and solid balance to Wittlin's more skittish approach, and completes the book perfectly' - John Self

'Congratulations to Pushkin Press for bringing lovely, haunted Lviv to a new audience' - TLS

'A walk down memory lane, a meditation on time, politics and remembrance' - Dublin Review of Books

'Beautiful and disturbing songs in prose' - Kazimierz Wierzynski

'The combined effect of the two pieces collected here is to paint a wonderfully evocative picture of Lvov now and then... a timely and excellent release by Pushkin Press. Highly recommended' - Kaggy's Bookish Ramblings (blog)

Author Bio

Jozef Wittlin (born 1896) was a major Polish poet, novelist, essayist and translator. He studied in Vienna, where he met Joseph Roth and Rainer Maria Rilke, before serving in the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War. He published one novel and numerous collections of poetry, many of which were characterised by their strong pacifist sentiments. With the outbreak of WWII he fled to France and then to New York, where he died in 1976.Philippe Sands is a professor of Law at University College London. He specialises in International Law and International disputes. He has also published many books, including East West Street and The Ratline.