The Jerzy Bounce?

I read The Painted Bird in the very early sixties and passed the paperback around to the rest of my family.

One of my mother's reactions was "Oh, good. Not all of the Old World low life was shipped to this side of the ocean."

We were all a little credulous that the poor little boy had no good luck at all, but put this down to artistic license.

I assumed that the novel was more fiction than fact, but based on facts.

Then sometimes in the 80's I read of pigeons dyed-in-the-living-feather for some sort of civic celebration. The news story made no mention of fratracide among the pigeons.

Thanks, Lettie for justifying my doubts.

You know, Noddy. I sometimes believe that fiction is the only place that one may safely tell the truth. I barely remember the book. I just know that people who are artistic, need to say what IS. Even history is colored to fit the historian. I still recall Capote's In Cold Blood, a new genre--A non fiction novel.

The book, The Painted Bird was quite trendy, then. Horrible that someone would capitalize on those terrible times.