Issa valley, the

Reissued to mark Milosz's 90th birthday, 'The Issa Valley' is a evocation of life on the Polish-Russian borders in the early 20th century, a piece of nature-writing and a profound meditation on childhood. Milosz's book is acclaimed as an unflinching inquiry into the genesis of our modern affliction (where compelling religious belief is being replaced by the 'truth of science') which has resulted in spiritual vacancy and the isolation of the individual.