This article talks about a famous novel by Leopold Tyrmand entitled Zły (The Bad) which was translated into English by David Welsh as The Man with White Eyes (New York: Knopf, 1959). The author claims that the novel which describes a life in destroyed Warsaw of the 1950s gradually became an epic. The author refers to a conception by Polish literary scholar and critic Kazimierz Wyka who claimed that epics are not written, but – under some circumstances, sometimes even against the will of the writers – some texts become epics. According to the author, in Zły (both in the style and in the plot) can be found the elements of brilliant epic stylization. The novel which at first was read as a thriller gradually became an epic because it described with epic accuracy a world that had disappeared, a world where a new life was born in the ruins.

The article examines Leopold Tyrmand's attitude towards the Poles and Polishness on the basis of, primarily, his journalism, interviews and correspondence. It picks up a broad range of themes, among them, the reasons of Tyrmand's leaving Poland in 1965, his relations with other exiles and expatriates, in particular the Polish community in the United States, his opinions on the virtues and vices of the Polish national character, his attitude towards the Polish language, his decision to write in English and his search for national identity. The article argues that Tyrmand's views on Poland and things Polish kept changing and this evolution was closely connected with various phases of his life. While acknowledging the heterogeneity of Tyrmand's sense of identity, the conclusion notes that the dominant element of his self-awareness was a sense of belonging to the Polish nation.