 This was incorrect, as in fact Dyzma played the mandolin.The title of the novel lent itself to the title of a song by Jacek Kaczmarski, from the POV of Dyzma's eventual brother-in-law, Żorż Ponimirski, who eventually reveals the truth about Dyzma's past but is not believed.An American novel, "Being There" (1970), by fellow Polish native Jerzy Kosiński, has been said to bear a strong resemblance to the exploits of Nicodemus Dyzma.