He is widely known for two novels, published by the Polish underground press: "The Polish Complex" (1977) and "A Minor Apocalypse" (1979). The latter work, a bitter satire about a washed-up writer who is asked to burn himself in front of the Soviet-built Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw; the novel was adapted as a 1993 French feature film, directed by Costa-Gavras. "A Minor Apocalypse" is a post-Orwellian parody that refers to specific historical events, such as self-immolation protests against the communist regime by Ryszard Siwiec in Poland and Jan Palach in Czechoslovakia.