"Syzyfowe prace" or "Labors of Sisyphus" is a novel by Polish author Stefan Żeromski which first appeared in the magazine Nowa Reforma in 1897. The work was published under the pseudonym "Maurycy Zych" and it was the writer's first published work.
The novel is based on the author's personal experiences as a child and adolescent in the Russian controlled Congress Poland. It is a portrait of his school and its students attempts to resist the policy of Russification imposed by the Tsarist authorities. The title refers to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, and portrays the attempts to indoctrinate the students as an occasionally successful, but ultimately doomed to failure endeavor.
The novel is set in the town of Klerykowo. One of the main characters, and one of the leaders of the rebellious students is Andrzej Radek, a farmer's son.