Znak publishers - rights departament

Wojciech Tochman
Mad Dog

nakład wyczerpany

In Mad Dog Wojciech Tochman presents his lastest writings which, in a disconcerting manner, describe the tragic human fates caused by evil in its many guises.

Among the topics broached by the author in these texts: the heroic battle of a single woman with a child-molesting priest, the disturbing fate of a boy cursed with Tourette's syndrome, and the attempts of a total amnesiac to rediscover his place in the world. The reportage „Moses' Bush” holds a special place because it is about a tragedy which moved all of Poland: the catastrophic accident involving a bus full of high-school seniors on a pilgrimage to the national sanctuary.

By encountering evil Tochman outlines in his reportages both a picture of human betrayal, hypocrisy, falseness, hatred, lies—and also of human tragedies, which can unexpectedly become our share. This powerful and shocking book confirms Tochman as a leading representative of the Polish school of reportage.

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Antoni Libera
Madame

nakład wyczerpany

Madame is a novel about a writer’s coming-of-age. It explores the effects of dreams and fantasy, the magic of art and the possibilities of imagination; it subtly unveils the nature of myth and the ways in which myth comes into being. An immensely rich, multi-layered book, part parody, part fictional autobiography, Madame chronicles the stages of the young narrator’s journey through frustration, humiliation and disillusionment to his final acceptance of his lot as a writer. At the same time it is a very moving novel about strength and frailty, first love, and a young man’s comic and painful attempts to come to terms with the conflict between the ideals of the spirit and the realities of the flesh – and to reconcile, through art, the opposing forces of reason and passion.

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Paweł Huelle
Mercedes-Benz

nakład wyczerpany

A most entertaining short novel, which begins in truly dramatic circumstances: the main character called Paweł (just like the Author to whom he is surprisingly similar) begins his driving lessons and almost dies of shame and humiliation. Trying to delay an utter calamity, he resorts to a truly Hrabalesque trick by beginning to weave a story about his grandparents’ cars. So we read of a brand-new Citroën being smashed by a train or of a mythic Mercedes-Benz in which his grandparents, along with some friends, chase a balloon thus inventing a new type of automobile “fox hunt.” As the story gradually moves to the present, Paweł, magnetised by his instructor’s beauty and sensitivity, gets to know some dramatic and beautiful facts from her life. This part of the story is more about different human fates in Poland at the time of economic and political changes. But at some point Paweł finishes his classes and parts with his infatuating instructor. The story ends with the news of Bohumil Hrabal’s death and a most impressive literary praise of his writing and life.

Being an extremely skilled narrator, Huelle uses Hrabal’s idea well and alludes frequently to his writing yet it is done in a very non-obtrusive, and well-balanced manner. The narration is multi-levelled and multidimensional, motives from Hrabal’s work are interwoven with contemporary ones as well as with a nostalgic, humorous and warm expedition into a family’s past.

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Karolina Macios
My Cat and the Sweethearts

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When it seemed that there is nothing new to be discovered in the chick lit formula, Karolina Macios came up with a brilliantly intelligent and funny story. This first-time author ironically plays with the convention while following the protagonist in her search for perfect love. Irony and wit really is what makes the story appealing from its outset to the very end. Fast paced and full of insightful portraits of the Polish urban 30+ generation, My Cat and the Sweethearts was hailed the hottest debut in Polish commercial fiction this year.

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