Glass Elephants' City
Miasto szklanych słoni
RIGHTS: WORLD
GLASS ELEPHANTS’ CITY is a literary trip to a little town somewhere in northeastern Poland. For the two main characters, Jan who is a doctor and another Jan who is a patient in hospital, this town is the centre of the universe. Their stories seem realistic at first but gradually they begin to move towards magic and the supernatural. The town appears to be a unique universe where new stories are being created and destroyed and where new universes are shaped. In the hospital the doctors do not use lancets but they treat with the power of imagination. The town is one great factory of happiness which takes the form of glass elephants which are being sent out to the world. One day though, it appears that nothing is really what it seems and the whole universe of the little town falls into pieces and its inhabitants have to build their lives anew.
Sieniewicz’s writing could be called a fiction of liberated imagination. However, in this book he does not unleash his imagination to break up with reality but in order to capture it and consider very carefully.
Praise:
GLASS ELEPHANTS’ CITY
Sieniewicz keeps enjoying the opinion of one of the most interesting authors of the young generation. It is a correct although a bit unjust statement because Sieniewicz should be called a more interesting writer not only within one generation. He becomes more and more interesting and every new book is better than the previous one.
Dariusz Nowacki
Gazeta Wyborcza
THE FOURTH SKY
Straight from the entrails of existence.
Maria Janion
Gazeta Wyborcza
Very interesting fiction. One of the best books that appeared in bookshops this year.
Kuba Piotrowicz
Aktivist
WE DON’T SERVE JEWESSES
Sieniewicz is a rare case of Polish writer who crosses the well-known tracks of thought but at the same time he keeps closely in touch with the most important issues of contemporary times. I sympathise with Sieniewicz also because of what he does with the gender issues in his writing. His intuition in this aspect is very natural, it is a part of his sensitivity.
Kinga Dunin
Sieniewicz escapes the banner of socially committed literature in order to ridicule the totalitarism of contemporyary culture.
Cezary Polak
Ozon
Sieniewicz’s writing is by no means easy and pleasant and it is not created for this reason. Just the contrary. Rebellion is at the core of this writing.
Sławomir Buryła
Pogranicza
About the author:
MARIUSZ SIENIEWICZ (b. 1972), one of the most talented young Polish authors. One of the creators of the "Portret” literary cultural journal. Sieniewicz published two novels: GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, in 1999, THE FOURTH SKY in 2003 and a short story collection WE DON’T SERVE JEWESSES in 2005. THE FOURTH SKY was nominated for the NIKE literary Award and the Polityka Passport.
