Art theft, secrets and a swearing Scandinavian noblewoman...

Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man is the most important and precious masterpiece which got lost from Polish museums during the Second World War. Until now we don’t know if it was destroyed or survived the war time and has been pleasing some private collector’s eye since then.

In Priceless (the Polish title Bezcenny) by Zygmunt Miłoszewski, finding the painting has been the most important task in Zofia Lorentz’s career. As a Ministry of Foreign Affairs worker, she is responsible for regaining artworks that have been lost or stolen from Polish museums and galleries. And she is known for being highly successful in what she does. When Portrait of a Young Man is finally traced in the USA, Lorentz and her team go there to get it. Even though they are aware it won’t be easy and will include burglary and theft.

The main characters turn out to be a lethal combination and it’s impossible not to feel bonds with them. Zofia is a mad art devotee but when it comes to things that aren’t connected with her passion, she is tough and uncompromising. In her team there are also a cynical art dealer with a warm heart (by the way, Zofia’s ex-lover), a retired ranger and a spy (one of the best in the country) and a Swedish art thief, released from prison on this occasion. Each of them is unique and I guarantee that you will love them at once. Especially the charming Scandinavian noblewoman seems to steal not only artworks but readers’ hearts as well.

Portrait of a Young Man by Raphael

At first sight Priceless appears to be one the thrillers that flooded the bookstores after the success of The Da Vinci Code, but don’t let yourself be misled by the plot summary! Yes, there is a secret, which - if revealed – is going to change our view on the 20^th century history. Yes, there is a group of art-seekers, who constantly get into troubles but always manage to save their butts just in the very last moment. Yes, the plot refers to one the most mysterious paintings dating back to the same time as The Last Supper, which creates such a confusion in The Da Vinci Code. Taking into consideration only those rather well-worn ideas, the novel is only one of many Brown-like thrillers.

But Miłoszewski’s book is something much better! The author plays with well-known motifs, juggles them adding his own ideas and in this way turning even the most predictable scenes into little pieces of art. I truly enjoyed his wiring style, irony and black humour, which didn’t let me put the book on the shelf without a long struggle with myself.

Although it’s been quite a long time since I read Priceless, I still find it one of the best books in its genre. It gave me a lot of emotions, I was laughing a lot but also found myself with a tear in my eye in a few moments. I can only wish myself and other readers more such books.

If you want to read this review in Polish, please click here. 

Will you dare to find out what happened in Lake Falls?

The vampire motif has been used in contemporary literature in almost every possible way. Unfortunately, in the majority of books which are currently published the image of blood drinkers is far away from Dracula or Nosferatu. A gentle, delicate boy, apparently dangerous but only to some extent, losing his head for a sensitive teenage girl is not the kind of vampire that I can accept. That’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed reading What happened in Lake Falls by Artur K. Dormann so much. You won’t find there another Edward Cullen but a man who doesn’t forget his real nature of a dangerous predator.

The book begins rather typical. The protagonist Victoria wants to start a new chapter in her life. After a tough divorce with the emotionally unstable husband, she decides to hide in a small town called Lake Falls, nestled in the middle of vast forests. She moves into an old house with her eight-year-old daughter Kat and after the local doctor retires, she takes over his medical practice. Everything seems to fall into place. Not for long though. Kat starts to feel worse and worse and the diagnosis is merciless – a brain tumor that can’t be operated on. When Victoria starts to lose her hope, she meets a stranger who offers to cure her child. But she will have to pay for that much more than she expects.

It isn’t difficult to guess that the mysterious man who appears in Vic’s living room at late night is a vampire. However, he has nothing in common with Twilight’s glittering teen boy, El’lar is a real old-school blood drinker – ruthless and arrogant but at the same time charming and seductive. No woman can resist his appeal, except Vic. At this moment you may find it a little bit well-worn but it isn’t so. Nothing in this novel is obvious and clear.

Dormann plays with readers the same way like a cat plays with a mouse, letting us believe we already know how the story will end and suddenly turning the plot upside down. More or less in the middle of the book I let myself smile with slight irony that I had already seen right through the author’s idea but that was a huge mistake. The ending surprised me so much that I know it for sure – I will never take anything in Dormann’s books for granted.

Apart from the vampire motif, the novel touches a much more important issue and makes us ask the question – what is a mother able to do to save her child? Sell her soul? Sacrifice the lives of other people, including her friends, if that is necessary? And even if she does so, can we really condemn her? I have significant doubts.

What happened in Lake Falls includes everything that a good modern gothic novel should have – dusky atmosphere, some sex scenes, interesting characters, a powerful demon and unexpected twists in the plot. It is a must-read for anyone fascinated with vampires.

Clever story about a bomb

Polish Publisher: E-BOOKOWO
Będzin 2014
Translated by Nina Wagner
E-BOOK

Any kind of conflicts – military or between people – is very often incongruous. We usually find out about it only after some time when we cool down and begin to make their analysis. Marcin Brzostowski describes these senseless and illogical causes of conflicts in a rather unusual way in his novel titled “Sweet Bomb Silly”. The title of the book indicates that while reading it can be very explosive. If you want to see whether it is true, you have to read this book. The storyline does not give readers a clear answer to the questions about some of the issues. It is up to each individual reader to decide how they will be perceived by the readers. In my opinion this is one of those clever books which are not so easily forgotten and which encourage the readers to reflect.

I have already found out several times that the volume of the book – in the traditional version or as an e-book – is not evidence of its quality. Because after all you can write a story using hundreds pages and really write about anything. You can also create a short story with a deep and meaningful moral which will be in the memory of the readers for a long time. Marcin Brzostowski chose the second option and created an original story where the main character is… a bomb. The air force S6-X02 series bomb called “Silly” is not as silly as her name could indicate. This is a very resolute and curious bomb which loses her best friend in quite dramatic circumstances. Silly’s best friend was a K8-0 series hand grenade. Both Silly and her companion were brought to life in the Bombs and Grenades Factory ltd. in Czernievo. Since their “birth” they are soldiers, and their purpose is to participate in the armed conflicted. Silly orphaned by the friend is the first year group soldier of the intelligent army of mass destruction.

The bomb works almost as a man. She has hands, feet, eyes and of course her own unique brain and even feels hungry like any normal person. But this is not only the fighting hunger. Silly is extremely proud of its destination. The bomb considers herself a soldier who sooner or later will be killed in the battle. If you want to imagine Silly, you can identify the bomb with a classic cartoon character. Although our Silly is a soldier, she does not really know much about the war. Her knowledge is based only on what the bomb learned during the training. Certainly Silly does not see what is happening in the army between people who command it. Silly cannot understand many things, but the lack of knowledge is not troublesome for her. The bomb asks a lot of different questions. At a certain moment our sweet Silly is implicated in the showdown between the two opposing armies that try to fight each other. How does our resolute bomb behave in this situation? Does she come out unscathed from this conflict?

Now I should write the standard sentence that most readers repeat: “Generally I do not read e-books, but this time I like it very much.” Yes, that’s right. I do not read e-books as often as I would like to read, but not because of their poor quality or something, but because of the lack of the e-book reader. However, I am sure that the quality of e-books is not worse than the quality of traditional paper books. I think that it is high time we began to overturn this stereotype and stop thinking that e-books are much more worse than paper books. Nowadays many respected authors also publish their novels both as traditional books and electronic ones.

Talking about “Sweet Bomb Silly”, as I mentioned above, I think that Marcin Brzostowski created a really original fictional story. While reading any book I pay special attention not only to the technical side, but first of all to the uniqueness of the idea and the storyline. And what can I say? I like our Silly. The bomb really gives the impression of a much more wiser than people who command the army. She sees many issues completely different than people do it. While reading this book we can smile from time to time, but under the sense of humour the author hides the bitter truth about the people and their doings, and generally about the world around us. Many issues taken by people do not make sense to only satisfy their own ambitions or to fulfill some ridiculous desires. This kind of absurdity about making various decisions accompanies by the reader practically during the whole time of the book reading. 

Marcin Brzostowski’s book is by no means strictly a war novel as some of the readers may think. In my opinion this book is a rather science fiction novel with the elements of psychology. I think that anyone who would like to read this small volume of the novel will not be disappointed and first of all from the very first pages will feel sympathy for the main character. Because it is really impossible not to like Silly. 

If you want to download this e-book, please click here 

"Dom na krawędzi" Maria Nurowska

Polish publisher: Znak, 2012

By reading Dom na krawędzi I have thrown myself into the very centre of the story about the ex-convict, Daria. This woman killed her husband and spent 6 years in prison. I have not read the first part of this story titled Drzwi do piekła and I felt a bit confused at times. Particularly, when the past of the heroine was concerned. However, Nurowska has created a further part of the story, where the need of a new life has conquered the past.

Daria changes her identity and she built a house on the edge in Bukowina. She opens a guesthouse and tries to straighten her winding paths. But fate has different plans and Daria meets Iza, the former prison psychiatrist, who helped her to survive the years of isolation. For Iza career is the most important and she leaves her daughter, Ola, at Daria's place. This bitter-sweet relationship will irretrievably affect Ola's life, who has got two mothers now. It all gets even more complicated when Daria falls in love with Paweł- the doctor who visited her guesthouse. For Ola it is also a time of fascination with Paweł's terminally ill son, Antek. It appears that each character has something to hide and detaching oneself from the past is more difficult than they can imagine.

I really like the author's style: poetic, full of melancholia entwined with descriptions of nature. Nurowska will enter the inner world of the characters with surgeon's precision and great attention to analyse their emotions. Each relationship is taken to pieces with great intensity and the reader is a bit embarrassed that he took part in it. I reckon that attentive reading of Drzwi do piekła will help me to understand the two women's toxic relationship better, because it it the outline of Nurowska's novel. I just simply regret that I have started reading in the wrong order.

fot. Elżbieta Lempp, link

"Honey, I killed our cats" Dorota Masłowska

Polish publisher: Noir sur Blanc, 2012

I have not read Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną (in the UK published as White and Red, US: Snow White and Russian Red). I just could not manage. After reading first chapters I noticed that here in front of me is a bit weird, although original work of art. There might have been some message behind it but I was discouraged by its difficult language.

When Honey, I killed our cats appeared, the headlines screamed about Masłowska's great come back. I thought that maybe I should give her a try. Besides, the book is only 156 pages long, so if the situation from White and Red reappeared, the nightmare would soon be over. So I have started reading and... was very positively surspried!

The plot is not particularly complex or breathtaking. There are two entirely different friends, Farah and Joanne. Farah is a well-mannered lady, who works in an office, attends yoga class and reveals an unhealthy attachment to antibacterial gel. Joanne is a simple hairdresser and a vegetarian, but she has no problem in swallowing a fat kebab once in a while. Both ladies derive from different backgrounds, but it only helps them get along even better. However, a man in love with Joanne stands on their way. Their friendship will be subjected to the hardest trial.

As I already mentioned before, the plot is not very sophisticated. But the most important thing is how Masłowska tells it. Honey, I killed our cats is composed out of  clever descriptions, amusing comparisons and ironic comments. By revealing an extraordinary sense of observation the young author provides the reader with a cynical vision of the world in which we live in. World of Facebook, billboards, healthy lifestyle and ecology. Witty and humorous narration uncovers the sad truth about contemporary life: filled with paradoxes, hipocrisy and loneliness.

Masłowska plays with her role as the author, depicting herself as a writer without inspiration. We are witnessing her creative process, difficult at first but later on formed by small things: an accidental meeting in a lift or a cat laying on the street. In Honey, I killed our cats Masłowska proved that she is a talented and mature author, who has a lot of distance to the world around her. I cannot wait to read her next book.

Fot. Filip Klimaszewski/ Agencja Gazeta, link 

Dorota Masłowska

• Polish novelist, journalist and playwright
• Born 3 July 1983 in Wejherowo, Poland
• List of published books
• Read the article about the author