His novel Castorp (2004) is a part of Borges’ ‘idea of a great library’. Like Mercedes-Benz, it is literature made of literature, a tribute paid this time to Tomasz Mann’s The Magic Mountain. Mann’s book contains laconic information about the fact that the hero, Hans Castorp, before he came to the sanatorium in Davos, studied at the Gdańsk University of Technology for four semesters. This inspired Huelle to create a kind of prequel of the German masterpiece. We get to know the story of young Hans, who at the beginning of the twentieth century sailed from Hamburg to Gdańsk by ship. Here, he falls in love with the beautiful Polish woman Wanda Pilecka (a prefiguration of the Russian Madame Chauchat from The Magic Mountain) and experiences a spiritual crisis in the fight backed by Schopenhauer’s philosophy. The background to the story, perhaps more important than its protagonists, is Gdańsk, Wrzeszcz and Sopot, described with care and tenderness.
Castorp can be read as a variation on the theme of The Magic Mountain, addressing some of its themes and problems (such as the attitude of the Germans towards the East). Huelle’s book can also be regarded as the next link in the chain of works creating the mythology of Gdańsk. For the writer, the work on this novel was an exercise in his imagination, a composition on a theme he had set himself as he said in an interview with Sebastian Łupak (Gazeta Trójmiasto, 17.05.2004).
If, however, some feared that Huelle would stop at such composition exercises, the next novel proved that he could still do much better. A sharp satire on contemporary Poland and at the same time a work with philosophical ambitions, The Last Supper (2007) aroused heated discussions among critics. The plot of the novel refers to the idea of Maciej Świeszewski, professor at the Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts, who became famous a few years ago when he painted a large-format painting entitled The Last Supper, portraying well-known figures of the Tri-City as apostles. In Huelle’s book, Mateusz, an artist belonging to the ‘metaphysicians’ trend, realises the same concept by asking his old friends to become Christ’s disciples during a photoshoot in the theatre.
After the Last Supper, nominated for the Nike Award, Huelle published the Cold Sea Stories (2008). In this collection of short stories, the author looks back to the past, following the human fate associated with Pomerania; he also returns to a calm, elegant narrative and focuses on existential and metaphysical issues. The question has arisen as to what Huelle’s next book will be like. Some asked if a melancholic, nostalgic tone will prevail, as in his short stories, or rather a satirical twist visible in the last novel? Or maybe the writer will surprise his readers with something radically new? Certainly, his talent, supported by erudition, always raises high expectations.