Tenderness and sympathy for one's nearest and dearest do not exclude taking a sober, sharp look at them. Thanks to this the characters are so real and close to the reader. Book is a moving story about complicated human relationships and feelings, tainted by currents of history. As Mikołaj Łoziński says about his work:
Book is not a literal history of my family, but it was inspired by it. I think that at the very start, when we’re born, we acquire the burden of the experiences of our parents and grandparents. With time, it is complemented by our own life. And it gets harder. This is why I decided to explore this burden – to see what’s inside and if there’s something I can get rid of, so that it’s easier for me to go further.
Justyna Sobolewska wrote in a review for Polityka weekly (polityka.pl):
There is no subject more important than one’s own family – this is the assumption made by Mikołaj Łoziński.
… an interesting story was created … We don’t know how much truth and how much fiction there’s in it; one way or another, it’s is intriguing and literarily credible. Łoziński talks about his family through objects: a coffee maker, a pair of glasses, a wedding ring, a glass tobacco pipe. This book will also, as the author claims, become such a family object. Łoziński employs an interesting device – the close ones supplement his story, trying to influence it and dictate what he should write about, and what shouldn’t be mentioned.
The narrator does not listen to them, although he does let them speak. …
This polyphonic book is an attempt at untying a tangled family knot. One of its main themes is abandonment. This motif repeats itself in every generation. …
Nevertheless, this book is not written from the position of someone hurt. On the contrary, each of the characters is embraced with an understanding look. Each of the characters is trying to work out their burden. This book can be liberating. Not only for the narrator, but also for the reader.
Remigiusz Grzela also appreciated the book (remigiusz-grzela.pl):
Mikołaj Łoziński surprised me for the second time. He wrote a book that, in fact, isn’t similar to his previous one. The wording is more succinct, there are no unnecessary phrases, it’s as precise as a Swiss watch, composed like a musical piece, it has its own rhythm and perhaps (I am writing ‘perhaps’ because I’m not sure) devoid of emotions and this is why it’s so strong, so striking.
…
Two chapters moved me the most – the one about the grandfather’s keys, hundreds of his keys, and the one about the grandmother’s letters. It’s striking how much can be told by means of objects, even those which don’t exist anymore. I am moved by this card index strewn around… This comparison to Różewicz is accurate, as Mikołaj Łoziński’s poetical novel is in fact very close to Różewicz. Always a fragment. Rhythm. A story told only by means of facts, verse after verse, sentence after sentence.
Mikołaj Łoziński (b. 1980) is a writer and photographer who graduated from the Sorbonne with a degree in sociology. His debut novel, Reisefieber (2006) granted him Kościelski Award. The book was also shortlisted for Nike prize in 2007. Łoziński is also a laureate of Pawie Pióro Award, Fundacja Kultury award, and Paszporty Polityki (for Book) in 2011.
Sources: wydawnictwoliterackie.pl, own materials
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Mikołaj Łoziński
Książka / Book
Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków, March 2011
123 x 197, 180 pages, soft cover
ISBN 978-83-08-04587-9
Author: Anna Kowalska, translated by Natalia Sajewicz July 2016