English version
MARIUSZ SIENIEWICZ (b. 1972), a writer of fiction, a par writer. Is regarded as one of the most talented authors of the younger generation. One of the creators of the literary-cultural journal "Portret". He published two novels:
GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, in 1999 and
THE FOURTH SKY in 2003. In may 2005 he will published his third book, collection of stories –
WE DON’T SERVE JEWESSES. The Forth Sky was nominated for the NIKE, Poland’s most important literary award and the weekly Polityka’s Passport. This book also was second book of the year 2004 in polish critical forum “literatorium.pl”. The fragments of
We don’t serve Jewesses was published in collection of polish modern prose “Orkiestru iza leda” in Croatia. In 2004 he was holder of Willa Decjus and Book Instytut in Cracow, within of international project “Homines Urbani”. His creation is translate in Russian, German, Lithuanian and Croatian. Is creator of happenings “Old parade” and “Rzeczyzoopospolita” and creator of radio broadcasts: “The Culturals Bears” and “The Ear to eraser of portrait”. He lives in Olsztyn.
THE FOURTH SKY
This story of an alienated young intellectual is played out on the borderline between waking and sleep. Zygmunt passes his time in contemplation; his favourite occupation is observing the sky and analyzing the complex world of the clouds. One evening, as he is standing on a chimney with his hands plunged into the wet fur of a cloud that looks like a bison, Zygmunt meets a stranger. This enigmatic man opens Zygmunt’s eyes to an extraordinary series of events that is unfolding around him: In his small town, a demonic businessman has appeared, along with a colourful retinue. His ambitious plans and vast investments are dividing the townspeople into two opposing camps: One group sees him as a saviour, the other as the instrument of a satanic plot. Zygmunt overcomes the temptation to get involved in the mysterious story and returns to the labyrinth of his own consciousness. But it turns out that after these experiences his consciousness has been brought down to earth. This novel, written in vivid and evocative language, offers a fascinating portrait of the flawed yet magical world of suburban neighbourhoods, streets, parks, apartment buildings and their inhabitants.
A collection of stories dealing with the burlesque, in which an apparently predictable reality betrays its other, absurd or even monstrous side. The hero of
Wagrant, the thirty-year-old good-for-nothing Filip Piszczajko, suffers from stomach pains. When he finally reaches the hospital, he finds that he has reached a feudal kingdom in which it is the orderly who rules, surrounded by a court of doctors and nurses. The hero of
We Don’t Serve Jewesses, while shopping at a supermarket, is suddenly denounced as a Jewess and attacked with hatred by the other customers, while the owners of the shop recognize this as an excellent way of attracting clients. In
Move Over! Move, or I’ll Move You! a crowded rush hour bus becomes the arena for a murderous game amongst the passengers. In all these stories the ordinary comes under attack, since it turns out that all is not given once and forever, nor is everything clear and verifiable. A person facing an absurd and grotesque situation is forced to participate in something larger than him, that pushes him into the unknown, and destroys his previous image of himself, his world, and his existence.
REVIEWS (THE LITERARY CRITICS ABOUT SIENIEWICZ)
MICHAŁ WITKOWSKI:
Sieniewicz poses a question about the meaning of the changes taking place in Poland, as seen from the perspective of young people: his heroes live within a feeling of suspension, a permanent state of transience, and are unable to accept the real world; all their attempts to battle against existing realities lead inevitably to even greater harm. I hope the book stirs up the proverbial hornet’s nest, if only because it is written with passion and involves issues that are of vital concern to Poles today, and as such represents a brave departure from the ghetto of youth literature.
DARIUSZ NOWACKI, GAZETA WYBORCZA:
He is probably the first of the writers b. the seventies who has had the courage to take on such painful and pressing problems as current social injustice, the depraved hunger for money and careers, the triumph of commercialism, etc.
KINGA DUNIN, RES PUBLICA NOWA:
Mariusz Sieniewicz also attracts me because of what he does with problems relating to gender. His tact in these matters seems natural, not concocted or planned, but simply a part of the writer's sensibility. This is rare among Polish writers.
ROBERT OSTASZEWSKI, TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY:
This writer is at stake. He creates prose, which to make out a bill world, but and to stimulate to the action ilike this way, that to move anger. We must to leave dammed sky of indifferent and we must to stand firm. Beacause we can change our gloomy world, when we will to live totally and definitely inside him.
MARIAN SZCZUREK, NOWA TRYBUNA OPOLSKA:
Every literary attempt to describe our current reality arouses my respect. [...] It is an interesting approach, demonstrating the mental state of Polish thirty-somethings, showing, with passion, humor, and with a bit of craziness, the strange history of the Polish backwoods. What is valuable is that we find here the picture of the Polish province, given that Polish authors in general have a bit too pronounced a fixation about Warsaw, which sometimes prevents them from seeing clearly the entire Polish reality.
MARIUSZ CIEŚLIK, ŻYCIE WARSZAWY:
Anger is a healthy ingredient in this prose. That's why it is full of well-aimed and biting observations about our contemporary world.
KUBA PIOTROWICZ, AKTIVIST:
Very interesting prose. One of the most interesting Polish books to have appeared in bookshops lately.
