Zygmunt Miłoszewski is probably the most popular Polish crime writer internationally: his books have been published in 20 languages
Zygmunt Miłoszewski is probably the most popular Polish crime writer internationally: his books have been published in 20 languages
Translation rights: GW Foksal, Krystyna.Kolakowska@gwfoksal.pl
The Matter of Price can be read as the continuing adventures of the character from Miłoszewski’s previous novel Priceless, or as a standalone novel. Bogdan Smuga, scientist and rationalist, tries to find a mysterious treasure described by explorer and scholar Benedykt Czerski, whose writings on the topic have been scattered around the world. As luck would have it, the only person ready to join Smuga on his expedition is a Warsaw historian, Zofia Lorentz. Thick with subplot and narrative detours, the novel visits various places and timelines, taking us from Siberia through Paris, and all the way to Poland. The novel’s main theme revolves around one keyword: challenge. The ambitious structure of this epic palimpsest mirrors the intricacies of the plot and interrelations of numerous characters. Zygmunt Miłoszewski is probably the most popular Polish crime writer internationally: his books have been published in 20 languages. Two of his novels have been adapted for the cinema. Now he’s back, bringing us an adventure novel, thriller, and crime story, all neatly wrapped up in one.
Learn more about other New Books from Poland
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Selected samples
She climbed her first peaks in a headscarf at a time when women in the mountains were treated by climbers as an additional backpack. It was with her that female alpinism began! She gained recognition in a spectacular way. The path was considered a crossing for madmen. Especially since the tragic accident in 1929, preserved … Continue reading “Halina”
First, Marysia, a student of an exclusive private school in Warsaw’s Mokotów district, dies under the wheels of a train. Her teacher, Elżbieta, tries to find out what really happened. She starts a private investigation only soon to perish herself. But her body disappears, and the only people who have seen anything are Gniewomir, a … Continue reading “Wound”
A young girl, Regina Wieczorek, was found dead on the beach. She was nineteen years old and had no enemies. Fortunately, the culprit was quickly found. At least, that’s what the militia think. Meanwhile, one day in November, Jan Kowalski appears at the police station. He claims to have killed not only Regina but also … Continue reading “Penance”
The year is 1922. A dangerous time of breakthrough. In the Eastern Borderlands of the Republic of Poland, Bolshevik gangs sow terror, leaving behind the corpses of men and disgraced women. A ruthless secret intelligence race takes place between the Lviv-Warsaw-Free City of Gdańsk line. Lviv investigator Edward Popielski, called Łysy (“Hairless”), receives an offer … Continue reading “A Girl with Four Fingers”
This question is closely related to the next one, namely: if any goal exists, does life lead us to that goal in an orderly manner? In other words, is everything that happens to us just a set of chaotic events that, combined together, do not form a whole? To understand how the concept of providence … Continue reading “Order and Love”
The work of Józef Łobodowski (1909-1988) – a remarkable poet, prose writer, and translator, who spent most of his life in exile – is slowly being revived in Poland. Łobodowski’s brilliant three- volume novel, composed on an epic scale, concerns the fate of families and orphans unmoored by the Bolshevik Revolution and civil war and … Continue reading “Ukrainian Trilogy: Thickets, The Settlement, The Way Back”
