Toń

Ishbel Szatrawska breathes new life into writing about people and places marked by the inexorable march of history and by complex experiences that are still not discussed out loud, even after the passage of many years. German place names that after the war become Polish dots on the map. Women who have had to grow up too fast and be strong because they’ve been gang-raped by soldiers of the Red Army or left alone with their children – since their husbands, fathers and brothers have disappeared and it’s not clear if they’re still alive. Men told for years that the state and politics guarantee a secure future, yet all the things that come in the wake of war bring only chaos, helplessness and lack of hope. The novel unfolds on two separate planes. The contemporary part centres on a family home and on the discussions between father and daughter about its sale. The youngest member of the family is convinced that the house should remain their property because it contains the memory of what is past. Another important aspect of this contemporary narrative is what is happening along the border between Poland and Belarus; the young woman’s partner gets involved in these events as an activist. The other, historical part of the book focuses above all on capturing the atmosphere of the end – a world in the state of collapse, a reality in the throes of the apocalypse. Importantly, this is shown through the tragedies affecting specific people and through everyday life that throws up challenges resulting from touching what is final.