Białe noce

White Nights, the prose debut of poet Urszula Honek, is a highly artistic study of death encapsulated in moving stories set in the Beskid Mountains region. This is not another incarnation of the rural literature trend. The setting seems to be a symbol of a larger (ultimately, cosmic) universe, signalled by a reality that is limited to a small number of characters. Although the seemingly independent stories contain many voices and perspectives, and several parallel time spaces, White Nights is a coherent narrative in which the imagined and dreamlike are intertwined with reality, and the present mixes with the past. Everything seems to be connected, one thing resulting from the other, like a spider’s web woven with extraordinary attention to detail. Honek is, after all, a poet. This work showcases her lyrical flair. She uses devices that seem to be transferred directly from poetry to prose. There is a tension meticulously built by the understated punch lines, creating open compositions that generate numerous questions. Rich, colourful use of metaphors and suggestive descriptions abound. There is even a specific rhythm of images that develops throughout the story as if its individual elements were part of a score. White Nights is an extraordinary story about death, which is an inseparable part of life. There is not just one kind of death. It has various facets and different meanings. Honek reveals the bright side of something that is usually only known and seen through darkness. Her perspective makes you want to search out the individual, differing elements of the same stories, memories and experiences. It turns out that in fact, each case of death is not exactly what it first seems. Some characters associate it with happiness, others feel fear, others long for it and miss it, and the author finds a sensitive place in the story for all of these shades.