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As we grow up, do we lose our innocence, or were we never innocent in the first place? This is the question at the heart of Jakub Nowak’s gritty, atmospheric novel Sucker Punch.

Nowak opens the book in the late ’90s. Mikołaj and his friends roam through housing projects, drinking cheap alcohol and lusting after the fruits of still-young capitalism: CDs sold at high prices at the outdoor market, or the latest Reebok sneakers. Casual violence is the norm: a beating from your parents for coming home late, or from other teenagers for an unpaid debt.

Later, in 2025, Grey has just been thrown out of the punk band she founded herself. A young mother who’s never totally let go of her wild side, she finds herself unmoored. When she reconnects with her childhood friend Mikołaj, they begin combing through their past, untangling a mystery that makes Grey realise she is maybe not the person she thought she was.

Amid a wave of rose-tinted nostalgia for the 1990s, Nowak’s book stands out for its realistic portrayal of that troubled era. His prose is vibrant, drawing on influences from meme culture all the way to classic literature. His careful structuring – alternating between past and present and with a central mystery that slowly unfolds – keeps readers coming back for more. Sucker Punch is an exciting work from one of Poland’s most promising new novelists.