Keynote
A dense and moving tale of the search for meaning in life – about the need for parenting, for which there is no substitute.

Selling Points
- The author is considered one of the moreimportant literary voices of the younger generation.
- Muszyński’s dense and refined languagehas a rare talent for precision.
- A moving and intimate marriage dramaabout a couple unable to come to terms with the fact that they will never be parents.
- An unusual backdrop: Muszyński returns to his native Jura – a gorgeous, wild and mysterious corner of Poland.
- A brilliant rendering of the local colour in the Polish countryside.
- In the background, the author quite skilfully depicts a panorama of the history of Poland over the past thirty years – the novel shows the fate of the generation entering adulthood just after the fall of communism.
- A subtle and evocative atmosphere of tension and depression – both within the couple and in the vicinity aroundthem.

Description

Joanna and Władek each come from a different world. She’s a local, born in a small, charming Jura village; he comes from Krakow’s urban intelligentsia. They are in love, leading a happy life far from the bustle of the outside world. The crisis comes when they try to have a child and fail – will they manage to fill the void that keeps creeping into their lives? Each of them tries to handle things their own way – Władek, being in conflict with his father, delves deep into the mysterious history of the valley in which he lives, discovering an old cemetery for children who are born prematurely. Joanna, in turn, is ailing, and plunges in depression, barricading herself in the world of her passions – exotic plants and old radios. An old friend arrives to help the floundering couple – a monk blessed with wisdom and erudition. Will this be enough to keep the couple from losing themselves entirely?


PRAISE

“The title pertains to ‘without children.’ And we should add that this predicament is unwanted, arising from infertility,
and above all, inconceivable, falling into the category of a metaphysical disaster. That is what makes this workhundreds of thousands of couples is elevated to the highest level; it mingleswith such categories as guilt, victimhood,redemption, or fate”.
Dariusz Nowacki, Gazeta Wyborcza


“This is not another novel about the beauty of the countryside, the charms of an idyllic rural life or a naive view of the ‘periphery.’
Without is a highly emotional tale and – as will happen in ballads – a touch deceptive; it has to be savoured and read slowly.
Unless you gulp it down greedily in a single day. Like the best television series,
the kind that gets you hooked. There are many ways to read Muszyński’s book, but most important is that you do read it.
Because this is an outstanding writer”.
Wojciech Szot, zdaniemszota.pl

“Andrzej Muszyński will brook nocompromises. His latest novel takes on some important and uncomfortable topics that have been overlooked in Polish literature. He applies his own unique, rough, poetic language to speak of infertility, abortion, in vitro, and depression. He does not sidestep it or pretend to be someone else – he faces up to reality. And he demands the same of hisprotagonists”.
wp.pl

Target Market
Readers of psychological novels and dramas.
Lovers of ambitious contemporary prose.
Those interested in contemporary Polish culture and literature.

Release date: 2020
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-83-08-07010-9


Request manuscript

Other covers

Without. The Ballad of Joanna and Władek from Jurassic Valley

Andrzej Muszyński

Keynote
A dense and moving tale of the search for meaning in life – about the need for parenting, for which there is no substitute.

Selling Points
- The author is considered one of the moreimportant literary voices of the younger generation.
- Muszyński’s dense and refined languagehas a rare talent for precision.
- A moving and intimate marriage dramaabout a couple unable to come to terms with the fact that they will never be parents.
- An unusual backdrop: Muszyński returns to his native Jura – a gorgeous, wild and mysterious corner of Poland.
- A brilliant rendering of the local colour in the Polish countryside.
- In the background, the author quite skilfully depicts a panorama of the history of Poland over the past thirty years – the novel shows the fate of the generation entering adulthood just after the fall of communism.
- A subtle and evocative atmosphere of tension and depression – both within the couple and in the vicinity aroundthem.

Description

Joanna and Władek each come from a different world. She’s a local, born in a small, charming Jura village; he comes from Krakow’s urban intelligentsia. They are in love, leading a happy life far from the bustle of the outside world. The crisis comes when they try to have a child and fail – will they manage to fill the void that keeps creeping into their lives? Each of them tries to handle things their own way – Władek, being in conflict with his father, delves deep into the mysterious history of the valley in which he lives, discovering an old cemetery for children who are born prematurely. Joanna, in turn, is ailing, and plunges in depression, barricading herself in the world of her passions – exotic plants and old radios. An old friend arrives to help the floundering couple – a monk blessed with wisdom and erudition. Will this be enough to keep the couple from losing themselves entirely?


PRAISE

“The title pertains to ‘without children.’ And we should add that this predicament is unwanted, arising from infertility,
and above all, inconceivable, falling into the category of a metaphysical disaster. That is what makes this workhundreds of thousands of couples is elevated to the highest level; it mingleswith such categories as guilt, victimhood,redemption, or fate”.
Dariusz Nowacki, Gazeta Wyborcza


“This is not another novel about the beauty of the countryside, the charms of an idyllic rural life or a naive view of the ‘periphery.’
Without is a highly emotional tale and – as will happen in ballads – a touch deceptive; it has to be savoured and read slowly.
Unless you gulp it down greedily in a single day. Like the best television series,
the kind that gets you hooked. There are many ways to read Muszyński’s book, but most important is that you do read it.
Because this is an outstanding writer”.
Wojciech Szot, zdaniemszota.pl

“Andrzej Muszyński will brook nocompromises. His latest novel takes on some important and uncomfortable topics that have been overlooked in Polish literature. He applies his own unique, rough, poetic language to speak of infertility, abortion, in vitro, and depression. He does not sidestep it or pretend to be someone else – he faces up to reality. And he demands the same of hisprotagonists”.
wp.pl

Target Market
Readers of psychological novels and dramas.
Lovers of ambitious contemporary prose.
Those interested in contemporary Polish culture and literature.

Release date: 2020
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-83-08-07010-9


Other covers