Mariusz Szczygiel – författare

A collection of essays about loss, grief, and absence, NOT THERE tells stories of ordinary people and the things that have happened to them. Emotions underlying these stories prompt the reader to think of their losses, and their compensations. It's also about how we remember things - unreliably on the whole - and how our idea of the truth may be a very personal one. Szczygiel's wide and international range of interlocutors includes: a Czech poet, a Ukrainian soldier, a Polish accountant, an Albanian painter, an Israeli writer, and the father of a reporter with whom the author travels to Prague for the last time. Written in a beautiful, associative style reminiscent of W. G. Sebald, Szczygiel lets his interlocutors and memories drive the story in unusual directions. With a perfect eye and a voice infused with empathy and wit, Szczygiel explores the human condition with its unavoidable absences. The advice that famous Polish writer, Hanna Krall, gave the author hovers over the book: 'Everything must have its form, its rhythm, Mr Mariusz. Especially absence.'

Winner of the European Book Prize, Gottland is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the history of modern Europe- a history of foreign occupation, a tussle between East and West and the extraordinary bravery of individual citizens living through these times. Gottland is a kaleidoscopic portrait of Czechoslovakia, a nation living through extreme events. Kafka's niece, the sculptor who made the world's biggest statue of Stalin, Karel Gott, winner of the Most Favourite Male Singer Award a record thirty-six times, and the Bata brothers and their shoe empire all gather in this landmark history written by a celebrated Polish journalist, a Czechophile, and one of the best-known members of the Polish school of reportage. Through meticulous research and hundreds of interviews, Szczygiel creates a compelling portrait of the country that brought us Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera and Tom Stoppard. He is uniquely qualified to create this portrait of Czechoslovakia and its people in those tragic and bizarre times.