Is it worth mixing fiction with history? – review of the book “Tales from the plague”

Mariusz Sobkowiak is the founder and editor-in-chief of LandsbergON magazine. After practicing writing short stories, he finally decided to publish a novel. So let’s see what the Tales from the plague looks like.

 

A jump in time

The action of the reviewed book takes place in Gorzów Wielkopolski over the centuries. We start in 1350 and end in 2021. All six stories, apart from where the events unfolded, have two things in common – epidemics of different kinds and related heroes with some extraordinary power passed down from generation to generation. From the very beginning, we also have a lot of mysteries and intrigues, the solution of which we will not know until the Epilogue and prehistoric times.

With a story for your brother

Tales from the Plague is Mariusz Sobkowiak’s debut book. I can tell you right away that it is a quite successful debut. I had the opportunity to read the author’s short stories published in LandsbergONand then I saw that he had a talent for writing – nevertheless, his novel surprised me anyway. From the very beginning, Sobkowiak has built a great atmosphere in its history and begins to draw the recipient into an extraordinary adventure. We also get a bit of mystery and a puzzle to which we want to know the answer. We are also guided through Gorzów for the next centuries. Here the author must be granted a great knowledge of the history of his city, which he probably deepened even more while writing. Although the title contains fantastic elements, such as the appearance of ghosts or the superhuman power of the main characters, fiction is mixed with real events. Apart from places, probably well-known to the inhabitants of Gorzów, there are also historical figures and events that actually took place in a given period. And that’s not all!

In Tales from plague there were also artistic elements. Each of the opening chapters has an appropriate graphic that refers to the events that we will be able to read about. Jakub Pańków, who did a “great job”, is responsible for them. The illustrations are really nice and do not reveal too much, but only tempt you to read the plot even more.

Although the book mostly tells about dramatic events (because it’s hard to joke about plague or cholera epidemics, or burning people at the stake), I really appreciate the small humorous thread and the “snap in the nose” aimed at all anti-vaxxers. They brought a smile to my face, for which I would like to thank the author.

Let it not be too pink

While the novel is interesting and recommendable, it has made a few mistakes. The first one that I noticed is an attempt to use the language of a given period. And there would be nothing wrong with that if the author did it more consistently. One of the heroes of the 14th century, Gustav, sometimes uses words from a given era in a sentence or draws in like a typical peasant. In a moment, however, he speaks to us today. It may not be particularly blatant, but in my opinion it would be better to bet on one form. In addition, there is also a fragment that breaks the fourth wall, when the Queen of Bee visits the author himself. Woven in during the story, it picks us up a bit and introduces a little confusion. If the writer absolutely wanted to add it, it would fit better between chapters than in the middle of another story. Finally the thing for which Sobkowiak is not responsible, but the publisher. It happens several times that there are no gaps between words. And that’s right across the line. It looks as if it was written in a sequence. And it is certainly not a deliberate procedure, as it does not contribute anything in this way. So evidently a bug has crept in, but I hope it will be eliminated when restarting. Despite the mishaps, the novel has the potential to stand out in the literary market.

Good start

In bookstores and libraries there are many novels in which historical facts are mixed with literary fiction. As in every genre, also here we can find better and worse titles. Tales from the plague can easily be included in the first group. It is influenced by an interesting and thoughtful plot, in which the author knows the purpose of his adventure from the very beginning. Solid research and knowledge of the topography of the area also significantly contributed to the fact that Mariusz Sobkowiak can classify his debut as a successful one. There are a few lapses here, but thankfully they don’t affect the perception too much and they don’t spoil the reading pleasure. The inhabitants of Gorzów should therefore reach for this position obligatorily, but also people not connected with the city will spend time with it as well.