A new author appeared on the Polish fantasy literature scene less than two years ago, writing in the spirit of the Slavic language, demonology and ancient beliefs, among others. On the wave of The Witcher’s fame, the presence of such works is justified and desirable with us. Especially when the work is so good!
“Choły is the last place where a person would look for something interesting”
Pieśni Chołów is the first novel by Maciej Głowacki to be published. Many accuse him of his lack of writing skills and failure to develop threads – which I cannot agree with myself. Despite the author’s young age, I really don’t know how skeptical he is. The writer’s style and action are of a high standard, and the plot almost absorbs the reader.
The action begins in 1980 in the room of one of the houses in the village of Choły. In the prologue, we witness a macabre scene in which a young mother, torn by emotions, throws a baby into the oven.
After some time, the main character of the novel, Dr. Jerzy Drozd, a psychologist commissioned to investigate the situation in the village, arrives in Chołów. Here the narrative turns into a first-person narrative, like a diary. And although we know from the prologue that the murder of the child had many witnesses, it will take a long time for the doctor to find even the slightest reason why the woman decided to kill her own heir. Before he discovers that the infant was a demon, replaced by a forest monster, a lot will happen …
A surprising combination of two worlds
When I started reading, I had no idea what the novel was about. I hadn’t read its descriptions before, I didn’t know anything about the author. I don’t even remember exactly how it ended up on my screen. It is released in electronic form, which has its pros and cons. Its undoubted advantage is its availability: it can be downloaded for free from the author’s website. However, I belong to the large group of people who prefer “analog” versions of books. Moreover, the correction seems to have gone by the wayside here and leaves a lot to be desired. But by chance I started reading it and was absolutely hooked. From the very first pages, the atmosphere is endearing, frightening and mysterious.
Not knowing what really fell into my hands allowed me to enjoy the book much more and to surprise me much more. This is because for almost half of the novel we get the impression that we are dealing with a crime fiction, not a fantasy. The doctor lives in the cabin of the late drunk in the village and begins his investigation. Suspicious things are happening around him more and more often, and the inhabitants do not trust him and do not want to talk to him. The fantastic elements appear then only as the beliefs of the locals. It was shocking for me to blur the boundaries between the two worlds: the world of beliefs and the real world, which intertwine roughly halfway through the action. At the same time, the pace of the plot is very quick and provides a lot of emotions, it is full of surprising twists. We wonder for a moment if the doctor has gone crazy. No, but no this is happening. Suddenly, we move into a very clearly defined, incredibly fantastic world.
Abundance of details and trolling
This is helped by numerous, very accurate and detailed descriptions of nature, phenomena, figures and objects. This is another proof of the artistry of the young writer. It is extremely easy for the reader to move to the universe he created, because you can easily visualize it.
In addition to the widely outlined figures of people, the forest demons are also perfectly created. Hence my earlier reference to The Witcher . The monsters that our hero meets in the forest are confusingly similar to those in Sapkowski’s bestiary. Who else, reading about the Screamer, had before his eyes connected with cables to the heart of the forest? I am even tempted to refer to the works of JK Rowling – when the Lighthouse Keeper appears, darkness falls and fear is omnipresent. Did you think about dementors too? And the trees helping Jerzy to cross the lake – if they did, wouldn’t they have the voice of the ents?
The scenes of fights with monstrous forces are also extremely detailed, vivid, very emotional. We have the impression of watching an abstract action movie. We feel the hopelessness of the situation, we expect someone’s death, failure, until suddenly everything changes and hope enters us.
The author also likes to weave some kind of easter eggs into the plot threads, or just memes. Besides, he describes himself as an “accountant”. And so, during a fight, or rather a defense against the Lighthouse Keeper, our hero – who has not yet manifested any religious aspirations – begins to sing a church song, a well-known Barka to everyone in Poland. Some will be indignant, will take it as a slander, others will admit that in the face of death it remains to pray; still others will laugh at the beautifully interwoven absurdity. I think I’ve already revealed a bit to which group I belong. It must be admitted that Głowacki trolls us a bit and does not leave us indifferent. Either way, this scene reveals a highly developed ability to manipulate stylistic means: we have a dramatic representation of the threat to life by a monster from the afterlife, yet we are reduced to our own reality. One wants to ask – is there really a village like Chołów somewhere in our country, where we can travel between levels of reality? Perhaps when we go deep into the forest, the Silent are really watching us from hiding? Perhaps, like Drozd, we were actually ridiculing the truth in mocking superstitions?
The writer is accused that the main character is a bit bland – lost, torn by emotions and uncertainties, and at times “does not know how to do” himself. We like him moderately at first. However, I have the impression that this is the author’s intentional trick: isn’t everyone lost, torn by emotions, unsure of himself? The author makes us think about how we would behave ourselves in the position of a doctor. Besides, as the plot develops, Jerzy Drozd takes on character. He develops a growing determination to fight supernatural powers, the certainty of his intentions, and even a noble willingness to instill among the inhabitants of Choły faith in regaining their freedom. After all, he leads them to victory himself, becoming a leader who encourages them to fight the dark forces of nature. This is not how a neuter hero behaves.
Readers evaluate the novel in two ways: there are few more people who consider it perfect than those who give it the lowest marks. I am much more on the way with the former. The work undoubtedly arouses a whole range of emotions among its recipients. It’s a bit as if Głowacki wanted to tell us: love me or hate me!
