The Review of Contemporary Fiction

Trojçe poms´cimy (Get Even for Troy), by Robert Ostaszewski
reviewed by Cezary Konrad Kéder

Untitled document

Robert Ostaszewski. Trojçe poms´cimy (Get Even for Troy). Ikon, Kraków, 2002. 193 pp. No price given.

Robert Ostaszewski’s second novel is an ironic guide through the parallel worlds of contemporary Poland. At first the division of the book into three parts—the Gierek Era, the Jaruzel Era, and the Brown Era—seems neatly chronological, beginning with slightly nostalgic memories of a childhood spent in the 1970s. Such a reading soon proves false, however. Whereas the first two eras are named after historical figures (Party leaders Edward Gierek and Wojciech Jaruzelski) symbolic of Polish politics in the 1970s and eighties, the third, with its allusion to Brownian movements or heroin (“brown sugar”), refers to someone or something representing a totally different order. While such an acerbic designation of the nineties as a decade heralding the end of history seems apt, the novel is clearly at odds with any linear sequence. The plot weaves through time, either tracing circles within circles or running in parallel lines. All in all, flashbacks included, the story spans some sixty years and is set all over the country. The narrative points of view also change: the child telling the story gives way to a teenager, a student, and finally an adult, though the perspective is always that of a slightly alienated bystander. The narrator seems to have had a fairly typical biography yet for some reason does not succumb to the collective mania that infuses everyone else’s life with meaning. A token of this bizarre normality is the absurd graffiti calling to “Get Even for Troy.” Living in the past makes all the characters obsessively intent on getting even for old indignities. Their hostility is directed toward other Poles, Germans, Russians, and other neighboring nations, as well as Jews. The book paints a recognizable picture of Poland’s collective fixations, currently being reflected in political commentary and often making the front pages.


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The Review of Contemporary Fiction Trojçe poms´cimy (Get Even for Troy), by Robert Ostaszewski reviewed by Cezary Konrad Kéder Untitled document Robert Ostaszewski. Trojçe poms´cimy (Get Even for Troy). Ikon, Kraków, 2002. 193 pp. No price given. Robert Ostaszewski’s second novel is an ironic guide through the parallel worlds of contemporary Poland. At first the division of the book into three parts—the Gierek Era, the Jaruzel Era, and the Brown Era—seems neatly chronological, beginning with slightly nostalgic memories of a childhood spent in the 1970s. Such a reading soon proves false, however. Whereas the first two eras are named after historical figures (Party leaders Edward Gierek and Wojciech Jaruzelski) symbolic of Polish politics in the 1970s and eighties, the third, with its allusion to Brownian movements or heroin (“brown sugar”), refers to someone or something representing a totally different order. While such an acerbic designation of the nineties as a decade heralding the end of history seems apt, the novel is clearly at odds with any linear sequence. The plot weaves through time, either tracing circles within circles or running in parallel lines. All in all, flashbacks included, the story spans some sixty years and is set all over the country. The narrative points of view also change: the child telling the story gives way to a teenager, a student, and finally an adult, though the perspective is always that of a slightly alienated bystander. The narrator seems to have had a fairly typical biography yet for some reason does not succumb to the collective mania that infuses everyone else’s life with meaning. A token of this bizarre normality is the absurd graffiti calling to “Get Even for Troy.” Living in the past makes all the characters obsessively intent on getting even for old indignities. Their hostility is directed toward other Poles, Germans, Russians, and other neighboring nations, as well as Jews. The book paints a recognizable picture of Poland’s collective fixations, currently being reflected in political commentary and often making the front pages.

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