Fiction
The Light Bulb Thieves
by Tomasz Różycki
Description
During the late communist era, Poland couldn’t pride itself on architectural beauty. Its cities and towns were f illed with large, gloomy housing estates consisting of interconnected blocks of flats, and it was within the narrow corridors and cramped flats of these build ings that social and family life flourished. It’s in just such a housing estate that young Tadeusz lives – an average boy in a typical Polish family of the time. One day, he’s entrusted by his father with an important task: to take a can of coffee beans to his neighbour Stefan to grind them. The quest isn’t easy: one must conquer the corridor. And how can one tra verse the lanes of this concrete Acropolis alone, when hidden deities and centaurs are lurking at every corner, just waiting to attack? Under the brilliant pen of Tomasz Różycki, a multi layered story emerges about the housing estate and its residents, interwoven with neighbourhood gossip and legends. In The Light Bulb Thieves, the author blends a tragicomic horror story with a semi-autobiographi cal memoir about the twilight of the communist era, f lavoured with a solid dose of satire.
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Rights Information
Foreign rights: Wydawnictwo Czarne
zofia.dimitrijevic@czarne.com.pl
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French (Noir Sur Blanc)
World Spanish (Sexto Piso)
Germany (edition.fotoTAPETA)
Italy (Iperborea)
Romania (Ratio et Revelatio)
Marketing Information
Prix Grand Continent 2023 winner
Literary Prize of the City of Warsaw 2024 winner
Vivelo Book Award 2024 winner
Angelus Central European Literature Award 2024 shortlist
Reviews
In Różycki’s work there’s a bit of Proust, a bit of Walter Friedrich Otto and his realistic portrayal of Greek gods (but without the excessive German pathos), and a bit of Ota Pavel, the author of The Death of the Beautiful Deer, because in The Light Bulb Thieves – just like in the Czech novelist’s work – heartwarming irony and boyish adventure are constantly mixed with melancholy and a sense of the world’s imperfection. It’s a novel that will move readers – and not only those who grew up in the harsh beauty of socialist housing estates. – Piotr Kieżun, Kultura Liberalna
The Light Bulb Thieves engages in a literary game right from the opening sentences, hinting at a story with sym bolic and imaginary undertones. Fluctuating between tender sensitivity and satire, Różycki’s obsessive, circular monologue envelops this housing estate in the town of Opole with the grotesque. […] This is a story told with infernal precision, delighting in perfectly constructed references and allusions. – Wojciech Stanisławski, Sieci
Author Biography
Tomasz Różycki (b. 1970) – a poet and writer. The author of nine volumes of poetry, two epic poems and two novels. He has received numerous national and international awards, including the Kościelski Foundation Award (2004), the Václav Burian Award (2017), the Wisława Szymborska Award (2023) and the Prix Grand Continent (2023).
Wydawnictwo Czarne
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Wydawnictwo Czarne
- Orginal LanguagePolish
- ISBN/Identifier 9788383960517
- Publication Country or regionPoland
- FormatHardback
- Primary Price 49.90 PLN
- Pages256
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
- Original Language TitleZłodzieje żarówek
- Original Language AuthorsPolish
- Edition2
- Copyright Year2023
- Dimensions19,5x12,5 cm
- Illustrationno
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