''Chołod'' is a novel written by
Szczepan Twardoch
Szczepan Lech Twardoch (; born 23 December 1979 in Knurów) is a Polish- Silesian writer. He has written a series of best-selling novels such as ''Morphine'' (2012), ''Drach'' (2014), ''The King'' (2016), ''The Kingdom'' (2018), and ''Pokora'' (20 ...
and published in 2022 by
Wydawnictwo Literackie
Wydawnictwo Literackie (abbreviated WL, lit. "Literary Press") is a Kraków-based Polish publishing house, which has been referred to as one of Poland's "most respected".
Company history
Since its foundation in 1953, Wydawnictwo Literackie has ...
in book and e-book form.
Plot
Chołod is named after a settlement in the far north, inhabited by a small community living according to its own laws, isolated from civilization. A
Silesian, Konrad Widuch, fleeing a Soviet
gulag
The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
, settles there and describes his stay in Chołod and his earlier turbulent and dramatic fate in his memoirs. In a mysterious way, the memoirs find their way to the author of the book, who reconstructs them and explains how they came into his hands.
Reception
''Chołod'' received favourable reviews. Marcin Belza of
Kultura Liberalna praised the book, noting that "this is a novel that doesn't think for us" and that "plays out the themes of identity in a virtuoso way". On
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
it was noted that ''Chołod'' is an attempt to get to the meaning of history. It has also been widely covered by other Polish language media. It has been nominated for the
Empik
Empik (stylised as empi̓k) is a Polish commercial chain selling books, international Print media, press and media products (including film, music, and software). The chain also owns a photo company, Empik Foto, as well as a foreign language schoo ...
Bestsellers 2022 in the categories of fiction and audio superfiction and Lubimyczytać.pl Book of the Year 2022 in the category of historical novel.
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References
2022 novels
21st-century Polish novels
Polish novels