TOMASZ STALIŃSKI (STEFAN KISIELEWSKI): INVESTIGATION [1974].

Description

This is the first edition of one of the most important political novels by Stefan Kisielewski (1911-1991) – an outstanding novelist, publicist, composer and music critic, member of the Sejm of the People’s Republic of Poland for the Catholic “Znak”. The book was published in 1974 by the Paris Literary Institute under the pseudonym “Tomasz Staliński” .

The novel is an insightful analysis of the events of December 1970 – the bloody incidents on the Coast that shook Poland at the time. The main character, Warsaw editor Alfred Wislowski, decides to investigate the genesis of the workers’ revolt, suspecting that it may have been provoked by factional fights within the Polish United Workers’ Party . The action takes place in the fictional Degansk (Gdansk), Gorynia (Gdynia) and Szczecin, where the protagonist conducts his investigation by talking to strike participants and anonymous party activists.

The book is a classic novel with a key – under the fictional names are hidden real characters of the era: the Barilla is Wladyslaw Gomulka, the Brigadier is Mieczyslaw Moczar, and Oraczyk is Edward Gierek . The work combines literary fiction with historical document, revealing not only the political backstage, but also the authentic social discontent and difficult material conditions of the workers that led to the outbreak of protests .

“Investigation” is not only a passionate novel, but also a priceless document of Polish intellectual opposition – published in Paris, it was unavailable in the country for years, becoming a symbol of the fight against censorship. The first domestic edition appeared only in 1990 .