Keynote
A story spread over two generations about
the hopes and disappointments that young
people faced and face during communism
and capitalism.

Selling Points
 A panorama of Polish society spread over
fifty years.
 A story about the passage from
the reality of communism to
capitalism – a frank and critical analysis of
both systems and the stories of the people
who experienced the shift from one to
the other.
 A story of remarkable friendship which
endures, in spite of everything around
changing.
 A dense story, super compelling writing.
 An original portrait of small-town and
provincial Poland – both in their historical
and contemporary iterations.
 Wonderful, honest and real
language – a record of the authentic
experiences of the generation of today’s
thirty-somethings, and their parents when
they were young.
 The author is the most important female
writer of the younger generation and
winner of multiple literary awards.
Description
The beginning of the nineteen-seventies;
Silesia, the industrial and mining region

of Poland which experienced particularly
intensively the greatest highs and lows
of the communist era. The building of
Katowice Steelworks was to be a sign of
the times, a symbol of reconstruction and
the development of Poland. Ewa, Ula and
Zygmunt, at that time still young, full
of hope and enthusiasm, become part of
that new reality. Their life wasn’t all rosy,
but they were content with what they had
and what they were. Fifty years later, with
reality around them so transformed as
to be unrecognizable, they look back on
those times with a mixture of bitterness
and nostalgia. Their children are already
grown up now and are beginning to live
independent lives. Maja and Michał grew
up in the shadow of the Steelworks, but it
has lost its glory. Are their lives any better
in this capitalist world, tormented by
unemployment and a lack of perspective?
Cieplak’s latest novel is a great social
panorama spread over half a century
and two generations – a moving story of
dreams and disappointments, and chiefly
about love and friendships which endure
in spite of the passing of decades.

Target Market
Readers of contemporary novels.
Readers of ambitious contemporary
literature.
People interested in the culture and
society of contemporary Central and
Eastern Europe.