Woda na sicie

Anna Brzezińska

La Vecchia is thrown into a dungeon and accused of heresy, witchcraft, and the cruel murder of a monk. Is she guilty? The Inquisitor believes she is, especially considering the girl’s past and the family she comes from. She was born in a small highland settlement, a place famous for extracting a mineral called dragon’s blood. Her misfortune was that she was born a bastard child. For bringing a misbegotten child into the world, the girl’s mother is cast from the family home and exiled from the village society. She lived with her three children in the local inn. But who was she truly? A village girl who succumbed to passion? A harlot enjoying the pleasures of life? A mysterious lover to the heir of these lands? La Vecchia is crafty and strong, but her greatest power is not magic – it is the ability to use words. She is always letting herself get carried away in confessions, leading her persecutors down the garden path. But is this enough to save her from the men who are consumed by a blood lust?

“In this fantastical land based on earlyRenaissance Italy the protagonist, accused of witchcraft, not only seduces the holy tribunal interrogating her, but the readers as well. And she really does know how to use words. You’ll read it compulsively… For this Anna Brzezińska deserves a major nod – for creating a story about a witch centred on a strong female protagonist, and for not glorifying the violence that is used against her”.

Justyna Suchecka, Książki. Magazyn do czytania

“This is a multilayered novel about the inquisition, the terror used against those who dared to have beliefs that opposed the laws of the church. It is about what the witch trials really were – a way of settling local and private animosities grounded in envy, hatred, the desire for profit or revenge. (…) Anna Brzezińska’s style in this book is incredible – it is a poetic deluge. The story flows freely, the motifs fluidly interweave, pictures flash before our eyes. These pictures are sharp and dreary, full of blood, rape, dragons, red ore, plagues, and stark landscapes. If I were to seek a comparison, I would say it reminds me of the reddrenched sets of Peter Greenaway’s Baby of Macon. Water through a Sieve is a book for all those who love the magic of words”.

Monika Frenkiel, Newsweek

“Anna Brzezińska has created a brutal and ruthless world in which human life is worth less than a drop of magical vermilgio, and betrayal and death lurk at every turn. Much like her monumental bestseller The Daughters of Wawel Castle, it remains surprisingly timely and modern”.

kulturawokolnas.pl

“In Water through a Sieve the reader finds few historical facts, only tropes, sketches of myths, outwardly realistic, but this is more a pop fantasy tale of the power of the word. Anna Brzezińska uses a beautiful, slightly stylized language, so that the protagonist’s monologue cuts into the reader, who is swallowed up by her narrative, consumed by all the ‘dragons,’ both real and metaphorical – the crooks, rapists, accusers, and all of those base, unprincipled women who slander her at every step. The reader is left to interpret the testimonies, becomes a witness to a complex game in which there are no easy answers, no superfluous emotions, only words and faith”.

Wielki Buk

“What is this book like? Unusual, uncompromising, compelling, thoughtprovoking, and shocking. Its peculiarity grabs your attention and refuses to let go, because you cannot be sure how things will turn out. The words flow in a dense stream and it is easy to get carried away. Apart from the inquisitors’ struggle against the witches, there is also true love, and the destructive effects of power and jealousy, which rules the world. There is courage against weakness and a whole range of human emotions. Highly recommended!”

Ksiazkiweterze.pl

Release date: 2018
Pages: 368
ISBN: 978-83-08-06549-5
Rights sold: Russia (AST)


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Water through a Sieve

Anna Brzezińska

La Vecchia is thrown into a dungeon and accused of heresy, witchcraft, and the cruel murder of a monk. Is she guilty? The Inquisitor believes she is, especially considering the girl’s past and the family she comes from. She was born in a small highland settlement, a place famous for extracting a mineral called dragon’s blood. Her misfortune was that she was born a bastard child. For bringing a misbegotten child into the world, the girl’s mother is cast from the family home and exiled from the village society. She lived with her three children in the local inn. But who was she truly? A village girl who succumbed to passion? A harlot enjoying the pleasures of life? A mysterious lover to the heir of these lands? La Vecchia is crafty and strong, but her greatest power is not magic – it is the ability to use words. She is always letting herself get carried away in confessions, leading her persecutors down the garden path. But is this enough to save her from the men who are consumed by a blood lust?

“In this fantastical land based on earlyRenaissance Italy the protagonist, accused of witchcraft, not only seduces the holy tribunal interrogating her, but the readers as well. And she really does know how to use words. You’ll read it compulsively… For this Anna Brzezińska deserves a major nod – for creating a story about a witch centred on a strong female protagonist, and for not glorifying the violence that is used against her”.

Justyna Suchecka, Książki. Magazyn do czytania

“This is a multilayered novel about the inquisition, the terror used against those who dared to have beliefs that opposed the laws of the church. It is about what the witch trials really were – a way of settling local and private animosities grounded in envy, hatred, the desire for profit or revenge. (…) Anna Brzezińska’s style in this book is incredible – it is a poetic deluge. The story flows freely, the motifs fluidly interweave, pictures flash before our eyes. These pictures are sharp and dreary, full of blood, rape, dragons, red ore, plagues, and stark landscapes. If I were to seek a comparison, I would say it reminds me of the reddrenched sets of Peter Greenaway’s Baby of Macon. Water through a Sieve is a book for all those who love the magic of words”.

Monika Frenkiel, Newsweek

“Anna Brzezińska has created a brutal and ruthless world in which human life is worth less than a drop of magical vermilgio, and betrayal and death lurk at every turn. Much like her monumental bestseller The Daughters of Wawel Castle, it remains surprisingly timely and modern”.

kulturawokolnas.pl

“In Water through a Sieve the reader finds few historical facts, only tropes, sketches of myths, outwardly realistic, but this is more a pop fantasy tale of the power of the word. Anna Brzezińska uses a beautiful, slightly stylized language, so that the protagonist’s monologue cuts into the reader, who is swallowed up by her narrative, consumed by all the ‘dragons,’ both real and metaphorical – the crooks, rapists, accusers, and all of those base, unprincipled women who slander her at every step. The reader is left to interpret the testimonies, becomes a witness to a complex game in which there are no easy answers, no superfluous emotions, only words and faith”.

Wielki Buk

“What is this book like? Unusual, uncompromising, compelling, thoughtprovoking, and shocking. Its peculiarity grabs your attention and refuses to let go, because you cannot be sure how things will turn out. The words flow in a dense stream and it is easy to get carried away. Apart from the inquisitors’ struggle against the witches, there is also true love, and the destructive effects of power and jealousy, which rules the world. There is courage against weakness and a whole range of human emotions. Highly recommended!”

Ksiazkiweterze.pl

Release date: 2018
Pages: 368
ISBN: 978-83-08-06549-5
Rights sold: Russia (AST)