In her latest novel/collection of a few short stories (depending on the interpretation), Masłowska goes back to her roots. She flirts with her entangled language, follows the lives of Polish millennials and does not hesitate to weave some virulent remarks.

It’s been a couple of years since Dorota Masłowska’s last novel (2018, Inni Ludzie) and a lot has changed since then. War, pandemic, Brexit, the death of Queen Elizabeth or… Masłowska’s change of publisher. Now, it is Wydawnictwo Karakter, which really cares about Magiczna rana’s distribution and press. In a way, they help the 41-year-old writer to shine once again. Their great PR and advertising have reminded us how “big” Masłowska’s surname used to be and how popular it still can be. 

After all, her latest novel is a massive step forward for Masłowska in the way she decides to play with both her storytelling and the mould from which her novels’ compositions are made. Again, she proves that she knows her job as a writer. Exploring any storyline from the book in-depth might seem like spoiling the entire fun, so it suffices to say that Masłowska deals with the hypocrisies of a modern Warsaw, becomes a voyeur of the younger generations living in the Polish capital and finds a certain empathy towards her characters.

Although it only has around 160 pages, the palpable literary substance is there and each short story is full of a writer’s “meat” (this is what reporters call chapters or paragraphs when they feel they have great material to show to their readers). Without any spoilers, it can be admitted that throughout the entire book, you will experience trauma, laughter, frissons of excitement, or sudden pangs of fear and you will enter the uncertain voids of Masłowska’s abstract thinking, which is full of non-linear plots, atypical endings and, most importantly, remarkable heroes and heroines, who will remind you of your colleagues, partners, parents and families. 

“Don’t believe the hype,” says the common saying in the dictionary of XXI century cynics, but this time it doesn’t apply. The so-called “hype” is there and “Magiczna rana” is a must-read not only for her most enamoured fans, but also for anyone, who has lost hope that nowadays Polish literature (especially fiction) still maintains a high literary standard. 

4.5/5 stars

Author: Jan Tracz

Zdjęcie: Szymon Rogiński