Marcin Świetlicki's "Twelve" could be taken for a crime novel, or read as a rather successful pastiche of this genre. The action of this novel takes place in modern-day Kraków. The title's number corresponds to the number of chapters and refers to successive months of 2005. The story's hero is a former idol of teenagers, now a loser deserted by everyone, called the Master by its third-person narrator. As in a classic Chandler detective story, the Master is approached by a beautiful young woman – but her assignment is atypical: she wants him to free her from the ghost of a serial murderer from the distant past. Shortly a real corpse also appears, along with some substitute of private investigation undertaken by the main hero. Świetlicki does not worry the least about intrigue or tension, consciously disregarding the principles and norms of the genre. He makes it clear on many occasions that he is more interested in playing with the convention of the classic detective story than in writing his own crime novel. Neither is it totally clear whether we are dealing here with a crime, an attempt to untangle a riddle, or rather the hero's delirious delusions. Because the Master never sobers up. He is a true narcissist, concentrated on his own persona. In this way, "Twelve" tends towards an existential novel, examining the question of loneliness, bitterness and the impossibility of coming to any understanding with anyone. Świetlicki's debut also provides a successful, though grotesque portrait of the city and its atmosphere. It is with irony and aloofness that the writer examines current Kraków fashions, poses and customs. Dariusz Nowacki
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