 | Zysk i s-ka
Poznań 2007
125 × 195
318 pages
paperback
ISBN: 978-83-7506-062-1
Translation rights: Hanna Kowalewska
Rights sold to: Zysk i s-ka |
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Hanna KowalewskaThe Harlequin Mask
About the author
Excerpt
"The Harlequin Mask" follows "That Summer in Zawrocie" and "Sleeping Serpents’" Mountain as the third in a series of novels by Hanna Kowalewska. All three are linked by the main heroine, Matylda, the cottage in Zawrocie where the action is set, the diary as a narrative form and Matylda’s deceased grandmother as the person to whom she addresses her confidences. Each separate part portrays the heroine’s ups and downs (mainly romantic ones), but what distinguishes the episodes is that each one features a different issue from the past at the centre of the action. The house in Zawrocie is a sort of catalyst for Matylda’s detective tendencies, because clues are hidden there that lead to her family’s secrets, and this is also where ghosts from the past “materialise”.
One such phantom is Olga, a fellow student and former rival of Matylda’s. Olga was involved with Filip “The Nutter”, later Matylda’s husband. In fact she lost the rivalry, but she was the one and only witness to Filip’s tragic death. Ten years after that event, she returns to Poland and provokes the heroine into taking up her next investigation. To find out the truth, Matylda will have to face up to the most traumatic experience in her life. And along the way she must engage in a sado-masochistic game with this woman who hates her. However, time will reveal which of the protagonists is in the worse pain.
Hanna Kowalewska confirms how good she is at building tension and intrigue. She is also an expert on human nature. Thus "The Harlequin Mask" is somewhere between a thriller and a psychological novel.
Marta Mizuro
Hanna Kowalewska (born 1960) writes poetry, poetic prose, novels, short stories, radio plays and dramas.
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