Michał Komar

Initiations

Excerpt

Once in a while surprising, unusual books appear that do not fit the norms of current literary output in any way. This is undoubtedly true of Michał Komar’s Initiations, a book as intriguing as it is flamboyant. In fact it is hard to define where exactly this book is located on the literary map, because it borders on the genres of fiction, essay, philosophical treatise and… cookery book, as Komar makes smooth transitions from describing Poland’s tangled fortunes in the past few centuries to detailed analyses of Sophocles’ Antigone or Jan Potocki’s The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, from subtle reflections on philosophical ideas to descriptions of sophisticated dishes and their ingredients. The main characters are Mrs E. and her servant (who is also the narrator). The elderly Mrs E., who comes from a good family with centuries of tradition, is well read and intelligent, as well as being gifted with a wisdom about life arising from a wide range of experiences. In Mrs E.’s house (or rather houses) the servant takes care of just about everything, though his main fulfilment is in the role of chef, a specialist in dishes that you would seek in vain on the menus of even the very best restaurants, and a connoisseur of top quality alcohol. He is also the object of his employer’s passion for teaching – Mrs E. considers it her duty to educate “the lower orders”. The narrator describes the last few months of Mrs E.’s life, mainly focusing on the breakfast, lunch and dinner parties at which she and her guests (including a popular actor and a not widely read yet interesting writer) sit at a sumptuous table having conversations full of digressions. In brief, these are real orgies of the intellect and taste. In his new book Komar has gone for a remarkable combination of solid intellectual discourse and a sort of burlesque, evident not least in the comedy and irony that permeate the relationship between Mrs E. and her servant. As a result, this is a book that makes the reader think without ever boring him at all. It has been put together like a perfectly assembled meal (the culinary comparison is highly appropriate here) – offering a seductive abundance of flavours, it is satisfying and at the same time easy to digest.

Robert Ostaszewski

Michał Komar (born 1946) is a doctor of humanities, novelist, essayist and author of numerous film scripts, theatre plays and television screenplays.