In the Magical World of Tadeusz Nowak’s Works

The goal of the article is to highlight the links between Tadeusz Nowak’s novel A jak królem, a jak katem będziesz (When You Are a King, When You Are a Hangman), with the trend known as magical realism. Pointing out to the connections with this trend, which is very much alive in the contemporary world literature, allows one to survey the writings of the Polish author from a new, broader perspective. One is able to perceive the whole richness of the author’s prose, where realism and the miraculous seem to grow out of reality and are equivalent to one another. The elements of magical realism distinguished by the authoress (the element of magic in the realistically constructed depicted world, the permeation of two worlds and two separate realities, the reflection of the magical mentality etc.) are also present in Nowak’s other works, and particularly in his short-stories dating back to different periods, such as Przebudzenia (Awakenings), W puchu alleluja, In the fluff of the hallelujah? or Półbaśnie (Half-Fairy Tales).

The goal of the article is to highlight the links between Tadeusz Nowak’s novel A jak królem, a jak katem będziesz (When You Are a King, When You Are a Hangman), with the trend known as magical realism. Pointing out to the connections with this trend, which is very much alive in the contemporary world literature, allows one to survey the writings of the Polish author from a new, broader perspective. One is able to perceive the whole richness of the author’s prose, where realism and the miraculous seem to grow out of reality and are equivalent to one another. The elements of magical realism distinguished by the authoress (the element of magic in the realistically constructed depicted world, the permeation of two worlds and two separate realities, the reflection of the magical mentality etc.) are also present in Nowak’s other works, and particularly in his short-stories dating back to different periods, such as Przebudzenia (Awakenings), W puchu alleluja, In the fluff of the hallelujah? or Półbaśnie (Half-Fairy Tales).