Edition Externum

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2017

Abel Hradscheck, inkeeper and trader in a village near Odra, comes across a skeleton of a French soldier when digging in a garden. When the travelling salesman Szulski stops by briefly to demand debts, Hradscheck, who is a failing trader, gets a brilliant idea. A carriage fell down into Odra, rumours in a village have it. There is not a single trace of the Pole left. Does Hradscheck have anything in common with his disappearance? The narrative shows that human crime has been both repelling and fascinating since time immemorial and that also criminal literature has its own history. In this compilation, there are four prominent authors of German realism – Franz Grillparzer, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Theodor Fontane, with their stories with a criminal motif. As the depiction of the wrongdoer’s motifs does not come easy in literature, it would be inappropriate to narrow them down to a single dimension. They do not have anything in common with a classic detective story, however, they do not lack suspense, even though we know the wrongdoer since the beginning or we suspect them, at least.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2017

Mela, on whom war events left their mark since early childhood, attempts to flee from home where scarcity prevails and decides to marry the officer Jan. Three generations of her family deal with manifold struggles. In the background economic-political changes since the end of the World War II up to transformation of the socialist economy into a capitalist one become visible, which does not leave their personal lives untouched. The story happens at times when despite social ills work was plentiful and social units in businesses freely organized holidays for their workers and their requests were dealt with by a single phone call at the time when churches mushroomed and there was still an interest in man instead of gain. Later on, wild privatization came, unemployment or travelling abroad because of work increased. These were the things that disillusioned instigators had to deal with and which were not favourable towards people. Quarrels of the husband and wife standing on the opposite side of the fence are accompanied by a violin and its wailing as a threat has been haunting the couple since their wedding. Jan seems to be unable to prevent their marriage breakdown and conflicts which foreshadow the society after 1989 strongly divided by opinion. Indeed, history and more recent history can take any form but black and white.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2016

The compilation book offers nonsense poetry from the German language environment and many a time poetic grotesques which became a programmatic part of many cabaret shows already during World War I and later formed part of scenes of the stage director Max Reinhardt. Most authors, who have developed the poetics of nonsense in miscellaneous forms, devote themselves to this genre with its own aesthetics only occasionally. In the collection Paul Scheerbart, Christian Morgenstern, Joachim Ringelnatz, Hansgeorg Stengel, Ernst Jandl present their works and many other poets, who distort also established extralinguistic connections and create the new ones, apply their own laws of logic, releasing the sources of humour, absurdity and paradox so that the quotidian becomes poetry.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2011

The only everlasting story is a one that did not happen – this principle was applied in the literary production, fabrication was in this way closer to truth than uncertain reality. These gloomy stories are not an exception – the higher they are floating in the clouds, the more tightly they are down-to-earth, frequently thanks to the strong social overtones. Blood-curdling punishment is revenge for damage, for premature return of a verdict, for rash toying with superstition or for a committed sin. In former times, they were usually told in a friendly circle near the warmth of a fireplace, some of them have a character of a tale or legend. Even after some time, maybe in the course of three centuries, they did not lose the charm. On one hand, they evoke anxiety and terror; on the other hand they humorously react to manners which can't be in any case regarded as period and therefore as out-of-date. By confrontation of science and religion, they also offer a discourse experience. Do nowadays wander around the world far fewer quack doctors or odd fellows, worshippers of mysticism under the cloak of science? Although we understand more than one reason for polemic, let's say, with Christian faith and its moral, does not their fanatic repudiation open again a path to Satanism? The boundaries of science have always provided an open space for speculations and their exploitation. It can't be underestimated even from the point of view of the period knowledge; it means to exclude the sectarianism from it or to overlook the tragic consequences of manipulation with man – and not only by the help of hypnosis.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2010

Marta Świderska-Pelinko, evaluated in Poland as the most cultivated writer among the women authors, presents herself in a book form in Slovakia for the first time. It is her second novel. This bestseller of the contemporary Polish literature was created on the basis of believable facts from which many haven't been solved by English or Polish police up to now. The main heroine Jola decided to travel for work to England. Instead of expected paradise, she must face up to the obstacles mainly from her compatriots side. The novel offers a conflict of her simple-minded world and Polish underworld trading with cheap labour force in English setting. It mainly shows the controversies with the scum that irritate a perceptive reader. Image of Poland abroad, which takes one's breath away. Author's alter ego knows something about allusions to Hobbes' assertion dog eat dog. Authentic story thanks to the confabulation crosses the boundaries of a document; it keeps its atmosphere and excitement from the beginning to the end. Masterfully managed dialogues, often in allusions, prove that it can't be ranked into the category of popular literature, among the women's novels. By its simple language, it is easily accessible to the widest mass of readers.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2009

Rafał Wojaczek is one of the most significant Polish poet in the second half of twentieth century. He was born on the 6th of december in 1945 in Mikolow. He died at night from 10 to 11 of May 1971 in Wroclaw. The book is representative anthology of his whole literary work. In this title, there are the poems from all five poem collections. In the last part, Laugh and Taunt of God, there are the verse from poet's heritage, either ready to be published by author on his own, or set aside by censorship of his previous poems collection.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2009

Both authors, who met with Sartre in 60's years captured in their book an existentialism of their youth, the fight against Algerian war, they developed the exciting novel plot about Sartre's life and work, about his friendships, rebellion and political engagement, about the destructive impact of free, we could say an anarchic bundle of Sartre and Simone's life focused on fictional love couple Frederic and Carla, about the consequences of Sartre's opinion of revolutionary Youth lacked the countenance because of adoring their idol, the founder of revue Les Temps Modernes.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2009

Yann Andréa was born in 1952. He was companion for life to one of the most significant french writer Marguerite Duras. By a diary form he describes in detail a difficult period of world-known writer, who had to undergo a recovery just before 70. The author captures her helplessness, dramatic struggle with near death, laconic observations and often a bizarre testimony. His another books were also written for Marguerite Duras.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2008

Laurence Tardieu is one of the strong and promising young writer of France having a sense for dynamic and dramatic story. In spite of searing story working with, she writes in an engrossing and simple style, without undue pathos, striking a sour chord. She mentioned the topic of maternity and loss of the child in work Before the Judgement, but only in prose Nothing Lasts, she succeed more convincingly to confront the bright side of life with shady side of life as well as the main characters are more realistic. At a first sight the simple legacy of prose is hiding an inspired idea and clear truth, that eternity is not time, but it is a depth accompanied by intense dizziness.

Pectus publishing house, Košice 2008

Domino's novel is the most serious and comprehensive storytelling about the emigration known from Polish literature. It is about the fate of people, who were on the basis the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, displaced by Red Army from east part of Polland to northeastern part of former Soviet Union. The picture of character's mood, their anxiety, needs to be percieved as a truthful, not bound by demagogy, bias and grudge. Polish Siberiada represents an ambitious and authentic novel, which was born in reliable memory of author's personal life experience.