Feline Music. A Choral History of the Krakow Pogrom. Volume I

Tokarska-Bakir Joanna

This book is a time machine. Stepping into it, we are transported to a Saturday just after the war. The author guides us through the streets of Krakow, where a pogrom is unfolding – one of the three most significant that Poles perpetrated against Jews after the Holocaust. We are in the thick of the events, observing them as the victims, perpetrators, and investigators did.

Observing history in action becomes – as is often the case with time machines – an almost initiatory adventure. It compels us to verify the previous, safe categories we used to understand others' past and our own present.

In this engaging and authoritative, yet innovative work, concepts such as "brigands," "family," "subtenants," "bonds," "myths" – seemingly taken from some distant time – allow us to see the entire world anew, and ourselves within it.

For "Kocia muzyka" (Cat's Music) is a book about the past that becomes its own future.

"A disturbing portrayal of the illness of Polish society immersed in moral anomie. A fundamental contribution to our collective memory and a warning for the future. Perfect network narrative. 'Kocia muzyka' will be with us for a long time and will be much talked about, oh, very much."

Olga Tokarczuk

"A great book."

Prof. Jan Kula

"No one has yet written such an exhaustive monograph of the Krakow pogrom. Thanks to her research method, Joanna Tokarska-Bakir proved how many new and unknown things can be said about it."

Prof. Szymon Rudnicki

"Perhaps like me, you heard anecdotes in your youth about pre-war scuffles between Polish students and the police, and only later understood what they were demonstrating for back then. Joanna Tokarska-Bakir leads us from Chrobry's swords preserved among family memorabilia to the pogrom that took place in Krakow just after the Holocaust. I particularly recommend this reading to those who, like me, love Krakow. It will disturb your peace and challenge your sentimental image of the past."

Tomasz Fiałkowski

"Was it really a pogrom? – historians wonder. Since only one person died... (She was fifty-six years old and had an Auschwitz number tattooed. Rachel, Józef Berger, her husband, called her)."

"So it wasn't definitely a pogrom. It's definitely a reportage. A great, historical one. One after which a person becomes – should become – wiser and better."

Hanna Krall

The above description is from the publisher.

ATTENTION! The presented product comes from an outlet. It may have minor cosmetic defects, such as: small stains, delicate scuffs on the cover, bent corners of pages or other traces related to storage. These defects are purely aesthetic and in no way affect the print quality or reading comfort.

If you have any questions about the condition of a specific copy, please contact us – we will be happy to describe the details and send photos before purchase.