Dear friends 🌸, it has been a year since I last wrote anything here, and I must admit that at the time, my blog did not take off as I had hoped. Perhaps it was because I was not ready yet, or perhaps I lacked the consistency and courage to really put my heart into it. I gave up easily back then, but today I think I simply needed to mature before I could run a place like this. During that time, I took a break, but books never disappeared from my life – on the contrary, I read even more and also began to get to know Poland better from the inside. This year allowed me to recharge my batteries and understand that I really want to share what I read and experience with others. That's why I'm now coming back with new strength and a new plan. I will continue to write mainly in English, but in the meantime I have been learning a lot of Polish and would like to try writing a post in Polish from time to time. It may not be perfect, but it will be honest, and that's what matters most to me.
For my return, I chose a book that was talked about a lot in Poland and which has been adapted for Netflix – Jakub Żulczyk's "Feedback". I admit that I thought long and hard about whether I was ready to read it, because I knew it was powerful, difficult and uncompromising literature. And yet something drew me to it. I wanted to see how a Polish author tackles topics that are both local and universal. And I was not disappointed.
Feedback is about Marek, a former rock musician who struggles with alcoholism. From the very first pages, it is clear that this will not be an easy read. Żulczyk leaves no room for illusions – he describes the fall of a man with such honesty and brutality that at times I wanted to put the book down, yet at the same time I couldn't stop reading. It is a novel that haunts you, drawing you into a dark world full of pain, despair and loneliness. And yet, in this darkness, there is also a spark of hope that keeps us from looking away.
While reading, I realised that although Marek's story is very much rooted in Polish reality, it actually tells a universal tale – about man's struggle with himself, about the desperate search for love, about how easy it is to lose oneself and how difficult it is to find the way back. We all know the feeling of being lost, of lack of control, of feeling that life is slipping through our fingers. Marek embodies all of this in its most extreme form.
What struck me most was how Żulczyk creates his characters. Marek is a character who is easy to judge: a drunk, a loser, a man who ruined his own life. But the deeper we delve into the story, the more we begin to see his sensitivity, helplessness and how much he needs other people. It is impossible to like or hate him – one can only try to understand him. This makes the book stay in your mind for a long time.
Reading Feedback, I also felt that I understood Poland and the people I now live among better. Alcoholism, family wounds, lack of honest conversation – these are all topics that are part of social reality in Poland, but they can be found everywhere in the world. This makes Żulczyk's book both very Polish and universal at the same time.
As someone who is learning Polish, I can also say that this book was a unique linguistic experience for me. The author writes intensely, powerfully, sometimes vulgarly, and every word was a lesson for me. I didn't read it quickly because I often had to stop and look up the meaning, but that's what made me feel like I had taken a huge step forward in my learning. At the same time, I discovered how bold and uncompromising Polish literature can be.
I also watched the TV series adaptation on Netflix and although it was well done, it doesn't compare to the book. The series has more action and less of what is most important – the protagonist's inner struggle. That's why, for me, it's the book that stays in my heart for longer.
This post is a symbolic new beginning for me. I know that a year ago my blog didn't attract many people, but now I no longer think about numbers or statistics. I want to write, share my impressions, talk to those who find their way here. I want this place to be a small bridge – between the Philippines and Poland, between my world and the world of my readers. And if, by the way, someone picks up a book they wouldn't have chosen before, that will be the greatest reward for me.
So if you don't know Feedback yet, I encourage you to give it a try. It's not an easy book, but that's precisely why its worth reading. Because sometimes the most difficult things give us the most food for thought and stay with us for a long time. All pics are mine. 🌺