Marek Krajewski

Marek Krajewski (2019)

Marek Krajewski (born September 4, 1966 in Wroclaw ) is a Polish classical philologist ( Latin ), former university professor and crime writer.

education and profession

After graduating from the general education school (Lizeum) " Juliusz Słowacki " in 1985 in Wrocław (Breslau), he studied classical philology at the University of Wroclaw until 1991 and in 1992 obtained his master's degree . After graduating, he worked briefly as a librarian, a salesman in a jewelry company and warehouse worker in a publishing house. As a master's degree he started working as a librarian at the Institute for Classical Philology and Ancient Culture at the University of Wroclaw in 1992 and became an assistant there in 1995. In 1999 he received his doctorate with a thesis on "The prosody of Greek loanwords in Plautus ". After that he was a research assistant from 2000 and a lecturer at his institute from 2006 to 2007. He has been a freelance writer since 2007.

Literary

Krajewski became famous for his detective novels, the plot of which is set in Wroclaw. In it he drafts various criminal cases in the German city of Breslau up to 1945, in the investigation of which "Kriminalrat Eberhard Mock" is always involved. So far, nine books have been published in Polish, six of which have been translated into German. Krajewski combines stylistic elements of the horror novel with those of the crime novel . He takes into account the exact topographical and historical knowledge of Wroclaw. In his latest novels ("Erynie" and the following), the Lviv police commissioner Edward Popielski is introduced as a new protagonist who investigates alongside Mock. Krajewski relocated the plot to Lwów, which was then still Polish. Only in the novel "Rzeki Hadesu" does Wroclaw return to the scene, which is now Polish after the war and has been renamed Wrocław .

In 2008, together with Mariusz Czubaj , he began a new crime series, the plot of which is set in Gdańsk today and whose hero is High Commissioner Jarosław Pater. Two volumes have appeared so far.

His books have been translated into seventeen languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Hebrew. In January 2006 he received a. a. the literary prize Paszport Polityki awarded by the weekly newspaper “ Polityka ” . His contribution to the promotion of the city in his work was recognized in June 2008 when he was elected 'Ambassador of Wrocław'.

The figure Eberhard Mock

Eberhard Mock (born September 18, 1883 in Waldenburg / Silesia; † November 21, 1960 New York / USA) is a character from Krajewski. In the five novels to date, he has advanced from crime assistant to police officer in Wroclaw. The figure is characterized by raw brutality, even against employees and his wife Sophie, his corruptibility and the cooperation with Wroclaw underworlders, whom he has made submissive by thwarting punishment . In 1919 (“Ghosts in Breslau”) he lived in a small apartment above his deceased uncle's slaughterhouse with his father, whose later death he was jointly responsible. His area of ​​activity “custom” includes the control and monitoring of the Wroclaw red light district, which he is not averse to himself. He enjoys his brothel visits and the drinking parties associated with them.

Honors

• Georg Dehio Book Prize , 2016

Literary works

• Śmierć w Wroclaw . Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie, Wrocław 1999, ISBN 83-7384-425-2
  • Death in Wroclaw . (German by Doreen Daume ) btb, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-442-72831-2
• Koniec świata w Wroclaw . [ Doomsday in Breslau ] Wydawnictwo WAB, Warszawa 2003, ISBN 83-89291-65-7
  • The calendar page killer . (German by Paulina Schulz ) dtv, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-423-24539-5
• Widma w mieście Wroclaw . Wydawnictwo WAB, Warszawa 2005, ISBN 83-7414-115-8
  • Ghosts in Wroclaw . (German by Paulina Schulz) dtv, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-423-24608-8
• Wroclaw Fortress . Wydawnictwo WAB, Warszawa 2006, ISBN 83-7414-210-3
  • Wroclaw Fortress . (German by Paulina Schulz) dtv, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-423-24644-6
• Dżuma w Wroclaw . Wydawnictwo WAB, Warszawa 2007, ISBN 978-83-7414-343-1
  • Plague in Wroclaw . (German by Paulina Schulz) dtv, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-423-24727-6
• Głowa Minotaura . [ The head of the Minotaur ] Wydawnictwo WAB, Warszawa 2009, ISBN 978-83-7414-580-0
  • Darkness in Wroclaw . (German by Paulina Schulz) dtv, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-423-21347-9
• Erynia . [ The Erinyes ] Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2010, ISBN 978-83-240-1378-4
• Liczby Charona . [ Charon's figures ] Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2011
• Rzeki Hadesu . [ The rivers of Hades ] Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2012, ISBN 978-83-240-2239-7
• W otchłani mroku . [In the Darkness] Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2013, ISBN 978-83-240-2777-4 .
• Władca liczb . [Master of Numbers] Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2014, ISBN 978-83-240-3218-1 .
• Arena szczurów . [Rat Arena] Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2015, ISBN 978-83-240-3873-2 .
• Dziewczyna o czterech palcach . [The girl with four fingers] Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2019, ISBN 978-83-240-5816-7 .

Together with Mariusz Czubaj:

• Aleja samobójców . [ The avenue of suicides ] Wydawnictwo WAB, Warszawa 2008, ISBN 978-83-7414-380-6
• Róże cmentarne . [ Cemetery roses] Wydawnictwo WAB, Warszawa 2009, ISBN 978-83-7414-551-0

bibliography

• Literature documentation on the history of East Central Europe (Herder Institute)

Web links

• Literature by and about Marek Krajewski in the catalog of the German National Library
• Author's website (Polish)
• Polish Crime Worlds Author overview (German)