Today is an important day for those who can’t tear themselves away from a good read. August 9 is the Day of Book Lovers. As you know, in addition to an engaging plot, a unique setting in a novel is important. The mysteriousness and variety of places in Lower Silesia has made more than one author decide to use the background of the region to tell a story. If you both enjoy reading books and love Lower Silesia then you need to know these titles.

“Copper. A story of disappearance” Filip Springer

Miedzianka, a small town near Jelenia Gora, which disappeared from the face of the earth in the 1960s – literally sank into the ground. Filip Springer spent more than two years searching for answers to the question of why a town with a seven-century tradition disappeared. And so a reporter’s book was written. Was it due to the destruction caused by the robbery of uranium mining by the Russians conducted here between 1948 and 1952? Or were the tales of mining damage invented by the authorities as an excuse to demolish the city and hide a secret from the ^past1? After reading the novel, it’s worth a trip to the place. Currently, the town is home to the Miedzianka brewery, where you can enjoy the author’s craft beer and dishes from their cuisine.

“Dark, Almost Night” by Joanna Bator

This novel features Walbrzych, a post-industrial city in Poland. Children go missing in Walbrzych. Andżelika, Patryk and Kalinka are lost without a trace. The eerie, dense atmosphere of the late autumn city is not conducive to explaining the cases. Prophet Jan Kolek argues that the children are being taken to her by Our Lady of Sorrows, and angry residents hurl accusations blindly, plunged into fear.

Reporter Alicja Tabor returns from Warsaw to the city of her childhood to write about three missing people. In her old family home full of bad memories, the past awaits. The heroine, in order to change her life, must face not only a professional challenge, but also the traumas that plague her. The novel received a screen adaptation in 2019 – the film was directed by Borys Lankosz. The role of Alicja Tabor was played by Magdalena ^Cielecka2. The novel was awarded the 2013 Nike Literary Award.

The saga of detective Eberhard Mock by Marek Krajewski

A series of detective stories that take place in Breslau. The main character is the highly intelligent Ebherhard Mock, a criminal policeman. The detective, going through the nooks and crannies, dark streets, solves mysteries in the capital of Lower Silesia. It is not only the criminal mysteries that are interesting in the book, but also the character of Eberhard Mock – his fears, cynicism, tiredness of life, professions, women in love with him, memories of old friends and enemies. One can discover an ordinary man in him, which makes it easy for the reader to get into his role. Descriptions of Breslau a century ago allow one to learn many interesting facts about the ^city3.

A series of novels by Slawek Gortych

Two volumes of Slawek Gortych’s novels take readers on an exciting journey through the Giant Mountains. In the novels you can feel the atmosphere of the highest mountain range of the Sudetenland, thanks to vivid descriptions of these beautiful and mysterious places. The main roles in the novels are played by Śnieżne Kotły, Szrenica or the rebirth hostel.

In the first part, “The Shelter that Ceased to Exist,” the protagonist is a young dentist Maksymilian Rajczakowski, who travels to the Giant Mountains to take a break from his family problems, unaware of the secrets hidden in the mountains’ wartime past. This is a gripping detective story marked by family secrets, as well as a wander through forgotten trails of the past, thick with riddles and ^legends4.

In the second part, “The Shelter That Survived,” the action moves to the Revival shelter, which is temporarily closed due to renovations. Justyna Skała, a friend of Maks, who manages the facility, takes advantage of her free time to let herself be invited by a mysterious admirer to a theater in her hometown of Jelenia Góra. When the man does not show up at the agreed place, touched by vague premonitions, she returns to the hostel at night. It turns out that the caretaker of the Rebirth has disappeared, and burglars are prowling in the basement of the building. This time, too, the Rebirth building’s past from the Nazi era returns. Are the burglary and the events of long ago connected? The link between the hostel and the attack on the Polish train by German partisans is another puzzling clue for ^Maximilian5. Reading these two items will make anyone look forward to the third part, which will be released soon.

And do you know good books where Lower Silesia appears?

¹https://lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/5027576/miedzianka-historia-znikania

2 ^{https://lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/49472} 46/ciemno-prawie-noc

³ https://lubimyczytac.pl/autor/14247/marek-krajewski

4 ^{https://lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/50254} 94/schronisko-ktore-przestalo-istniec

5 ^{https://lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/5} 063014/schronisko-ktore-przetrwalo

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