After the old man’s funeral, the Christmas holidays came at a gallop, after the holidays — hog slaughtering time. Hogs possessed by demons and dripping blood ran through the courtyard, fell into the snow, hid themselves in the drifts, fought and squealed, as if their further life were important. Drifts and specters. Half-naked butchers surrounded them in an ever tighter circle. Tables continued to pass through the rooms, the fat flowed through them. Ice blocks as large as the pyramids, cut out under the bridge, glided by on carts. After the hog-slaughtering, Aria departed forever. I don’t know whether she is still alive. If she is, then she will be pushing sixty. Wedding, funeral, holidays, hog-slaughtering. Flu, scarlet fever, whooping cough, pneumonia. One hundred and twenty-four seconds of eternity. During the Christmas Eve supper, Sister Ewelina impulsively sneezed, and the candle on the table went out. The impulsiveness spoke clearly: of all of those gathered here, you will die first, Sister Ewelina. There was no help now. The sleigh was already setting off to dig the hole. By sleigh to the hospital in Cieszyn. The feverish head on the massive thighs of Emma Lunatyczka. Aria! Aria! Aria! Where is our life?
Author Bio
Jerzy Pilch is one of Poland’s most important contemporary writers and journalists. In addition to his long-running satirical newspaper column, Pilch has published several novels, and has been nominated for Poland’s prestigious NIKE Literary Award four times; he won the Award in 2001 for The Mighty Angel. His books have been translated into numerous languages, and his novels A Thousand Peaceful Cities—chosen as a Kirkus Reviews Best of 2010 book — and The Mighty Angel are also available in English translation from Open Letter.
Translator Bio
David Frick is a Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley. He won a Northern California Book Award for his translation of Pilch’s A Thousand Peaceful Cities.