Swallowing Mercury

In this excellent debut novel, Greg combines a series of vignettes into a coming-of-age story about persistence through hardship. The book follows a young girl, Wiola, as she matures into a woman during the late 1980s, the final years of the Polish People’s Republic. The narrative is centered in the fictional village of Hektary, a struggling rural community. Wiola narrates her experiences: reuniting with her absent father, accepting the death of her first pet, being sexually assaulted, and, eventually, defining herself. Each chapter is contained and strong enough to stand as its own piece of short fiction. Recurring images of flies reinforce the book’s theme of degradation, particularly the decay of innocence and youth. The concise sentences and stark language mirror the scarcity of daily life during the collapse of the Soviet Bloc. The protagonist’s recollections also delve into collisions between religious and political ideology, exemplifying the conflict between self and society. Marciniak’s deft translation amplifies the engrossing sensory details of Greg’s heartbreaking and enlivening novel. (Sept.)