Dukla

Character is plot in this unusual collection (first published in Poland in 1999) from Stasiuk, the author of On the Road to Babadag. Beginning with “Midsummer, Pogórze,” a portrait of rural Polish life, these fragmented stories leave much for the reader to imagine. While Stasiuk may not be the unnamed narrator who shares memories and reveries, he offers few biographical details about this guide, only that he is unworldly, in his late 30s, and trying to “write a book about light.” The title story, more than half the book, reads like a memoir or travel essay, heavy on nostalgia. Told in three parts—with little in the way of traditional plot—this story offers a warm, often poetic portrait of the narrator’s beloved village. In part three, a spiritual search that’s implicit in the earlier sections becomes explicit, with visits to local churches and memories of childhood leading to broader philosophical speculation. Eighteen beautifully written vignettes end the collection, covering the same territory, and prove far more compelling for the reader than the beginning. (Oct.)