Children of Our Age
By A.M. Bakalar
Published by Jantar Publishing
Publishing date: 25 October 2017
ISBN 978-0-9933773-3-4
BOOK LAUNCH
A.M. Bakalar and Agnieszka Dale in conversation with Liz Hoggard
Wednesday 25 October, Waterstones Gower Street, London
Karol and his wife are the rising stars of the Polish community in London but Karol is a ruthless entrepreneur whose fortune is built on the backs of his fellow countrymen. The Kulesza brothers, mentally unstable Igor and his violent brother Damian, dream about returning to Poland one day. A loving couple, Mateusz and Angelika, believe against all odds that good things will happen to people like them. Gradually, all of these lives become dramatically entwined, and each of them will have to decide how far they are willing to go in pursuit of their dreams.
Insightful and unforgiving, Children of Our Age is a deeply human and timely story of Polish immigrants. Sweeping between their past in Poland and their present in Britain, this electrifying novel explores the ways unlikely encounters transform lives, the limits of loyalty, and love.
A tense and gripping thriller.
– Marina Lewycka, long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and short-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction
A.M.Bakalar eloquently exposes the tragic face of the immigrant experience; and this powerful story of exploited hope, perverse ambition and - surprisingly - redemption is one you will not forget. It is a tale for our time.
– William Brodrick, CWA Gold Dagger winner
A.M. Bakalar was born in Poland and lives in London. Her first novel Madame Mephisto was published in 2012 and was a reader nomination for the 2012 Guardian First Book Award. In 2015 her short story ‘Woman of Your Dreams’ was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and her writing has appeared in The Guardian and The International New York Times. She has also appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 3 Night Waves, Proms Plus Literary and BBC Radio 4 At Home Abroad.