Topographical fiction in Torun’s crime trilogies

Abstract

The authors, using the methodology of semiotics, geopoetics and comparative studies, conduct a detailed analysis of Toruń’s “topographical fiction” in local crime trilogies by Piotr Głuchowski, Robert Małecki and Marcel Woźniak, which are treated in this article as part of a global literary trend called “murderous cities”. In the examined examples, journalistic investigations and journalistic style prevail. The authors assume that these novels are based on “topographical pact” which is accompanied by a “weak” autobiographical pact. Despite the popularity of Małecki’s and Woźniak’s stories enhanced by the writers themselves, e.g. via intertextual allusions, which is reflected in the ‘geopoetics of reception’ and which creates a topographically engaged interpretative community, the authors emphasize the role of Głuchowski’s novels (especially the first one) in the creation of the “murderous Torun”. According to the authors, Głuchowski’s fiction is not only the most original, but also the most actual. This paper shows that urban crime trilogies which develop the narrative identity of Toruń have already established a separate space on the literary map of Polish urban crime fiction.