The Unmade World: A Novel

Set against a backdrop of the current political and cultural upheaval in the US and Eastern Europe, The Unmade World is a thoughtful, scope-y literary novel with a dose of suspense that moves from Poland to California to the Hudson Valley and back to Poland. It covers a decade in the lives of an American journalist and a Polish small businessman turned petty criminal and the wrenching aftermath of an accidental, tragic encounter between these two on a snowy night in 2006 on the outskirts of Krakow. The accident costs the lives of the American journalist Richard Brennan's wife and daughter, an event that colors the rest of his life. It also leads to a downward spiral for Bogdan Baranowsk, leaving emotional scars as he suffers the seemingly inevitable loss of his business, his home, and his wife. The Unmade World is a story of ordinary, otherwise decent people from various backgrounds and circumstances who must learn how to live with the personal grief, sense of guilt, and the emotional consequences of violence. Along the way, the novel grapples with a spectrum of cultural and political issues. It includes a murder mystery wrapped around the corruption of major college sports, the pressures on immigrants and refugees in both the US and Poland, the fallout of political change, economic upheavals and armed conflicts—including the horrific destruction of Luhansk, Ukraine in 2014. It also references the 2016 presidential campaign, cultural politics in the American university, and the demise of print journalism, etc., though never in a dogmatic or overtly partisan way. Set against a backdrop of the current political and cultural upheaval in the US and Eastern Europe, The Unmade World is a thoughtful, scope-y literary novel with a dose of suspense that moves from Poland to California to the Hudson Valley and back to Poland. The Unmade World covers a decade in the lives of an American journalist and a Polish small businessman turned petty criminal and the wrenching aftermath of an accidental, tragic encounter between these two on a snowy night in 2006 on the outskirts of Krakow. The accident costs the lives of the American journalist Richard Brennans wife and daughter, an event that colors the rest of his life. It also leads to a downward spiral for Bogdan Baranowsk, leaving emotional scars as he suffers the seemingly inevitable loss of his business, his home, and his wife. The Unmade World is a story of ordinary, otherwise decent people from various backgrounds and circumstances who must learn how to live with the personal grief, sense of guilt, and the emotional consequences of violence. Along the way, the novel grapples with a spectrum of cultural and political issues. It includes a murder mystery wrapped around the corruption of major college sports, the pressures on immigrants and refugees in both the US and Poland, the fallout of political change, economic upheavals and armed conflicts--including the horrific destruction of Luhansk, Ukraine in 2014. It also references the 2016 presidential campaign, cultural politics in the American university, and the demise of print journalism, etc., though never in a dogmatic or overtly partisan way. The Unmade World is a novel that covers ten years in the lives of two men--an American journalist and a Polish grocer turned petty criminal--and the catastrophic aftermath of a chance encounter between these two on a snowy night in 2006, on the outskirts of Krakow. This encounter costs the lives of the American journalist Richard's Brennan's wife and daughter. They also lead to a downward spiral for Bogdan Baranowski, which results in the loss of his business, his wife and his home. Along the way, Richard investigates the murder of a woman and her family back in California, in the process becoming embroiled in a major college football scandal. He also attempts to connect romantically with an aggressive younger reporter. At the same time, Bogdan's criminal activities lead to a stint in prison. Upon his release, he becomes involved with a refugee from the war in the Ukraine, a woman who, like Richard, has lost both her husband and a child. The novel promises early on that the lives of Richard and Bogdan will eventually intersect again, and when they do the outcome is very much unexpected. The Unmade World deals with a fair number of cultural issues: the cutthroat nature of college football, the pressures on immigrants, in both the US and Poland, the demise of print journalism, the 2016 presidential campaign, cultural politics in the American university. It also explores at its core the effect of random violence on the emotional lives of the characters [this Novel Spadens] A Decade In The Lives Of An American Journalist And A Polish Small Businessman Turned Petty Criminal And The Wrenching Aftermath Of An Accidental, Tragic Encounter Between These Two On A Snowy Night In 2006 On The Outskirts Of Krakow. The Accident Costs The Lives Of The [journalist's] Wife And Daughter, An Event That Colors The Rest Of His Life. It Also Leads To A Downward Spiral For Bogdan Baranowsk, Leaving Emotional Scars As He Suffers The Seemingly Inevitable Loss Of His Business, His Home, And His Wife--amazon.com.