Q-books

This time we will take Thomas Bernhard's book “Kalkwerk” for wallpaper.

TW's that occur in the book: homicide, psychological violence, disability, mental illness, claustrophobia/isolation/loneliness, self-destructive behaviors

On Christmas Eve, Konrad kills his wife. Found two days later by the police, without resisting, he is taken to prison.

What led him to this act? What were the motives for the crime? It turns out that such questions are not easy to answer, and in any case this knowledge of the other person is only probable, untestable, based solely on conjecture. This is how the narrator perceives it — revealing himself only a few times throughout the entire piece — because his story consists of the crumbs of the accounts of people belonging to Konrad's narrow circle of acquaintances, relationships that are often contradictory, even mutually exclusive, without trying to suggest which one seems closer to the truth, avoiding any comment. In this way, the history of the Conrad marriage is reconstructed, in which the sad fate of Konradowa, crippled for many years devoted exclusively to her caring and cruel husband, was intertwined with the internal drama of Konrad, a natural science fanatic possessed by the obsessive thought of writing a scientific study.

when: 20.10.2026 (Tuesday), 17.00-19.00

Where: Asyl Library, 13 Lipowa Street, Lublin (entrance from Ofiar Katynia Street)

accessibility: the event takes place in a space free of architectural barriers, there is a non-donated bathroom available on site; no translation on PJM

Admission: free

language: event in Polish

Thomas Bernhard (1931—1989), one of the most prominent German-language writers, author of many novels (including “Disorder”, “Old Masters”, “Erasure”, “Kalkwerk”, “Frost”) and numerous dramas. Popularized in Poland thanks to performances by Krystian Lupa. An ardent critic of Austrian society, he banned the publication and staging of his works in Austria until 2059.