“Niespokojni” [The Unsettled]: The silenced other text

Abstract

The article discusses the narrative structure of Lipski’s (unfinished) work, Niespokojni [The
Unsettled]. The author approaches it as an essay, a study focused on an alternative plot created just before the outbreak of the war, rather than a traditional novel. The article presents these alternatives, offering an analysis of the fascinating quality of Niespokojni which consists in embedding quasi-quotes (meaning memorable events, rather than the same stylistic solutions), coming from a setting, chronologically speaking, posterior to Niespokojni, namely the Russian labor camp, which was later described in the short story Dzień i noc [Day and Night]. The article also discusses the emotions and labor camp experience anachronistically ‘inscribed’ into the pre-war period.