Zamiast powieści obyczajowej. Cechy współczesnej polskiej powieści sensacyjnej

The standard criteria of literary evaluation disappeared after 1989 in Poland. The literary genre hierarchy in literature has also become invalid. An important message can be conveyed in any genre, at the author’s discretion. The genres which were usually unprivileged in the literary tradition have gained importance. The author of the article analyses the phenomenon of detective story authors adopting the features of the classical novel. The authors present the social background and important features of contemporary Polish social life, e.g. the break-up of relationships, threats to the family, which is often a source of violence and the consumerist, materialist lifestyle of characters who have forgotten moral values. These stories involve problems related to the role of women in public and private life as well as the fashions and challenges facing contemporary Poles (styles of clothing, home decoration and spending free time). Such plots, which are typical of a classical novel, document post-modern reality in Polish detective stories.