Fear of unjust memory or desire for secure identity? : remembering the era of 1989 transition in contemporary Polish novel

The article focuses on Polish contemporary novels that explore memory about the era of the 1989 transition in Poland. Among other texts and pieces of art, contemporary Polish novels written by young authors seem to be the most innovative and original in representing this very moment of history, with its fears and desire for a new identity. The article tackles two main problems related to the interpretation of literary works of Dorota Masłowska, Michał Witkowski, and Dominika Słowik. The first is a spectrum of new Polish identity of the era of the 1989 transition. The second is a literary expression of individual resistance of normalization. These authors use different aesthetics, different points of view, and diversified types of protagonists in their novels. Nonetheless, all their works can be interpreted as searching for two main ideas – the Polish identity of the new era after the 1989 transformation and memory of that period. Equally important here is questioning the normative categories used to describe the new social and family roles as well as the oppressive bond between the individual and the community. These novels show different visions of the new Poland, ruled not only by the desire to recreate a safe and uniting identity but also by the fear that the transformation went wrong and was indeed unjust. The sociohistorical tension between the bygone life in the Eastern Bloc and the desired admittance to the Western world creates very heterogeneous individual and collective representations. The categories of familiarity and, on the other hand, alienation seem particularly significant in this context. The article presents a broad view of the context of the 1989 transition in Poland, analyzes the cultural consequences of the broad usage of the norm discourse during this period, as well as provides a critical reflection on the transgressive nature of the literary texts in question. In addition to an in-depth interpretation of literary works, the article is enriched with a reflection on the reception of these works. This allows the title issue to be included in the analysis of the broader context of socio-political changes for which categories of fear and security seem essential.