Wojciecha Tochmana podróże „za śmiercią” – zapis doświadczenia egzystencjalnego

Abstract

The subject of the article is a juxtaposition of the last two report books by Wojciech Tochman, connected by the subject of death present in them, and an indication of the role of that subject and the manner of its depiction in both cases related to the situation of journey treated multidimensionally. The article starts with a reference of the analysed report texts to the tradition of travel report, which has an established position and different variations. Further part is a collection of Tochman’s opinions about the report and being a reporter, which forms a peculiar professional and life credo. Next, the report As If You Were Eating a Stone is analysed, with regard to the situation in which it originated, its mode of narration, subjectivity of the account, construction and role of the characters, and the aspect of journey as the framework of the story. In that section, there are also reflections concerning the existential significance of a report story from Bosnia. The next analysis starts with a recollection of the circumstances in which Tochman’s last book Little Daughter was written. Particular attention was devoted here to the peculiar composition of that work, which is a hybrid of a novel and a report, as well as to the Bali mentality. The journey to the Indonesian paradise island turns out to be an opportunity, both for the author and for the reader, to encounter the mysterious culture on the one hand, and on the other, with one of the most important problems of our times, terrorism.