Dzisiaj Narysujemy Śmierć - Wojciech Tochman

The stigma of genocide that cannot be erased

Wojciech Tochman's moving reporter's tale of evil and suffering

Rwanda, April 6, 1994. In a country divided for decades between two groups hostile to each other, the Tutsis and Hutus, the head of state dies in a plane crash. Among the Hutus, there is only one interpretation: the Tutsis are behind it. Hours after the president's death, one of the bloodiest chapters of recent history opens - a genocide in which a million people were murdered in a hundred days.

The massacre was prevented neither by the United Nations peacekeeping mission nor by the Catholic Church, which was strongly present there. The world did not intervene. The international media long ignored the bloody tragedy of this tiny “pocket” country in Africa. Survivors are still trying to deal with the trauma today.

Wojciech Tochman has returned to Rwanda many times to understand how living together, in cramped conditions, is even possible after what happened there. He talks to survivors, executioners and witnesses. Today We Will Draw Death is a poignant testimony of these encounters, from which the question inevitably emerges: are we all soiled by that blood?

“Tochman's book recreates events from a time of horror that no one can easily talk about. This evocation is done masterfully; the dryness of the account of the events, as if without emotion - for none will be commensurate - is masterful.” Halina Bortnowska, “Tygodnik Powszechny”

“It hurts. Today we will draw death grabs the reader by the throat and in an iron grip leads to the last page. Don't turn your eyes away, look: that's the man.” Magdalena Grochowska, “Gazeta Wyborcza”

“I am often asked how I endure what I write about. What personal price do I pay for it? The answer doesn't seem important or particularly interesting to me. I would rather someone who reaches for my book ask himself: why am I reading about this? Why do I face it?” Wojciech Tochman

Wojciech Tochman was born in 1969 in Cracow, Poland. While still a high school student, he debuted in the weekly “Na Przełaj” (1987) with a report on a school locker room. He was invited to work in the reportage department of “Gazeta Wyborcza” by Hanna Krall (1990). During this period he published two books, Stairs Don't Burn (2000) and Like Eating a Stone (2002). After formally leaving “Gazeta” (2004), he published the following: Córeńka (2005), Wściekły pies (2007), Bóg zapłać (2010), Dzisiaj narysujemy śmierć (2010), Eli, Eli (2013), (together with Katarzyna Boni) Kontener (2014) and (together with Mariusz Szczygiel) Krall (2015). Two-time finalist of the Nike Prize, finalist of the prestigious French Prix RFI “Témoin du Monde” and the Angelus Central European Literary Award. Winner of the Premio Kapuściński awarded in Rome. In May 2018, Wydawnictwo Literackie publishes a reissue of Today We'll Draw Death, while at the beginning of 2019 WL announces a new book Crowing Cocks, Crying Dogs - a reporter's and literary story about Cambodia, marked by a painful past.

The book comes in a Polish language version.

Technical data
Author: Wojciech Tochman
Year of publication: 2023
Format: 125 x 195 mm
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Wydawnictwo Literackie