a book review of duchologia polska. rzeczy i ludzie w latach transformacji by olga drenda

This review discusses the book Duchologia polska. Rzeczy i ludzie w latach transformacji (2016) by Olga Drenda, placing it in the context of a larger cultural tendency representing an interest in the end of the period of socialist Poland and the transition to capitalism and democracy as well as a more global trend described, among others, by Simon Reynolds as the ‘Re’ Decade (2011). Polish hauntology refers to the mythologization of the past, which cannot be assessed unambiguously, but is recalled with nostalgia, largely without taking into consideration the nature of the cultural phenomena it refers to. In a nostalgic perspective, it is not the balanced assessment that comes to the foreground but emotions and personal memories. This article looks at Olga Drenda’s book as a valuable voice in the discussion on nostalgia, capturing some of these personal responses to the past. The book shows in a successful, though incomplete way, that events, people, places and objects stored in old photographs and memories may create a unique cultural experience.