Set shortly before the outbreak of World War II, its main protagonist is boxer Jakub Szapiro, who is revered as a hero of the Jewish community in the Polish capital.
In the boxing ring, Szapiro commands respect. Outside, he instills fear as he muscles through Warsaw as an enforcer for a powerful crime lord.
The King of Warsaw has already been adapted into a successful TV series in Poland.
Referring to Polish media reports about the success of The King of Warsaw, Twardoch protested at being described as a Polish writer. He insists he wants his nationality to be identified as Silesian. He was born in the Silesian town of Knurów, studied in the Silesian city of Katowice and currently lives in the Silesian village of Pilchowice.
The King of Warsaw was published in an English translation by Sean Gasper Bye by Amazon Crossing in 2020. The chair of the judges of the EBRD prize, Toby Lichtig, has spoken highly of the book and the translation: “Brilliantly translated by Sean Gaspar Bye, whose tasks involved mixing Polish street slang with Yiddishisms, it is at once a pulp thriller, a linguistic feast, a historical tapestry and a devastatingly clever excavation of memory.”
Soon after the release of the English translation, Polish Radio’s London correspondent Adam Dąbrowski spoke to Sean Gasper Bye, asking about the book and the translating challenges it posed.