Dzisiaj Narysujemy Śmierć - Wojciech Tochman

The Indelible Stigma of Genocide

A Deeply Affecting Reportage by Wojciech Tochman on Darkness and Agony

Rwanda, April 6, 1994. Decades of division between the hostile Tutsi and Hutu communities reach a breaking point when the national leader perishes in a plane crash. Among the Hutu, only one conclusion resonates: the Tutsi must be blamed. Mere hours after the president’s death, one of the most brutal episodes in modern memory unfolds—the murder of one million people over the course of only one hundred days.

Not even the presence of the United Nations peacekeeping force or the influential Catholic Church curbed the massacre. World powers remained passive. The international press largely overlooked the horrific tragedy that engulfed this small, "pocket-sized" African nation. To this day, those who escaped death grapple with the aftermath of what they endured.

Wojciech Tochman made repeated journeys to Rwanda, driven to discover how coexistence in such confined conditions is conceivable in the aftermath of such events. He interviews survivors, perpetrators, and observers. "Today, We Will Draw Death" presents a stirring account of these conversations, inviting the unavoidable question: Is everyone touched by the bloodshed?

"Tochman’s narrative reconstructs the terrifying era that defies easy discussion. Halina Bortnowska, writing for "Tygodnik Powszechny", observes that the author’s skill is revealed in his spare, matter-of-fact depiction of events—intentionally stripped of overt emotion, for none would suffice.

""The pain is real. 'Today, We Will Draw Death' grips the reader tightly and refuses to let go until the final page. Do not avert your gaze; witness: this is the essence of humanity." —Magdalena Grochowska, "Gazeta Wyborcza"

""I am frequently questioned about how I withstand writing about these events, or what toll it exacts from me. Such answers seem neither vital nor intriguing. Instead, I would prefer that anyone reaching for my book asks themselves: what compels me to read this? Why am I choosing to confront it?" —Wojciech Tochman

Wojciech Tochman, born in 1969 in Kraków, debuted as a high school student in "Na Przełaj" (1987) with a report on a school cloakroom. Invited by Hanna Krall in 1990, he joined the reportage team of "Gazeta Wyborcza". During this tenure, he released "Schodów się nie pali" (2000) and "Jakbyś kamień jadła" (2002). After leaving "Gazeta" formally in 2004, he authored the following titles: "Córeńka" (2005), "Wściekły pies" (2007), "Bóg zapłać" (2010), "Dzisiaj narysujemy śmierć" (2010), "Eli, Eli" (2013), co-wrote "Kontener" (2014) with Katarzyna Boni, and co-authored "Krall" (2015) with Mariusz Szczygieł. Tochman is a two-time Nike Award finalist, a finalist for the renowned French Prix RFI "Témoin du Monde", and a finalist for the Central European Literary Award Angelus. He won the Premio Kapuściński in Rome. In May 2018, Wydawnictwo Literackie reissued "Dzisiaj narysujemy śmierć", and at the start of 2019, announced the release of "Pianie kogutów, płacz psów"—a reportage and literary narrative about Cambodia, haunted by suffering.

The book is published in Polish

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