On the Other Hand

On the Other Hand is a short story collection by the award-winningSlovak author, Pavol Rankov. As the title implies, there is a duality to the stories in this volume – half of them are set in contemporary times and places and cover subjects such as immigration, refugees, drug use, and mental illness. The other half are set in distant lands with palaces and kings, and they read like fairy tales in which people dig to the other side of the Earth, build cities for the virtuous, and live alternate versions of their lives. The common thread in all of them is that Rankov takes a seemingly ordinary situation and pushes it to an extreme, and in doing so, he reveals some truth about human nature.

Reading Pavol Rankov’s short stories causes inner turmoil—it’s impossible
just to put the book down and go do something else. It could be
because his characters remind us of ourselves, with our desires, feelings,
and anxieties—except that they always go a step further than we’d dare.
Milena Schefs, Nowe książki

At the center are ordinary interpersonal relationships—“tight” relationships which arouse curiosity, attraction, jealousy, provocation… But it wouldn’t be Rankov if genres such as mystery, sci-fi, psychological drama, or thriller weren’t poking out between the lines.
Barbora Škovierová, Hospodárske noviny

That which I have called the philosohpical secret in Rankov’s work lies in unanswered and perhaps unanswerable puzzles that all good authors create out of banal situations or anecdotes. All of a sudden an anecdote grows to terrifying proportions, its resolution causes existential anxiety.
Adam Bžoch, Dotyky

Informacja dotycząca wprowadzenia produktu do obrotu:
Ten produkt został wprowadzony na rynek przed 13 grudnia 2024 r. zgodnie z obowiązującymi wówczas przepisami (Dyrektywą o ogólnym bezpieczeństwie produktów). W związku z tym może on być nadal sprzedawany bez konieczności dostosowania do nowych wymogów wynikających z Rozporządzenia o Ogólnym Bezpieczeństwie Produktów (GPSR). Produkt zachowuje pełną legalność w obrocie, a jego jakość i bezpieczeństwo pozostają zgodne z obowiązującymi wcześniej standardami.

Information regarding product placement on the market:
This product was placed on the market before December 13, 2024, in accordance with the applicable regulations at the time (the General Product Safety Directive). As a result, it can continue to be sold without needing to meet the new requirements introduced by the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). The product remains fully compliant with all previously valid legal standards, ensuring its continued quality and safety.