Luca Fumagalli

Seraphim and the Dust Plague, published this year by the excellent Arouca Press, is a novella written by university professor Gracjan Kraszewski.

While the plot is rather simple – an American city is forced to face an impending climate disaster – the structure is by contrast complex and experimental: in addition to the green ink which highlights certain words, also noteworthy are the broken sentences distributed on multiple lines, the large white spaces, the presence of footnotes and, finally, the obsessive repetition of a helixed number-letter code reading “XoxY2xp” (which sometimes fills several pages).

As strange as it may seem, all this perfectly enhances the markedly traditional and apologetic content of a story that almost resembles a parable, although the language used is strange, albeit with hints of humour. The atmosphere is intriguing and the serenity soon gives way to suspense, terror but also joy.

The Pacific Northwest town that serves as the backdrop to Seraphim and the Dust Plague is the quintessence of order and efficiency, so much so that it is considered one of the top ten cities in the United States. Everything is organized to perfection by Lucy, the mayor, and her husband, a skilled businessman, who have completely reorganized the town over the last ten years. Making money seems to be the only goal of the inhabitants, all driven by the achievement of economic well-being and interested only in accumulating more and more goods.

But, as always happens in life, an unexpected event upsets their plans: the sudden arrival of a group of curious homeless people, including the Seraphim of the title, forces Lucy and the other inhabitants to come to terms with themselves and with the lifestyle they have pursued up to that moment. All the while a toxic cloud of an unknown nature that brings death and destruction is dangerously approaching, throwing everyone into panic.

Between prophecies and supernatural revelations, between escapades and second thoughts, the story proceeds quickly towards a consolatory epilogue that, while not hiding the tragedy, shows how beyond it there always exists a prospect of eternal happiness.

In addition to this, other themes are discussed such as true freedom, the anxiety of always having a high standard, the truth, modern man who deludes himself into thinking he is God, and Providence.

The result is excellent, a mixture of modern and ancient that can enthral the reader. Seraphim and the Dust Plague appears ultimately as a Catholic version of Dogma, the amusing but blasphemous film directed by Kevin Smith in 1999, a compelling and surreal game of rare intellectual finesse. Absolutely recommended.

The book: Gracjan Kraszewski, Seraphim and the Dust Plague, Arouca Press, Bridgeport PO, 2024, 88 pages, $10.95.

Buy the book: https://aroucapress.com/seraphim-and-the-dust-plague

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