Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka is a wonderful read. The alternating stories of Poland's past and Poland's present are an effective way to understand the long oppressed country and the people who coped then and now with spirit and resourcefulness. The Love story Of Anielica and Pigeon is a parallel story to the love story to Poland itself.....the countryside,the villages, the goralka.....and to the city of Krakow. By interweaving the past and present we come to see a past Poland struggling for independence, supressed by opressors, resourceful, loyal, and long suffering evolving into the modern Poland of dispirited youth, struggling with changes that need time to take root and an aimlessness that cries out for direction. It is through connections with the past that the modern characters can move forward, flourish and transform. I think the fairy tale style of wartime Poland lends a beautiful tone to the story of a country in progress where the past is so inextricably a part of how the country evolves and is reborn. After all isn't it through the told and retold stories of our own grandparents and great grandparents that we come to know who we really are.? Pasulka realized this and used it beautifully to write her love story to Poland.

This fascinating book tells the stories of two generations of the same family in Poland. The chapters alternated between the grandparents' experience in WWII war years & beyond, and their granddaughter's life in the mid 1990's living their dream in Krakow after leaving Half-Village, the rural home. I found the story of the grandparents more interesting. The golden handed "Pigeon" who falls in love with the beautiful Anielica (who looks like Veronica Lake) and builds her parents a new house in their small hamlet before he asks for her hand, only for their future to be interrupted by the impending German invasion. The author fashions the tale in an almost fairytale like narrative spiced with European / Yiddish humor which I found hilarious. The chapters about the granddaughter, Beata, reveal to the reader the new Poland; while Beata's own life is being put on hold. Instead of harsh rural life it's a harsh city life where the Germans invade as tourists and the only thing the English try to liberate are women's underwear. Along the way the reader gets to find out about the shaping of Poland and the Poles' character through foreign occupations and rapidly changing political systems. The characters in the book are fascinating, engaging and well drawn. The grandparents story is told in a fast pace style -as was their lives, while Beata's story is told in a more steady, almost frustrating pace - as is her life. However, the author managed to make it all work and bring the story to a fulfilling ending which won't leave you empty.

Just read the book whilst in Krakow on a long weekend break recently; the author paints a very accurate picture of war-time and 1990's Krakow and is clearly in love with the city itself. A fascinating story (or rather two inter-linked stories from the two different era's). At first, I thought the dialogue read like a poor translation of spoken Polish, and I wasn't sure from the first couple of chapters where the narrative was going. Also, almost "missing out" a whole generation (Baba-Yaga's parents) from the story by virtually "killing them off" seemed a bit contrived and felt a bit too implausible. This still is a powerfull book, though, despite these relativly minor criticisms. Very "unputdownable" with some harrowing scenes, some very funny scenes and a very moving ending. The characters are very strongly depicted, and definately "come alive". I'm not sure how strongly the author was inspired by "Captain Corelli's Mandolin"- both books have very similar themes, but whatever, this is a highly recommended book, with a strong love and understanding of Krakow and Poland.

Years ago, I became a huge fan of novels that used myths and fairy tales as a way to reimagine and retell other stories. The best of these books straddle a line between fantasy and reality, literary fiction and genre fiction. Pasulka's novel is one of these books. Told through alternating narratives, Pasulka mixes folksy language and fairy-tale elements to tell the story of Pigeon and Nela's relationship with a more modern narrative voice and plot sequence for Beata's day-to-day life in Krakow. The movement between the two narratives never gets confusing, nor does it grow tiresome. Instead, the mundane details of Beata's life at the bar and at home provide an interesting contrast to the more general and dreamlike quality of Nela's story. This is a culture and a city that I'm unfamiliar with, for the most part, but I thought that Pasulka's lively characters and her attention to detail really helped to define this country and its growing pains for me -- a growth that is beautifully reflected through Beata's own struggle to determine her own life and make her own choices. I really connected to her as a character, and I found myself thinking about her and the decisions she made (or didn't make) even when I wasn't reading the novel, which doesn't happen to me all that often. The other characters are just as three-dimensional and defined, and while they often embody any number of stereotypes (which is common in mythic fiction), Pasulka adds more depth and dimension to what are usually fairly flat characters. The writing is lively, and while I loved the characters, the plot, and the themes at work, it was the writing itself that made this book such a pleasure to read. There's such a range of emotion at work here too -- humor, heartbreak, hope. Pasulka has definitely written a winner. You should definitely pick this one up; I've seen it on the recommended new fiction shelves at a couple of different bookstores lately, and it is definitely worth the purchase price in hardcover.

Brigid went above and beyond in this novel. I laughed. I cried. I pined for more. And yet, I wasn't left wanting. It wasn't a Hollywood production. This is life. This book makes you feel as though you're hearing the first hand stories from the people who lived them. I can't give enough praise. The strength of these people is awe-inspiring . All of which faced their own present day issues. Brigid's descriptions build the scene around you. You don't guess, you simply read. Her wit is something to marvel at. Her detail is uncanny. I couldn't put the book down. I didn't want it to end, and yet, I felt satisfied at the end. Brigid, as well as her book, is simply brilliant.