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Polska Dotty: Carp in the Bathtub, Throttled Buglers and Other Tales of an Englishman in Poland
Are you travelling to Poland, and wish to know more about the Poles you’ll encounter? Are you fascinated by this country of forty million, rich in natural beauty, cultured, and famous for its people’s wanderlust? Have you ever wondered what makes your Polish plumber or waitress or doctor over here tick? What book do you pick for background and insight? A superficial travel guide? A dry history book?
No! You need the genre-busting Polska Dotty. Follow the hilarious exploits of a newly-wed English lad and Polish girl as they settle in Poland and encounter corrupt Polish police, counterfeit software sellers, and scammy private doctors. Observe as Jonathan, under the watchful eye of Marzena, gets to grips with the Polish condition, and finally integrates - completing his rite of passage by learning how to down tumblers of vodka in one mighty gulp.
Polska Dotty informs about every aspect of Polish society including its work ethic, family values, and the Polish character itself. This is a funny, heartfelt, sparkling read, a touching portrayal of an Englishman’s submersion into Polish life.
No! You need the genre-busting Polska Dotty. Follow the hilarious exploits of a newly-wed English lad and Polish girl as they settle in Poland and encounter corrupt Polish police, counterfeit software sellers, and scammy private doctors. Observe as Jonathan, under the watchful eye of Marzena, gets to grips with the Polish condition, and finally integrates - completing his rite of passage by learning how to down tumblers of vodka in one mighty gulp.
Polska Dotty informs about every aspect of Polish society including its work ethic, family values, and the Polish character itself. This is a funny, heartfelt, sparkling read, a touching portrayal of an Englishman’s submersion into Polish life.
- GenresNonfictionPoland
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 11, 2011
6 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Lipman
2 books4 followersJonathan Lipman was born in Oxfordshire, England in 1968. In the 1980s he encountered many temporary émigrés from Eastern Europe - including Russians, Romanians and... Poles. They were visitors to his father's team that pioneered wind energy in the UK. Conversations with them would range far and wide, from the flaws in Capitalism to the evils of Communism, from the corrupt West to the post-Communist "Wild East", from Keynes to Marx and Engels. Little did Jonathan know this would stand him in good stead when, at the age of 25, he'd meet a variety of Eastern Europeans on a course at Oxford University, and fall in love with one of them - a Pole.
After qualifying as a lawyer in 1997, Jonathan married Marzena in Krakow, Poland, and they spent the next two years getting to grips with Warsaw. Jonathan worked for a renowned and very Polish law firm; Marzena completed her doctorate. All this is the subject of Jonathan's first book - Polska Dotty. In 1999 they returned to the UK, and after Poland joined the EU in 2004, found themselves surrounded by a flood of new Polish immigrants - the inspiration for Polska Dotty 2.
Jonathan and Marzena live in Buckinghamshire, England, where they are preparing for a more traditional flood by way of two girls, two cats, two fish, and (apparently) at least two of every generation of apple device ever built.
Please visit the Polska Dotty website:
http://polskadotty.wordpress.com/
After qualifying as a lawyer in 1997, Jonathan married Marzena in Krakow, Poland, and they spent the next two years getting to grips with Warsaw. Jonathan worked for a renowned and very Polish law firm; Marzena completed her doctorate. All this is the subject of Jonathan's first book - Polska Dotty. In 1999 they returned to the UK, and after Poland joined the EU in 2004, found themselves surrounded by a flood of new Polish immigrants - the inspiration for Polska Dotty 2.
Jonathan and Marzena live in Buckinghamshire, England, where they are preparing for a more traditional flood by way of two girls, two cats, two fish, and (apparently) at least two of every generation of apple device ever built.
Please visit the Polska Dotty website:
http://polskadotty.wordpress.com/
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 1, 2017
A light hearted introduction to Polish culture
I read this book just before and a few days into my first trip to Poland. The anecdotal style makes it much more accessible than a history book or travel guide whilst giving some useful guidance and background.
I read this book just before and a few days into my first trip to Poland. The anecdotal style makes it much more accessible than a history book or travel guide whilst giving some useful guidance and background.
February 7, 2019
Whether you know a little or a lot about Poland, ‘Polska Dotty’ is a great read.
A lawyer by profession and married ‘in’, to the indefatigable Marzena, author Jonathan Lipman trains a beady eye on many aspects of life in his adopted country: romance and marriage; family and work; learning and education; business and corruption; state/private health care; entrepreneurs and eggheads, racism, homophobia, and antisemitism; history and geography; politics and popery, literature and romantic heroes; art and music; food and (quite a lot of) alcohol. Throughout, he soberly combines the personal with the general in an accessible style that entertains and educates.
Did you know that by the end of the 16th century, Poland controlled over one million square kilometers of Europe and its ducat was the strongest currency around… and yet the country later ‘disappeared’ for some 200 years due to its ungovernability? How come? Such questions - and answers - are sprinkled throughout these turnable pages and await the intrepid armchair traveller.
The tone varies depending on circumstance- Jonathan’s accounts of his early linguistic hurdles made me laugh aloud, but in contrast, I found his accounts of visits to former Nazi concentration camps concise and profoundly moving, particularly when, almost as an aside, he reveals his Jewish heritage.
The memoir is set in the late 1990s and Poland has doubtless changed since but as the author says of another work, “Time will make such books an increasingly valuable resource of how it used to be.”
And always will, perhaps : )
A lawyer by profession and married ‘in’, to the indefatigable Marzena, author Jonathan Lipman trains a beady eye on many aspects of life in his adopted country: romance and marriage; family and work; learning and education; business and corruption; state/private health care; entrepreneurs and eggheads, racism, homophobia, and antisemitism; history and geography; politics and popery, literature and romantic heroes; art and music; food and (quite a lot of) alcohol. Throughout, he soberly combines the personal with the general in an accessible style that entertains and educates.
Did you know that by the end of the 16th century, Poland controlled over one million square kilometers of Europe and its ducat was the strongest currency around… and yet the country later ‘disappeared’ for some 200 years due to its ungovernability? How come? Such questions - and answers - are sprinkled throughout these turnable pages and await the intrepid armchair traveller.
The tone varies depending on circumstance- Jonathan’s accounts of his early linguistic hurdles made me laugh aloud, but in contrast, I found his accounts of visits to former Nazi concentration camps concise and profoundly moving, particularly when, almost as an aside, he reveals his Jewish heritage.
The memoir is set in the late 1990s and Poland has doubtless changed since but as the author says of another work, “Time will make such books an increasingly valuable resource of how it used to be.”
And always will, perhaps : )
July 25, 2019
I've read only about a quarter of this book and lost interest, although at the beginning I was curious if the way my country is seen through the eyes of an Englishman.
July 19, 2025
Really sweet book about Poland through an Englishman’s eyes. A great introduction to the country and culture of Poland.
August 13, 2017
Poland? Yes, but from 20 years ago. This book actually made me realise how much has changed and for better. A good read, reminds me the times when I was sweet 13 and things were not always grand in Poland. But truth is, I actually hardly recognise the state of mind from back then. Times changed, we moved on. Looking forward to reading Polska Dotty 2.
June 1, 2013
Whimsical experiences of an Englishman newly married to a lovely Polish girl and living for a few years in Poland. Being of Polish extraction (my parents left Poland and war torn Europe after WW II)I found the book fascinating as a travelogue and my desire to visit Poland has been rekindled.
What I found perplexing was there was very little mention of what the author worked on as a lawyer. The only work references dealt with social interactions on a personal basis.
Poland is throwing off communism and turning to the West. This guy just talks about restaurant, theater and interesting visits. All very interesting and usually humorous.
The visit to the time warp was nostalgic and a pleasant read.
What I found perplexing was there was very little mention of what the author worked on as a lawyer. The only work references dealt with social interactions on a personal basis.
Poland is throwing off communism and turning to the West. This guy just talks about restaurant, theater and interesting visits. All very interesting and usually humorous.
The visit to the time warp was nostalgic and a pleasant read.
February 6, 2014
I loved this book. Jonathan Lipman presents an amusing persona of a hapless incomer to Poland, but in fact is hugely knowledgeable and informative about the country. Because much of the tone is light and humorous, I thought Lipman, who is Jewish, would avoid the topic of anti-Semitism, still a dark undercurrent. But he tackles the past movingly and the present generously. The book gives a fantastic insight into Poland and, given the pace of change, will soon have the status of a historical document - but is none the less readable for that.
March 31, 2013
Any idea what it's like to meet your wife to be in a foreign land, then have to deal with language, cultural and, above all, FAMILY issues that come with that?
Polska Dotty author Jonathan Lipman found out in Poland... and recounts his adventures in this book - an absolute must on the bookshelf or Kindle of any expat in the land of Chopin and Kościuszko.
Polska Dotty author Jonathan Lipman found out in Poland... and recounts his adventures in this book - an absolute must on the bookshelf or Kindle of any expat in the land of Chopin and Kościuszko.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews