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The Lullaby of Polish Girls: A Novel
Includes an interview featuring Dagmara Dominczyk and Adriana Trigiani
A vibrant, engaging debut novel that follows the friendship of three women from their youthful days in Poland to their complicated, not-quite-successful adult lives
Because of her father’s role in the Solidarity movement, Anna and her parents immigrate to the United States in the 1980s as political refugees from Poland. They settle in Brooklyn among immigrants of every stripe, yet Anna never quite feels that she belongs. But then, the summer she turns twelve, she is sent back to Poland to visit her grandmother, and suddenly she experiences the shock of recognition. In her family’s hometown of Kielce, Anna develops intense friendships with two local girls—brash and beautiful Justyna and desperately awkward Kamila—and their bond is renewed every summer when Anna returns. The Lullaby of Polish Girls follows these three best friends from their early teenage years on the lookout for boys in Kielce—a town so rough its citizens are called “the switchblades”—to the loss of innocence that wrecks them, and the stunning murder that reaches across oceans to bring them back together after they’ve grown and long since left home.
Dagmara Dominczyk’s assured narrative flashes from the wild summers of the girls’ youth to their years of self-discovery in New York and Europe. Her writing is full of grit and guts, and her descriptions of the emotional experiences of her characters resonate with honesty. The Lullaby of Polish Girls captures the passion and drama of friendship, the immigrant’s yearning to be known, and the exquisite and wistful transformation of young women coming of age.
Praise for The Lullaby of Polish Girls
“A coming-of-age tale of three young Polish women [that is] brimming with teary epiphanies, betrayal and love, as well as the grit of both New York and Kielce. [It’s] Girls with a Polish accent.” —The New York Times
“ The Lullaby of Polish Girls will make you swoon. Dagmara Dominczyk has written a glorious debut novel inspired by her own emigration from Poland to Brooklyn with depth, intensity, humor, and grace.” —Adriana Trigiani
“An ennui-stricken actress returns to the old country—and to the friends of her youth—in Dagmara Dominczyk’s The Lullaby of Polish Girls, in which solidarity is all about summer evenings under the stars with a vodka bottle and a radio playing ‘Forever Young.’ ” — Vogue
“Compelling . . . an original portrait of friendship and identity . . . Dominczyk uses a fresh, confident style.” — People
“In this arresting debut novel, Polish American film and TV actress Dominczyk pays homage to her native city of Kielce while capturing the joys, insecurities, and struggles of three girlfriends coming of age. Spanning thirteen years, Dominczyk’s absorbing story is a triptych of tsknota (Polish for a kind of yearning) and a profound desire for acceptance, freedom, and home.” — Booklist (starred review)
“ The Lullaby of Polish Girls is sexy and sensitive, with a raw, openhearted center. Dominczyk’s love for her complicated characters is apparent from the first page to the last, and by the novel’s end the reader cares for them just as deeply.” —Emma Straub
Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader's Circle for author chats and more.
A vibrant, engaging debut novel that follows the friendship of three women from their youthful days in Poland to their complicated, not-quite-successful adult lives
Because of her father’s role in the Solidarity movement, Anna and her parents immigrate to the United States in the 1980s as political refugees from Poland. They settle in Brooklyn among immigrants of every stripe, yet Anna never quite feels that she belongs. But then, the summer she turns twelve, she is sent back to Poland to visit her grandmother, and suddenly she experiences the shock of recognition. In her family’s hometown of Kielce, Anna develops intense friendships with two local girls—brash and beautiful Justyna and desperately awkward Kamila—and their bond is renewed every summer when Anna returns. The Lullaby of Polish Girls follows these three best friends from their early teenage years on the lookout for boys in Kielce—a town so rough its citizens are called “the switchblades”—to the loss of innocence that wrecks them, and the stunning murder that reaches across oceans to bring them back together after they’ve grown and long since left home.
Dagmara Dominczyk’s assured narrative flashes from the wild summers of the girls’ youth to their years of self-discovery in New York and Europe. Her writing is full of grit and guts, and her descriptions of the emotional experiences of her characters resonate with honesty. The Lullaby of Polish Girls captures the passion and drama of friendship, the immigrant’s yearning to be known, and the exquisite and wistful transformation of young women coming of age.
Praise for The Lullaby of Polish Girls
“A coming-of-age tale of three young Polish women [that is] brimming with teary epiphanies, betrayal and love, as well as the grit of both New York and Kielce. [It’s] Girls with a Polish accent.” —The New York Times
“ The Lullaby of Polish Girls will make you swoon. Dagmara Dominczyk has written a glorious debut novel inspired by her own emigration from Poland to Brooklyn with depth, intensity, humor, and grace.” —Adriana Trigiani
“An ennui-stricken actress returns to the old country—and to the friends of her youth—in Dagmara Dominczyk’s The Lullaby of Polish Girls, in which solidarity is all about summer evenings under the stars with a vodka bottle and a radio playing ‘Forever Young.’ ” — Vogue
“Compelling . . . an original portrait of friendship and identity . . . Dominczyk uses a fresh, confident style.” — People
“In this arresting debut novel, Polish American film and TV actress Dominczyk pays homage to her native city of Kielce while capturing the joys, insecurities, and struggles of three girlfriends coming of age. Spanning thirteen years, Dominczyk’s absorbing story is a triptych of tsknota (Polish for a kind of yearning) and a profound desire for acceptance, freedom, and home.” — Booklist (starred review)
“ The Lullaby of Polish Girls is sexy and sensitive, with a raw, openhearted center. Dominczyk’s love for her complicated characters is apparent from the first page to the last, and by the novel’s end the reader cares for them just as deeply.” —Emma Straub
Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader's Circle for author chats and more.
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2013
65 people are currently reading
2072 people want to read
About the author
Dagmara Dominczyk
10 books35 followersDagmara Domińczyk is a Polish-American actress and author. She is married to actor Patrick Wilson, they have two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
March 2, 2019
Three women who had become friends when they were younger, but as their lives took different turns they have become separated. All this changes when one of the woman become involved in a horrible tragedy and the other womae are at points in their lives where they needed to get away. They first met in Poland and this is where they reunite. Each character tells their story and it switches from the past to the present. This was an okay coming of age story, there were some things I felt were unnecessary and a little too much of but all in all I did admire the clarity of this authors writing.
July 23, 2013
I wanted to love this book--being that I was born in Poland but raised in New York by parents who sought and found political asylum in the US. But there was little that I liked about it and what I did like--the interspersed Polish, images of the home country--would be lost on the average reader.
The 3 main female characters in The Lullaby of Polish Girls felt a bit like caricatures that were not fully developed and therefore, less then compelling. The drama and conflicts that took place seemed like poorly placed props to advance a story that meandered every which way. These women seemed more defined by their male relationships than by any sense of self identity. In the end,I didn't care that they re-connected again--nor did I believe that they would maintain their relationship with each other, and if they did it wouldn't be worth paying attention to anyway.
The 3 main female characters in The Lullaby of Polish Girls felt a bit like caricatures that were not fully developed and therefore, less then compelling. The drama and conflicts that took place seemed like poorly placed props to advance a story that meandered every which way. These women seemed more defined by their male relationships than by any sense of self identity. In the end,I didn't care that they re-connected again--nor did I believe that they would maintain their relationship with each other, and if they did it wouldn't be worth paying attention to anyway.
August 4, 2013
I loved this book. I am not, perhaps, the most objective of reviewers as I am the same age as the author and had a very similar childhood, emigrating from Poland as a young girl and returning in the summers after the fall of communism. But the author nails it. Nails. It. Her Poland is the real thing. And yes, of course, not everyone in Poland is a toothless drunk on welfare. But you cannot have spent any time in the country as a non-tourist and not recognize the characters Ms. Dominczyk describes. Her liberal use of Polish throughout the book is spot-on, which is a nice refresher from virtually every other novel I've read where Polish is used and inevitably mangled. You also cannot have spent any time in Poland with an open window and not heard the very language other reviewers find so objectionable flying hard and fast on the street.
So, to recap: Writing? Good! Story? Good! Realistic snapshot of a very specific time in Poland's history? Good, good, good.
So, to recap: Writing? Good! Story? Good! Realistic snapshot of a very specific time in Poland's history? Good, good, good.
June 20, 2013
I received The Lullaby of Polish Girls by Dagmara Domincyzk for free through good reads first reads give away. okay I MUST SAY I LOVED THIS BOOK! I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I could not put it down, I finished it in a matter of days and could of probably finished it in a few hours if i had the time! It got me from the start and kept me interested none stop. I did not want to put it down and when ever I had free time I found myself looking for the book and counting the time til I could pick up the book and read some more! There wasn't a minute I got bored or lost interest and it just seemed so real so relatable I felt like I might personally know the characters. They just felt so real. I loved it so much I didn't even mind the random polish words that I had no clue what they meant. I can honestly say I do not have one negative thing to say about this book. I felt that it was a really that good book, but that's just what I thought of it.
June 18, 2013
As soon as I saw this book mentioned in Vogue magazine, I made note of it since any book with "Polish" in the title (or whose subject matter is about Poland or Polish people) is a must-read for me. I commend the author for writing the book since we need many, many more well-written books of fiction about Polish people.
I probably would have rated this book higher, but did not due to the many negative stereotypes of Polish people it contains. Granted, you will find these same negative stereotypes of physical appearance or behaviors or addictions in any ethnic group or country in the world, but in my opinion, this book contains too many, which are repeatedly mentioned. I do not believe in whitewashing either, but Poland has taken so many hits in the negative column through at least the last century, I hate to see more perpetuated. The American General George Patton said he had never seen such good looking troops when reviewing Polish military men during World War II. This is no small feat since most had just come off incarceration and starvation. A Hungarian physician I knew said "Polish women are the most beautiful in Europe." You will always see those Polish women, and other Slavic-types, in all the major fashion magazines and on all the show runways.
I probably would have rated this book higher, but did not due to the many negative stereotypes of Polish people it contains. Granted, you will find these same negative stereotypes of physical appearance or behaviors or addictions in any ethnic group or country in the world, but in my opinion, this book contains too many, which are repeatedly mentioned. I do not believe in whitewashing either, but Poland has taken so many hits in the negative column through at least the last century, I hate to see more perpetuated. The American General George Patton said he had never seen such good looking troops when reviewing Polish military men during World War II. This is no small feat since most had just come off incarceration and starvation. A Hungarian physician I knew said "Polish women are the most beautiful in Europe." You will always see those Polish women, and other Slavic-types, in all the major fashion magazines and on all the show runways.
June 19, 2013
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a 100% Polish American, who is an avid reader of fiction, I was excited to read advanced buzz about this book prior to its publication. After all, there aren't many novels in English set in Poland. While the writing and characters are engaging, the people of Kielce come off as "white trash." I am afraid that this novel might unwittingly encourage further misconceptions about the character and behavior of Polish people. If much of this novel is based on the life of its author, perhaps she should have written a memoir? In good conscience, I cannot recommend this book to Polish people, Polish Americans, or readers everywhere.
June 30, 2013
I agree with other reviewers that the overuse of crude words cheapens this novel. What a shame, as the writing isn't bad. I don't think the author is doing her home country any favors by portraying Polish girls as promiscuous and coarse. Can anyone tell me the significance of the "lullaby?" Perhaps I missed something.
October 28, 2014
Anna Baran moves with her family to the United States in the 1980’s. Her father’s role in the Solidarity movement gives them political refugee status, but also means that he can never return to Poland. The family settle in Brooklyn in an area filled with immigrants of every stripe but the young Anna still feels like an outsider. Then, when she is almost thirteen, she is taken back to Kielce for a brief visit and finds a place that feels like home. More importantly, she also finds that she is suddenly the centre of attention amongst the group of children who hang around the carpet beater outside her grandmother’s block of flats. For the first time, Anna is the coolest kid, the one everyone wants for their best friend. She forms an intense and lasting friendship with two local girls – beautiful but rather wild Justyna and plain, awkward Kamila. This friendship survives over the years, sustained by Anna’s summer visits to Kielce.
The Lullaby of Polish Girls follows these three best friends from their early teenage years as they fumble through their first encounters with boys to their flawed and disappointing adult lives, when a shocking murder pulls the three women back together again and back to Kielce.
Dagmara Dominczyk’s carefully constructed narrative flashes back and forward from the wild summers of the girls’ youth, full of dreams and aspirations, to their adult years, characterised by loss and disappointment. Her writing is honest to the point of brutality at times. Sharp and full of grit, it leaves images in your mind that are hard to shift – like Justyna’s brutal tryst with Kowalski or Anna’s even more brutal loss of virginity. It may make for difficult reading at times, but Dominczyk evokes the anguish of adolescence better than anyone I can think of.
The Lullaby of Polish Girls also explores the plight of the immigrant, as only someone who has known it could do. She allows the reader to experience the desperate struggle to fit in and to make a meaningful life but the novel is ultimately a sad one. Life in the USA corrupts the immigrants and none of the characters make a success of their lives. Dominczyk’s three women are not always likeable but it’s clear that she loves them; their lives are complicated and flawed but she manages to make the reader care for them too and ultimately the return to Poland and their childhood friendships offers some hope.
Dominczyk’s novel is chock full of sensory description; she creates the place so vividly that the reader can almost smell it – “burning haystacks and fresh laundry, like sunshine and sausage, piquant and fresh at the same time.” Inevitably too, the novel is stuffed full of Polish food and, if you’re a foody like me, it will make you think of a trip there if only to investigate the gastronomic delights of pierozki , jagody and truskawki.
It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel and I’ll be first in the queue at the bookshop for the next one.
The Lullaby of Polish Girls follows these three best friends from their early teenage years as they fumble through their first encounters with boys to their flawed and disappointing adult lives, when a shocking murder pulls the three women back together again and back to Kielce.
Dagmara Dominczyk’s carefully constructed narrative flashes back and forward from the wild summers of the girls’ youth, full of dreams and aspirations, to their adult years, characterised by loss and disappointment. Her writing is honest to the point of brutality at times. Sharp and full of grit, it leaves images in your mind that are hard to shift – like Justyna’s brutal tryst with Kowalski or Anna’s even more brutal loss of virginity. It may make for difficult reading at times, but Dominczyk evokes the anguish of adolescence better than anyone I can think of.
The Lullaby of Polish Girls also explores the plight of the immigrant, as only someone who has known it could do. She allows the reader to experience the desperate struggle to fit in and to make a meaningful life but the novel is ultimately a sad one. Life in the USA corrupts the immigrants and none of the characters make a success of their lives. Dominczyk’s three women are not always likeable but it’s clear that she loves them; their lives are complicated and flawed but she manages to make the reader care for them too and ultimately the return to Poland and their childhood friendships offers some hope.
Dominczyk’s novel is chock full of sensory description; she creates the place so vividly that the reader can almost smell it – “burning haystacks and fresh laundry, like sunshine and sausage, piquant and fresh at the same time.” Inevitably too, the novel is stuffed full of Polish food and, if you’re a foody like me, it will make you think of a trip there if only to investigate the gastronomic delights of pierozki , jagody and truskawki.
It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel and I’ll be first in the queue at the bookshop for the next one.
March 15, 2015
(Goodreads giveaway!)
3.5
It took some time for this book to grow on me, but eventually it did. I had a hard time differentiating the characters early on, possibly this was my shortcoming and not the novel's. I appreciated that the portrayal of these three girls is raw, honest, a bit vulgar. I thought the non-linear storytelling was effective (albeit a too formulaic perhaps). I enjoyed all of the Polish being spoken, even if I didn't understand half of it despite some context clues (but I'm also completely biased because this dialogue just reminded me of hearing my grandparents toss some Polish phrases between one another when I was young). Without giving away too much of the plot (slight spoilers ahead), I found it hard to believe that Justyna and her sister did not have some kind of protective custody or police surveillance on their building after receiving a death threat from a murderer on the loose (in a small town, no less). I was disappointed that the forged letter from the early pages of the novel didn't come back in a bigger way towards the end. And I was very surprised that Justyna didn't confess to seeing Anna being raped, even when handed an opportunity to do so years later. Justyna was incredibly cruel, and in the end, I just wasn't entirely sure that a shared history would be a strong enough glue to keep these girls together. As a person who is on the cusp of 30, I understand how difficult it is to maintain friendships between people who are growing in different directions and making leaps and bounds towards very different stages in life. I kept asking myself if I'd return to these friends had I been included in their circle, and I don't think I would.
Lastly, and not at all relevant to my feelings on the writing, the photos that introduce each chapter didn't do anything for me. I noticed on the copyright page that some of them came from the author, and I'm sure including them meant something to her but it didn't mean anything to me.
3.5
It took some time for this book to grow on me, but eventually it did. I had a hard time differentiating the characters early on, possibly this was my shortcoming and not the novel's. I appreciated that the portrayal of these three girls is raw, honest, a bit vulgar. I thought the non-linear storytelling was effective (albeit a too formulaic perhaps). I enjoyed all of the Polish being spoken, even if I didn't understand half of it despite some context clues (but I'm also completely biased because this dialogue just reminded me of hearing my grandparents toss some Polish phrases between one another when I was young). Without giving away too much of the plot (slight spoilers ahead), I found it hard to believe that Justyna and her sister did not have some kind of protective custody or police surveillance on their building after receiving a death threat from a murderer on the loose (in a small town, no less). I was disappointed that the forged letter from the early pages of the novel didn't come back in a bigger way towards the end. And I was very surprised that Justyna didn't confess to seeing Anna being raped, even when handed an opportunity to do so years later. Justyna was incredibly cruel, and in the end, I just wasn't entirely sure that a shared history would be a strong enough glue to keep these girls together. As a person who is on the cusp of 30, I understand how difficult it is to maintain friendships between people who are growing in different directions and making leaps and bounds towards very different stages in life. I kept asking myself if I'd return to these friends had I been included in their circle, and I don't think I would.
Lastly, and not at all relevant to my feelings on the writing, the photos that introduce each chapter didn't do anything for me. I noticed on the copyright page that some of them came from the author, and I'm sure including them meant something to her but it didn't mean anything to me.
January 4, 2015
I love coming of age novels, especially about girls. I loved the form of this book. Three coming of age stories, jumping from adolescence to adult hood, each chapter, a different voice, each chapter able to stand alone, like a short story. Anna Baran, the Polish girl who grew up in America, was my favorite of the three. Dagmara Dominczyck had a great line about Poland was three things to Americas: kielbasa, the pope, and Auschwitz, and that is pretty much true for me. So this novel was a little bit revelatory for me. The book was a pleasure to read.
Read
June 5, 2017Three very different Polish girls, and in all three of them I could see myself. In essence, none of these girls and friends are very likable. Anna was the one I related to the most, on account of her being an immigrant at such a young age from the same time period as me, and being nostalgic for a Poland she barely remembers (also just like me). The use of the Polish language peppered throughout the book was so welcoming to me. This was such a KSENIA book.
April 6, 2013
I was delighted to receive this book from Goodreads Giveaway!
This book took you on a journey of a young girl longing to find where she connected, belonged and developing friendships along the way. The life span of friendships of these three girls.
I would recommend this book as an AWESOME read.
This book took you on a journey of a young girl longing to find where she connected, belonged and developing friendships along the way. The life span of friendships of these three girls.
I would recommend this book as an AWESOME read.
January 23, 2014
The Polish words sprinkled throughout the book brought back so many memories of growing up in a household where my parents talked to us children in Polish and we answered in English. I don't normally like to read novels, but this was really good. Adventures of three friends growing up and where their lives landed up.
April 22, 2013
I received this book through the FirstReads giveaway and I was delighted to give it a chance. I followed three young women from their teens into adulthood. It's a reminder that times change and people change.
This book is by no means "sweet". It's real. Love it.
This book is by no means "sweet". It's real. Love it.
June 10, 2013
The story of three friends from Poland had potential but fell really, really short. In my opinion, the book lacked a strong editor. The plot was undeveloped in some areas and overdone in others while the ending felt completely rushed. Sorry, just not worth the time.
April 9, 2021
I guess that you experience a book by several different factors. Two that I think about right now are objective and subjective. The objective ones are the books that make you question your reality by their sheer language. Murakami is a good example of this. Reading his books makes me see the kitchen, clouds, and, well, everything in a new light. He clears the edges and makes my world melt together. All by the way that he builds his sentences. It’s pure magic.
This book does nothing on the objective side for me. But on the subjective, oh man. It hits hard on my Slavic (Russian) heart. I found the portrayal of Slavic people and culture hilarious. Accurate towards the real world, might not be the right word, because it’s not. But if we assume that all cultures have some sort of archetypes; so has the author masterfully dotted the Slavic soul. Dominczyk did a great job of bringing the truthful stereotypes to life, with personalities, dreams, and the everlasting tsknota (taska in Russian). Furthermore, are there some outright funny scenes. For example, where one of the characters is in an American bar:
“I’ve always wondered why. Maybe you can tell me, Mrs…”
“Figura. Kaisa Figura”
“Kasha Feegora. So tell me, Kasha, why are you here?”
Kasha is porridge in Russian (kasza in polish). It’s so funny.
This book does nothing on the objective side for me. But on the subjective, oh man. It hits hard on my Slavic (Russian) heart. I found the portrayal of Slavic people and culture hilarious. Accurate towards the real world, might not be the right word, because it’s not. But if we assume that all cultures have some sort of archetypes; so has the author masterfully dotted the Slavic soul. Dominczyk did a great job of bringing the truthful stereotypes to life, with personalities, dreams, and the everlasting tsknota (taska in Russian). Furthermore, are there some outright funny scenes. For example, where one of the characters is in an American bar:
“I’ve always wondered why. Maybe you can tell me, Mrs…”
“Figura. Kaisa Figura”
“Kasha Feegora. So tell me, Kasha, why are you here?”
Kasha is porridge in Russian (kasza in polish). It’s so funny.
November 8, 2024
started this book because i loved her in succession and stayed with it for the connections to polish culture only a polish girl™ could really appreciate. had me gasping and going ???? in the best way the whole time.
March 4, 2019
Being 2nd generation Polish it was a fun read to see the similarities between my friends/family and the characters in the book.
May 19, 2013
This book started a little slowly for me and I was confused where it is going to take me.
But it took me okay on a journey to Poland and the USA with three Polish girlfriends.
I would say that if I was not from Poland myself I would find this book not so interesting. Dominczyk took here a big risk - in my opinion - writing about middle big city in Poland, a city where actually not a lot happens, a city not a lot of people heard of. Because the biggest part of the book takes place in Kielce. What was also a risk for me is the fact that she throws in a lot of polish words, for me personally a lot of them were not necessary and if I had not understood them it would annoy me.
But I could relate to this book, I have actually known people like the characters in this book, maybe they were not my friends but I have known them, there were many Justynas in my environment, people who were behaving like her and her friends. And I really understood what the author was writing about. There are also many, many emotions, the author writes wonderfully about the teenage years, like "I've been there, I've seen this". The jumping back and forth between the past and the present didn't confuse me at all, the borders between past and present were clearly set and coming back to the past or going forward were not confusing. We get there the point of views from all three main characters which I really liked, as I knew what all of them were thinking about the same situation and how different the thoughts were, and although I think that one can't speak about real friendship between the girls, in the end they find what is important.
This book is something more as the easy, heart - warming read that I usually read but nevertheless it was worth its time. It captures wonderfully the reality of Poland and the feelings of immigrants in America. Not a read that is easy to get into but then a real page - turner.
I have received a copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.
But it took me okay on a journey to Poland and the USA with three Polish girlfriends.
I would say that if I was not from Poland myself I would find this book not so interesting. Dominczyk took here a big risk - in my opinion - writing about middle big city in Poland, a city where actually not a lot happens, a city not a lot of people heard of. Because the biggest part of the book takes place in Kielce. What was also a risk for me is the fact that she throws in a lot of polish words, for me personally a lot of them were not necessary and if I had not understood them it would annoy me.
But I could relate to this book, I have actually known people like the characters in this book, maybe they were not my friends but I have known them, there were many Justynas in my environment, people who were behaving like her and her friends. And I really understood what the author was writing about. There are also many, many emotions, the author writes wonderfully about the teenage years, like "I've been there, I've seen this". The jumping back and forth between the past and the present didn't confuse me at all, the borders between past and present were clearly set and coming back to the past or going forward were not confusing. We get there the point of views from all three main characters which I really liked, as I knew what all of them were thinking about the same situation and how different the thoughts were, and although I think that one can't speak about real friendship between the girls, in the end they find what is important.
This book is something more as the easy, heart - warming read that I usually read but nevertheless it was worth its time. It captures wonderfully the reality of Poland and the feelings of immigrants in America. Not a read that is easy to get into but then a real page - turner.
I have received a copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.
October 1, 2013
I was curious about this book ever since I first heard about it as both sets of my grandparents came to the US from Poland.
The Lullaby of Polish Girls tells the story of three friends who met when they were 12 years-old in Kielce, Poland and formed a special bond. Although they do lose contact as adults, a devastating tragedy brings them back together. Anna is the most worldly of the group having lived in several different places. She eventually becomes an actress in the US, but her life is anything but perfect. Kamila, is not comfortable in her own skin, she grew up in an abusive home and like Anna has problems with relationships. She is more interested in pleasing others than finding her own happiness. After her marriage fails she leaves Poland for the US. Finally, there is Justyna, somewhat of a wild child who never leaves Poland.
The story begin in 2002 and goes back in time to the 1980s. The girls make a lot of bad choices in life, and as a result, I had hard time engaging with the characters. There is a fair amount of foul language which served no purpose and did not need to be there. At times I thought the story was a bit hard to follow as well because of different name variations from Polish to English. I did like reading about Poland and wish the sense of place could have been expanded on a bit more. Overall, this novel was just so so for me.
The Lullaby of Polish Girls tells the story of three friends who met when they were 12 years-old in Kielce, Poland and formed a special bond. Although they do lose contact as adults, a devastating tragedy brings them back together. Anna is the most worldly of the group having lived in several different places. She eventually becomes an actress in the US, but her life is anything but perfect. Kamila, is not comfortable in her own skin, she grew up in an abusive home and like Anna has problems with relationships. She is more interested in pleasing others than finding her own happiness. After her marriage fails she leaves Poland for the US. Finally, there is Justyna, somewhat of a wild child who never leaves Poland.
The story begin in 2002 and goes back in time to the 1980s. The girls make a lot of bad choices in life, and as a result, I had hard time engaging with the characters. There is a fair amount of foul language which served no purpose and did not need to be there. At times I thought the story was a bit hard to follow as well because of different name variations from Polish to English. I did like reading about Poland and wish the sense of place could have been expanded on a bit more. Overall, this novel was just so so for me.
February 9, 2019
Upon picking up this book, I was anticipating a lovely Polish novel. Maybe I was delusional to believe that it would be a happy book, because I wanted so badly for it to be. That may be why I didn't enjoy it because of the anticipation of something much different. I am Polish-American and was really hoping for a glance into Poland. I felt that the story was so incredibly sad, and unnecessarily so. Hope was missing from this book. I couldn't believe some of the terms used in this book, shocked at how vugular and incredibly sad too. I liked the writing style and I kept reading, hoping the book would have some redeeming qualities. However, Anna's rape, Justyna's husband getting murdered, Kamila's husband leaving her for a man all threw me for a loop and it didn't seem fair to me how much they had to go through. I mean, no one really gets a happy ending here. I guess I was hoping for some closure to the book. To all the grief suffered by these three friends. It strikes me as how sex was portrayed in this book too. It was really off putting for me. Overall, this book was so raw but so jagged that it cut into my soul in ways I didn't expect. Maybe it's a beautiful tragic story for some. It just is not for me.
February 16, 2015
I have very mixed feelings about this book ...
It's great to have a contemporary Polish story, characters and author but this one is not very compelling or interesting. I think the author's notes at the end of the story were more impressive than the actual narratives.
Although parts of it did remind me of family trips there and the "summer" relationships and friendships, and the impression that not much has changed since the fall of Communism. I am also disturbed that there is not one positive portrayal of anyone or anything on either side of the Atlantic. I think these are supposed to be examples of empowerment, but it just comes across as very self-centered and bleak.
The writing was good with the Polish drop-ins that were interesting but overdone; yet the story itself gives an odd sense of family and friends.
It's great to have a contemporary Polish story, characters and author but this one is not very compelling or interesting. I think the author's notes at the end of the story were more impressive than the actual narratives.
Although parts of it did remind me of family trips there and the "summer" relationships and friendships, and the impression that not much has changed since the fall of Communism. I am also disturbed that there is not one positive portrayal of anyone or anything on either side of the Atlantic. I think these are supposed to be examples of empowerment, but it just comes across as very self-centered and bleak.
The writing was good with the Polish drop-ins that were interesting but overdone; yet the story itself gives an odd sense of family and friends.
June 20, 2013
This was a very engrossing, fast read. An fascinating look at the lives of 3 young Polish women. Two of the protagonists live in Poland year-round, and the other one, like the author herself, lives in America most of the year and in Poland just in the summers. It's a coming-of-age story, but also a look at contemporary, post-1989 Poland and the split psyches of immigrants from Poland, especially those from the Martial Law emigration.
July 26, 2013
Awkward, depressing and pointless.
March 19, 2017
It felt cold and fake. There were a few moments I felt for some characters, but they were way too few and far between to hold up an entire novel. I just didn't get this book.
January 8, 2024
edit 01/08: i am changing this to 3 stars. i read the interview with the author at the end and loved it. i appreciated and resonated with what she had to say relating to the polish experience, the immigrant experience, and the importance of writing something visceral. i am now quite fond of this author--i just wish that all of her insights had translated over to the actual story itself. the premise and the backstory were all there, according to the concluding interview, and it is evident that she is thoughtful and intelligent, but a lot of that was unfortunately lacking in the main body of text.
in summation:
things happened in the story but they wouldn’t further the plot OR the character development. they were just…there. the author didn’t characterize these cardboard cutouts whatsoever. she didn’t show nor did she tell. it was more of inserting something so random that it pissed me off (at one point anna and a boy “talk about gabriel garcia marquez and then hook up” at a party) and we (i think?) are supposed to assume she is smart and well-read (though she sure doesn’t act like it). the characters’ behavior is often contradictory, too. any characterization is fleeting and often pointless and lewd. every woman in this book is defined by two things: their respective vices and the men they are with or surrounded by. the sense of humor in this book is awful too. it is all degrading and derogatory. i did enjoy some real reminders of poland and its culture (many of which were very apt and on-point), but as a whole this just did not do it for me.
thoughts as i was reading:
- page 68 she slept with a distant cousin WUT
- page 70: actual caricatures. she goes to brooklyn to smell sausages gn
- these characters are memes inserted into the severity of the plot
- her agents called her a fatty so she left the apartment that she had just told her ex-bf to move out of in order to go to poland
- this is reading like a rly bad soap opera these plots are allegedly meant to be real and raw and human but it’s just cartoonish and bad
- what is the point of such a tumultuous plot if the characters don’t even feel anything
- the dialogue is awful
- pages 114 and 115 were so-
- the author made poland seem brash and lewd and bedraggled
- page 189: it is unfathomable to anna, for some reason, that winter is a thing in poland
in summation:
things happened in the story but they wouldn’t further the plot OR the character development. they were just…there. the author didn’t characterize these cardboard cutouts whatsoever. she didn’t show nor did she tell. it was more of inserting something so random that it pissed me off (at one point anna and a boy “talk about gabriel garcia marquez and then hook up” at a party) and we (i think?) are supposed to assume she is smart and well-read (though she sure doesn’t act like it). the characters’ behavior is often contradictory, too. any characterization is fleeting and often pointless and lewd. every woman in this book is defined by two things: their respective vices and the men they are with or surrounded by. the sense of humor in this book is awful too. it is all degrading and derogatory. i did enjoy some real reminders of poland and its culture (many of which were very apt and on-point), but as a whole this just did not do it for me.
thoughts as i was reading:
- page 68 she slept with a distant cousin WUT
- page 70: actual caricatures. she goes to brooklyn to smell sausages gn
- these characters are memes inserted into the severity of the plot
- her agents called her a fatty so she left the apartment that she had just told her ex-bf to move out of in order to go to poland
- this is reading like a rly bad soap opera these plots are allegedly meant to be real and raw and human but it’s just cartoonish and bad
- what is the point of such a tumultuous plot if the characters don’t even feel anything
- the dialogue is awful
- pages 114 and 115 were so-
- the author made poland seem brash and lewd and bedraggled
- page 189: it is unfathomable to anna, for some reason, that winter is a thing in poland
October 7, 2020
Drei Freundinnen, polnische Sommer, Zukunftsträume – doch dann kommt das Leben mit ernüchterndem Erwachsenwerden daher und macht selbst vor echten Schicksalsschlägen nicht halt. Was die Freundinnen aber nur noch fester zusammenzuschweißen vermag …
"Wir träumten jeden Sommer" scheint ein hübsches Büchlein zu sein, leichte Unterhaltung für einen netten Nachmittag – das ist zumindest das, was Titel, Cover und Klappentext versprechen. Und dankeswerterweise kein Stück weit halten.
Hier ist nämlich so gut wie gar nichts leicht – weder die Kindheit, noch die Freundschaft der drei Mädchen. Denn die könnten unterschiedlicher nicht sein: Anna ist mit ihren Eltern in die USA ausgewandert und kehrt immer nur für die Dauer der Sommerferien nach Polen zurück. Während sie in New York in einer Sozialwohnung und in Angst vor ihrem Vater lebt, ist sie hier die Amerykanka und fast so etwas wie ein Star. Sie erobert schnell alle Herzen, auch die von Kamila und Justyna – die ich jetzt nicht näher beschreiben werde, weil ich vielmehr möchte, dass Sie dieses Buch lesen und die beiden selbst kennenlernen. Es ist nämlich so, dass sich das lohnt: In diesem Buch stecken echte Menschen, echte Charaktere, und ich habe die drei sehr gern gehabt.
Apropos gerne haben: Ich mochte die Erzählstruktur sehr. Das Buch beginnt im Jahr 2002; die drei Mädchen sind längst Frauen geworden und unabhängig voneinander an einem Tiefpunkt ihres Lebens angelangt. Von hier an dürfen wir immer wieder kapitelweise zurückblicken und uns von 1989 an erzählen lassen, wie es dazu kam. Das fand ich ultra-spannend und durch und durch stimmig.
Außerdem gefielen mir die vielen eingestreuten polnischen Begriffe in all ihren Varianten; ich habe mir nie groß Gedanken zur polnischen Kultur gemacht und durch dieses Buch gleich eine ganze Menge über sie erfahren. Und – last, but not least – mochte ich die zum Teil ungemein derbe Sprache sehr.
"Wir träumten jeden Sommer" scheint ein hübsches Büchlein zu sein, leichte Unterhaltung für einen netten Nachmittag – das ist zumindest das, was Titel, Cover und Klappentext versprechen. Und dankeswerterweise kein Stück weit halten.
Hier ist nämlich so gut wie gar nichts leicht – weder die Kindheit, noch die Freundschaft der drei Mädchen. Denn die könnten unterschiedlicher nicht sein: Anna ist mit ihren Eltern in die USA ausgewandert und kehrt immer nur für die Dauer der Sommerferien nach Polen zurück. Während sie in New York in einer Sozialwohnung und in Angst vor ihrem Vater lebt, ist sie hier die Amerykanka und fast so etwas wie ein Star. Sie erobert schnell alle Herzen, auch die von Kamila und Justyna – die ich jetzt nicht näher beschreiben werde, weil ich vielmehr möchte, dass Sie dieses Buch lesen und die beiden selbst kennenlernen. Es ist nämlich so, dass sich das lohnt: In diesem Buch stecken echte Menschen, echte Charaktere, und ich habe die drei sehr gern gehabt.
Apropos gerne haben: Ich mochte die Erzählstruktur sehr. Das Buch beginnt im Jahr 2002; die drei Mädchen sind längst Frauen geworden und unabhängig voneinander an einem Tiefpunkt ihres Lebens angelangt. Von hier an dürfen wir immer wieder kapitelweise zurückblicken und uns von 1989 an erzählen lassen, wie es dazu kam. Das fand ich ultra-spannend und durch und durch stimmig.
Außerdem gefielen mir die vielen eingestreuten polnischen Begriffe in all ihren Varianten; ich habe mir nie groß Gedanken zur polnischen Kultur gemacht und durch dieses Buch gleich eine ganze Menge über sie erfahren. Und – last, but not least – mochte ich die zum Teil ungemein derbe Sprache sehr.
June 2, 2017
I really enjoyed this novel! I'm a second generational Polak, the child of Polish immigrants, but born in America in '89. I think the reason I even picked up this book was because it's so rare to find non-fiction about just Poles (at least in my experience). I am so glad I got to read this book. Even though it's a bit different from my life experience, so much of the book hit home for me and was easy to relate to. The Polish dark sense of humor came through. The affection Poles have for one another even when mad or irritated came though. The importance of family. The longing for the past. All of this I know to be an accurate part of being a Pole (or human in general). I also love how Polish stereotypes were addressed in this book. The author really pulled back the curtain and gave more information to readers about what it means to be Polish, and I appreciated the hell out of that. I also loved the pronunciation guide in the front. I would love to see more from this author!
October 7, 2017
Two stars for the writing style which I rather liked. The problem with this book about young girls and their friendships is that it just isn't interesting enough. The story mainly follows Anya who leaves Poland with her parents for the USA as a young child but from age 12 is sent back to visit her grandmother. She befriends Justyna and Kamilla, but as she grows older, contact between them decreases only to start up again when Justina's husband is killed. The writer intersperses nearly every sentence with unpronounceable Polish words, something that began to annoy me. Descriptions of Poland and the life there are well done. At one point Anya,scared, on her first flight alone, thinks that no one is interested in hijacking an airplane flying to Poland due to lack of interest: They think...kielbasa, the Pope and Auschwitz probably in that order.
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