The Polish Woman

by Eva Mekler

Set in New York and in Poland, this novel tells a gripping post-Holocaust story with a fresh, highly suspenseful mystery twist. An attractive 29-year-old Polish woman suddenly appears before a New York Jewish family in 1967, claiming to be a long-lost child who was hidden in Poland during World War II.

"Told without artifice or irony, Mekler's story of inter generational immigration is a cooly composed novel. By the time ending veers... Mekler has already transcended plot in favor of uncompromising examination."
-The New York Times Book Review

"Stunning... well crafted... adding depth and resonance to a gripping read. Not to be missed by anyone who loves a tale well told."
-Library Journal

"Vividly drawn character,both major and minor... The tale itself is compelling, combining romance and mystery and reminding us of the difficulty of unearthing personal truths when one of history's great cataclysms has buried them."
-The Wall Street Journal

"Takes a less-traveled road [from other Holocaust literature] and explores the loss of identity... Strongly evoked... the understated and moving story of a woman whose memories open so many old wounds."
-Philadelphia Inquirer

Genres: Poland, Historical Fiction, Fiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published December 19, 2006

About the author

Eva Mekler is a former actress who has performed both on and off Broadway. She is also a novelist and author of books on American and British acting training. She was born in Poland immediately after World War II, and lived with her family in a displaced persons camp in Germany until she was four. She now lives in New York City. The New York Times called her last novel, The Polish Woman, a "Told without artifice or irony, Mekler's story of inter generational immigration is a cooly composed novel. By the time ending veers... Mekler has already transcended plot in favor of uncompromising examination."

The Library Journal said, of The Polish Woman, "Stunning... well crafted... adding depth and resonance to a gripping read. Not to be missed by anyone who loves a tale well told."

Reviews

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part this book, set in 1967, was a real page-turner. Was the young Polish woman, Karolina, who she said she was - the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and hidden and raised by a Polish Catholic family? The surviving relatives of Jacob, the man she thinks may be her father, have different opinions on her truthfulness. Even Karolina is not sure of her childhood memories, so she and a man who might be her cousin set off to Poland to see what they can find.

In 1967, Poland was under the thumb of Soviet communism, so the scenes in Poland were not like the Poland of today. And there was so much anti-Semitism among the Poles. I have heard that there is still a lot of anti-Semitism there, so I don't know if this was realistic or not. I also think the book would have been fine and could have told the story without the romantic involvement. But all in all, it was a quick read with a good amount of suspense.

[Joanne Moyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at my library - I'd never heard of it or the author, but since I seem to be obssessed with all things 'Polish' lately, I decided to see what it was. Was it was is the story of a young woman who is not sure she knows who she is anymore. The story takes place during WWII in Poland and the early 60's in New York and Poland. 'The Polish Woman' comes to New York on an art scholarship, she sees an obituary in the paper with a picture that changes her life - she recognizes the man and believes he may be her father, even though she has a father, the man who raised her, still in Poland. It's an interesting story as she with her possible 'cousins' try to figure out the puzzle. It totally kept my interest and I never saw the ending coming. All in all I thought it was a really good read.

[Louise Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The long shadow of WW II will not lift from America for many generations to come, but the lives of those whose memories are deeply entangled in the events in Poland during the Holocaust make compelling reading in Mekler's novel. Especially stark and painful are the stories of the hidden children and those who hid them and sometimes betrayed them. Mekler starts with a Manhattan nanny claiming kinship to a Jewish family and ends in a shocking untangling of memories. Mekler's graceful prose carried me through family combustion on two continents.

[Tracy L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The tension between the Polish woman, Karolina, and Philip, the nephew of a dead, Jewish holocaust survivor was pretty intense. The difficulty of being able to forgive all of the wrong done to the people during the holocaust on every side. The German soldiers following orders. Every ethnic group afraid of what could happen to them, if caught hiding a Jewish person. Many had bad feelings about the Jews, Catholics, and Poles. Philip, a lawyer and nephew of Jake, interrogated Karolina. All Philip thought about is that Karolina wanted his uncle’s fortune. She had blatant innocence on wanting to find evidence of her true identity. Karolina felt should could never find happiness until she knew who she was.

[Jennifer Nanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book even if it had a bit of an unsatisfactory ending.

This is ultimately a story about repressed memories. A woman from Poland in America sees in the obituary column a face that she recognizes and it brings up past memories that she had forgotten. She tries to figure these out with the deceased's family and it leads to a horrifying discovery.

Through this journey there are discussions revisiting WWII with members of the family and a bit of healing as well. Some of the characters learn that everything is not so black-and-white when it comes to blame.

The reader gets a tour of a bit of 1960s Communist Poland which I found interesting.

[Merilee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent a lot of the book wanting to scream at the characters, “She’s possibly your cousin!” I know first cousins have coupled up in the past but not Americans in the late 60s.

Aside from that, there were parts I felt were poignant, and I’m really glad she didn’t give us a happy ending. No happiness was coming from this story. But just not a great read, IMO.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, speculative novel, that addresses a possible survivor hidden Jewish child. It was a satisfying read, but I didn't care for the romance between two people, one of whom thought they might have been first cousins. Yet Philip probably never really believed the possibility; the novel begins with him seeing her as a typical looking Polish shiksa, unlike the rest of his family.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn’t get into it. Seemed like it jumped around a bit and hard for me to keep track of some of the characters. I got to page 97 and decided to DNF it.

[Rachel Anders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Characters are unremarkable and not remarkable. Couldn’t even finish the book due to this fact.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off well. She seemed to be making a pretty good claim. She knew names no one knew but she was also practical in saying, "I don't know what all this means but I want to find out." Then the story started getting a little cheesy.

I was uncomfortable with the romantic element. One potential cousin is happily married but falling in love with her and the other cousin also falls for her. She didn't seem very seductive on paper but apparently in person she was hypnotizing.

The ending was crap. Karolina's family lived next to the Hankowski family. They were supposedly very good friends. The Hankowski family has a farm hand (a cousin) named Josef. Josef saw two girls playing together and told his cousin Darius. Darius told Karolina's parents and the mother told the Germans that they found a Jew on their property. Now here is where it doesn't make sense. The man Josef says he saw the Germans come and take the girl away and then he was sent to work at the general store. The man also says he was sent to work at the store so he wouldn't tell that he saw the Jewish girl. Karolina's parents supposedly gave all the money they received to hide this girl to have this man go and work in town.

So why would you spend all your money to send away the one person who would tell your secret AFTER you tell the Germans the secret yourself. Also why not tell the father the Germans just found her? Why run away for a whole year to live an even rougher life just so you don't have to tell a man a very common thing happened?

If you are going to make an ending dramatic please make sure the timeline is correct and it makes sense at least.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting post-Holocaust story set in 1967. A young Polish woman, now living in New York, contacts a Jewish family after seeing a recent obituary of a man she believes to be her real father.

The story travels from New York back to Poland in a search for this woman's true identity. Is there any evidence remaining since the war? Will she be able to find the truth? Is it possible that this Catholic-Polish woman is actually Jewish, when she was raised to hate the Jews?

Following her quest we learn much about life - and death - in Poland during the WWII Nazi occupation.

A very heartfelt tale written by Eva Mekler who was born in Poland after WWII and lived with her family in a displaced-persons camp in Germany until the age of 4.

[Susan Malus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, this novel is about identity, truth and love - and contains an important mystery. A young woman from Poland, living in the U.S.and driven by disturbing but unclear memories, needs to learn whether she is the child of a Holocaust survivor, hidden by a farming family in Poland, or the true child of a Catholic family. The answer has serious consequences. To find out, she travels to Poland with a man who falls in love with her; together they face hostile Catholics and Communists unwilling to help them discover the truth of the past.The mystery's solution ties all the strands together in a surprising yet believable way. The book is profound, accessible and compelling. I had a had a hard time putting it down.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating read. The history between Polish Jews and Catholics during the Holocaust is a challenging, complicated subject matter. The author confronts these challenges and complications with integrity and authenticity. In doing so, she provides the main characters with a depth and an intensity that draws you into their lives. I felt as though I was at Karolina’s side as she questioned her identity, examined her religious beliefs, and discovered her brutal past. The path to self-discovery for Karolina was fraught with disappointing and disturbing realizations that Eva Mekler weaves into a poignant, thought-provoking literary work.

[Susan Bonhomme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous book. Brilliant! What a perfect story to subtly tap into all the emotions, Jewish & Christian surrounding the Holocaust. And so beautifully written. I could not put it down. The ending ties everything together magnificently while complicating every thought the reader has had up to then. Genius! Excellent group of characters, each one more believable than the next. And their relationships were so well depicted that I felt I was actually there. I am insisting that everyone I know read it, starting with my husband.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book-it certainly wasn't what I expected. The story begins with Karolina's far-fetched story of memories and her identity and after finding the truth, sets her life on a very different course. Taking place in the 60's the story revolves around a lot of World War II events and post war events, entwined with Karolina's present day life. The ending was certainly NOT predictable and while you may think its a sad ending, the resolve of the two main characters is uplifting and inspiring. I highly recommend this book, its quite a surprise.

[Tyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably a 3 1/2 star book. I enjoyed the story and thought that the feelings that the Landau family had were true. I found the romanatic attraction an unnecessary part of the book. I was surprised by the ending but it made total sense. Actually I can't think of another way for the book to have ended.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be an Anastasia type story, Polish immigrant approaches American family claiming to be long lost relative. It was very different and much more than that. I loved the mystery aspect of it, the intertwining of the personal and political, and the ending. Highly recommended.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to rate this book 4 stars, but the last couple of chapters annoyed me. Aside from that, it was a really interesting book that kept me wanting to read more to figure out what would happen. I do recommend the book because what wasn't to my liking may be just fine to others.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't have enough background on this, and this isnt' my fav time period.

I have no idea why the characters acted like they did. seems like a jerk but wants to get his potential cousin in bed??? really? and her, a farm girl, that is total cosmapolitain mistress and stone carver??

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting story, great ending.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

things are not always as they seem

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great premise, and the first chapter hooked me. But it was downhill from there. The first half dragged and the whole thing seemed quite contrived. Not a favorite.

[Trena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book sort of about the Holocaust is sort of interesting, but it is very clumsily set in the 70s and the main male narrator is not someone who draws you in.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of this book, but like others, I think the romantic involvement of the Phillip and Karolina was unecessary.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Woorth a read. Set in mid-1960s New York and Poland. Evokes the complexity of Jewish camp survivors of that period and their conflicted kin.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully haunting!

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book club book - it wasnt really my cup of tea, i struggled to read it... but others has loved it... maybe it was the writing style...

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful use of language to create dramatic tension. Surprise ending worked well.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 3 out of 5]

The horrors of the Holocaust revisited. Not very well written but I always find the concentration camp stories eye-opening. Lest we forget!!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story