Polonaise: A novel

by Piers Paul Read

product_description

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Poland

347 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

British novelist and non-fiction writer. Educated at the Benedictines' Ampleforth College, and subsequently entered St John's College, University of Cambridge where he received his BA and MA (history). Artist-in-Residence at the Ford Foundation in Berlin (1963-4), Harkness Fellow, Commonwealth Fund, New York (1967-8), member of the Council of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (1971-5), member of the Literature Panel at the Arts Council, (1975-7), and Adjunct Professor of Writing, Columbia University, New York (1980). From 1992-7 he was Chairman of the Catholic Writers' Guild. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).

His most well-known work is the non-fiction Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974), an account of the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes, later adapted as a film.

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Read’s nonfiction effort “Alive” a few years ago and enjoyed it, so I thought I’d give his more abundant fiction a try … chose “Polonaise” since I like reviewing books with few assessments. This is the story of two siblings from an aristocratic Polish family who are orphaned as teenagers and have to find their way in life. The time period is 1920s through the 1950s, and Polonaise unfolds like a three-part play. The setting is mostly Poland: in Part 1 during the more prosperous economy of the 1920s which gave way to the deteriorating early-1930s … in Part 2 during the unstable political climate of the middle 1930s when socialism and fascism fought for center stage, and … in Part 3 (setting…Paris and England) during the 1950s when the characters reconnect.

Part I goes up to 1936. After losing their estate and belongings to foreclosure, the two siblings – Krystyna and Stefan – leave rural Poland and move to urban Warsaw. Krystyna is a survivor and does whatever it takes to succeed … Stefan does just enough to get by. They both marry (Krystyna has one son, Stefan has twins), and the two couples join the Communist Party in Poland. This part of Polonaise evokes the advance of socialism/communism through Europe, especially Poland. It read much like Marx’s “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” touching on capitalism, the two-class system, materialism, and class struggle.

Part II opens with General Franco’s assault on the republican government in Spain. Many Polish Communist Party members go to Spain to join the fight against fascism. Meanwhile, the internal politics of Poland slowly evolve as the rise of Germany becomes a greater threat than Polish Communists. Part II ends in 1939 with Germany and Russia signing the nonaggression pact and our protagonists leaving Warsaw.

Part III finds most of the characters reunited in Paris in the 1950s, and enough spoiler alerts that require a stop. Suffice to say, most loose ends are tied up. The dénouement was three-stars, mildly satisfying.

Reflecting the ethos of the period and setting, some of the writing is mildly racist, especially as it pertains to Jews. The narrative is sensual throughout: nicely nuanced when the two protagonists are young and sex and love are on everyone’s minds … but later it comes off more lecherous as the characters age. Krystyna is the more balanced/nuanced/fleshed out character; Stefan doesn’t round into form until much later in the story. The consciousness of war and how it shapes life is nicely woven, as the characters move from simple nationalistic reactions to the realization that people die. Poland could see the train coming…it just couldn’t do much to stop it.

Read is a British author who was followed mostly in England. It appears much of his work was not read widely in the States…his nonfiction Alive was the exception. I enjoyed my one venture into his fiction.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sept 2017: Re-read.
I think I picked this novel up at a used book sale or something, decades ago. It tells the story of 4 young people (in their early 20s) in Warsaw in the years leading up to World War II. Some of them become communists, then later become disillusioned. The final part of the book is set in the 1950s, in Paris & in England. A sort of rambling novel.

[Ulaş Baltacı · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bir polonya dansı...

[Faith Flaherty]

Polonaise gave a taste of history, pre-WW II and a bit after, in Europe. I learned what the Polish people were going through. The times also showed the attraction of communism and socialism/fascism. The Kornowski family looses all and becomes embroiled in the political activities of the times. It's a good book.