2022 ONTD Reading Challenge discussion

Use this topic to discuss whether you enjoyed your June picks from Poland, and whether you’d recommend it to your fellow readers! Did you find it easy/difficult to complete this task?

Please tag all spoilers in this post!

I finished reading The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman...
It wasn't an easy book. One, there's the obvious subject matter of the holocaust. Second, Szpilman is not a writer. However, the latter made the book so much more impactful - he wrote this book as a witness, someone trying to convey the unthinkable. It's hard to describe the atrocities to someone who hasn't experienced this firsthand and as such, some things remain unsaid - and yet he still often managed to make the reader feel the horror of it all. One of the most emotional holocaust memoirs...

I read The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. And I loved it! So funny and clever. A few of the stories rambled at times but overall an amazing work of science fiction. And credit to the translator. At times it was hard to believe the original was written in a language other than English. If I could understand Polish I would definitely try reading the original. Alas...

i read Swallowing Mercury and i hated it. :( i guess it just wasn't my jam - it was sort of a memoir and sort of a novel and sort of a short story collection. i couldn't get into it at all and considering its so short it draaaaagged on.

I read Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead and ended up loving it.

It took me a while to get used to the narration, but once the story picked up this character and their own special world just drew me in!

Half mystery and half odd stream-of-consciousness, I can see why this got all the accolades it did!

I can also see how someone might absolutely hate it if this istyle isn't their cup of tea.

I read The Wedding by Stanisław Wyspiański.

It was really good even translated in English.... I can't imagine how great it reads in Polish.

5 Stars

Hey guys, just to let everyone know, I already submitted the August/Egypt post so just waiting for a mod to approve it. ONTD has been a by wonky for posting for the past few days (everyone is getting an error message when submitting posts) but I think it goes through anyway. If it doesn't, I'll try again tomorrow (I saved the draft!)