If you want to understand the real insanity of war, with innocent people dragged into bloody murder for profit, ethnic cleansing, systematic suppression of democratic movements by established autocrats, and the almost unbelievable history of Poland being torn apart by other countries, this is the book for you. It dives into the heart of the country - its people, culture, art, music, landscape, traditions, rituals - in such a way as to enkindle in the reader a love for the country.
This ain't Zadie Smith, folks. Considering that by his own admission he once knew little about Poland, this is a tour de force.
0. It's great the way he weaves history of whatever region he's writing about into the lives of people in that region through the ages. I disagreed with a few of the narrator's statements, including an exceptionally negative assessment of Empress Elizabeth of Austria, but otherwise enjoyed the novel.Ok, I'll go against the grain and say that this book was awful. Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote. And before you say, "You shouldn't need to be told how to read something in order to be able to read it," I would say this: people should have some understanding of say, the Bible, or the Qur'an, or of Nietzche, or Plato, or Buddhist Sutras before you start engaging with them. This was my first "real Michener" - one of the long, serious books that covers centuries in an area's history. Over the years, I wondered because I was also told that my grandfather was born in Russia. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations It’s not a bad book, just mediocre in parts. This is a fiction with historical elements carefully and thoughtfully threaded in.The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795 (History of East Central Europe) Who thinks giving any one man in Parliament a total veto is a good idea? If you enjoy the absence of subtext, disastrously bad sentences, and descriptions that make a list of technical specifications read like poetry, you will love Michener's writing. Shop This Product Here. The book spans over seven hundred years.
Makes you in turn marvel at the stupidity of the Polish magnates, shake your head at strange occurrences and wonder why you never heard about such important events in European history before. The model takes into account factors including the age of a rating, whether the ratings are from verified purchasers, and factors that establish reviewer trustworthiness.Sorry, we failed to record your vote. I love historical fiction, and all I wanted was some good fictional characters to hook me into a very general overview of Polish history. Poland is a historical novel written by James A. Michener and published in 1983 detailing the times and tribulations of three interconnected Polish families (the Lubonski family, the Bukowski family, and the Buk family) across eight centuries, ending in the then-present day (1981). In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. Once again James Michener turned in a stellar performance with this novel. ! This book is so well-researched, and so real. I have Polish heritage and I visited the country 3 years ago, so I have a strong interest in the subject matter. We were having a fascinating conversation comparing humor across languages and cultures. When the battle is over, he starts to rebuild'' several times in this documentary novel about the history of Poland, and it easily encapsulates the theme. "Poland" is an epic historical novel tracing the intertwined lives of three fictional families throughout 700+ years of real Polish history.
In the early chapters, the different generations of each family remain relatively unchanging but the characters come into focus in the late 19th century as the Buks discover an opportunity to become small landowners themselves then all of the family experience the horrors of the Second World War. I had no idea of the adversity faced by Poland down through the years. Ha sido muy práctico y cómodo poder disponer de este producto sin moverme de casa. Michener's numerous bestselling novels also included The …
It picked up in the second half, but I still struggled in some sections. He began writing the book in 1979 and it was published four years later. The plot seems occasionally recycled too. It's great the way he weaves history of whatever region he's writing about into the lives of people in that region through the ages.