Customer Reviews

A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True

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Years ago, I became a huge fan of novels that used myths and fairy tales as a way to reimagine and retell other stories. The best of these books straddle a line between fantasy and reality, literary fiction and genre fiction. Pasulka's novel is one of these books.

Told through alternating narratives, Pasulka mixes folksy language and fairy-tale elements to tell the story of Pigeon and Nela's relationship with a more modern narrative voice and plot sequence for Beata's day-to-day life in Krakow. The movement between the two narratives never gets confusing, nor does it grow tiresome. Instead, the mundane details of Beata's life at the bar and at home provide an interesting contrast to the more general and dreamlike quality of Nela's story.

This is a culture and a city that I'm unfamiliar with, for the most part, but I thought that Pasulka's lively characters and her attention to detail really helped to define this country and its growing pains for me -- a growth that is beautifully reflected through Beata's own struggle to determine her own life and make her own choices. I really connected to her as a character, and I found myself thinking about her and the decisions she made (or didn't make) even when I wasn't reading the novel, which doesn't happen to me all that often. The other characters are just as three-dimensional and defined, and while they often embody any number of stereotypes (which is common in mythic fiction), Pasulka adds more depth and dimension to what are usually fairly flat characters.

The writing is lively, and while I loved the characters, the plot, and the themes at work, it was the writing itself that made this book such a pleasure to read. There's such a range of emotion at work here too -- humor, heartbreak, hope. Pasulka has definitely written a winner. You should definitely pick this one up; I've seen it on the recommended new fiction shelves at a couple of different bookstores lately, and it is definitely worth the purchase price in hardcover.

Brigid went above and beyond in this novel. I laughed. I cried. I pined for more. And yet, I wasn't left wanting. It wasn't a Hollywood production. This is life. This book makes you feel as though you're hearing the first hand stories from the people who lived them. I can't give enough praise.

The strength of these people is awe-inspiring . All of which faced their own present day issues. Brigid's descriptions build the scene around you. You don't guess, you simply read. Her wit is something to marvel at. Her detail is uncanny. I couldn't put the book down. I didn't want it to end, and yet, I felt satisfied at the end.

Brigid, as well as her book, is simply brilliant.

I like the novels way of going back and forth with the history of the family

A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka is a wonderful read. The alternating stories of Poland's past and Poland's present are an effective way to understand the long oppressed country and the people who coped then and now with spirit and resourcefulness. The Love story Of Anielica and Pigeon is a parallel story to the love story to Poland itself.....the countryside,the villages, the goralka.....and to the city of Krakow. By interweaving the past and present we come to see a past Poland struggling for independence, supressed by opressors, resourceful, loyal, and long suffering evolving into the modern Poland of dispirited youth, struggling with changes that need time to take root and an aimlessness that cries out for direction. It is through connections with the past that the modern characters can move forward, flourish and transform. I think the fairy tale style of wartime Poland lends a beautiful tone to the story of a country in progress where the past is so inextricably a part of how the country evolves and is reborn. After all isn't it through the told and retold stories of our own grandparents and great grandparents that we come to know who we really are.? Pasulka realized this and used it beautifully to write her love story to Poland.

I stumbled upon this book through a mention in National Geographic Traveler as a "take along" book. It is a well written novel that is authentic and meaningful. If you are interested in learing more about the Polish culture, especially if you are traveling to the Baltic region, this is a wonderful way to blend history and contemporary life in Poland. I hope that Ms. Pasulka shares more stories with us in the near future.

Just read the book whilst in Krakow on a long weekend break recently; the author paints a very accurate picture of war-time and 1990's Krakow and is clearly in love with the city itself. A fascinating story (or rather two inter-linked stories from the two different era's). At first, I thought the dialogue read like a poor translation of spoken Polish, and I wasn't sure from the first couple of chapters where the narrative was going. Also, almost "missing out" a whole generation (Baba-Yaga's parents) from the story by virtually "killing them off" seemed a bit contrived and felt a bit too implausible. This still is a powerfull book, though, despite these relativly minor criticisms. Very "unputdownable" with some harrowing scenes, some very funny scenes and a very moving ending. The characters are very strongly depicted, and definately "come alive". I'm not sure how strongly the author was inspired by "Captain Corelli's Mandolin"- both books have very similar themes, but whatever, this is a highly recommended book, with a strong love and understanding of Krakow and Poland.

Some books bring you into their world- let you see the sights, the towns, the cities and really know the characters. Ms. Pasulka's book does that. Her book openned up new places for me and let me imagine Poland during the last 60 years. Krakow became a place of energy, night life and young people searching. The mountain village was a place traditions and a wise simplicity. And her characters were all so human, so warmly created. War, communist rule and capitalism couldn't destroy their humanity. Ms. Pasulka truly respected her characters and had them all take part in an incredibly interesting story that, to borrow that old cliche, you can't put down. My best read of this year.

I enjoyed this book very much--it's part love story, but it's a love story of both people and place. It reveals a family's and a country's history in the 20th century with a mythic sense to the old and ultimate hope for the new. The parallel stories of the grandparents in their youth and their granddaughter in modern Poland was very well done--it wasn't at all overwrought or forced.

This book took me by surprise. I was told I would probably enjoy it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Being of polish heritage, but from America and not having been taught a lot of polish ancestry from my polish family, I got a real historical vision of what it was like both back during the earlier part of the century and what is is like now, at least from the point of view of the author. I kept thinking back and forth from the written word and visualizing the times. How it all unfolds and funnels down to what it does was truly an amazing piece of work. I sat with a polish dictionary next to me to see what the randomly placed polish words meant. It was a fun experience. I'd recommend this to not only those of polish decent, but to anyone having roots in Europe especially to those who have family members live through the 40's and up until the present time.

My 92 year old Aunt Virginia asked me to order the book as a gift for her friend, Val, who is of Polish descent. Her friend said it was the best book she ever read. Aunt Virg and I peeked through the pages before wrapping the book and the writer's words are compelling to read. This book will please all people regardless of their heritage.