Mother and Me: Escape from Warsaw, 1939 (Paperback)

by Julian Padowicz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Narcissists don't make ideal mothers, and Basia Padowicz Weisbrem was no exception. When her son, Yulek, turned five in 1937, she gave him a birthday card wishing him 100 years, a barrel of wine and a wench, which earned her a quiet lecture from the boy's beloved nanny, Kiki. Basia didn't even know what Yulek liked to eat or wear. But after the Nazis invade Warsaw, the Jewish Basia flees to the countryside (Yulek's father had died and her second husband was in the army) with her son, her two sisters-in-law and their children and nannies. Beautiful and manipulative, she charms the local authorities to get scarce necessities, but her self-absorption and lack of concern for consequences alienate her in-laws. Soon she finds herself on her own with Yulek, and both he and the reader learn an important lesson: in wartime, survival instincts trump all, and Basia is nothing if not a survivor. Padowicz, who now lives in Connecticut, tends to get bogged down in extraneous details, but his story is an engrossing one, part nighttime soap opera and part adventure story. His lively dialogue brings to life not only his mother, but his aunts, cousins and the many people they encounter en route to their eventual escape from war-torn Europe. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Padowicz, a Polish Jew, was seven when he and his mother escaped from Warsaw at the start of World War II when the Germans began bombing the city. The author chronicles their escape, first going to Ukraine in a frightful journey by truck and farm wagons, and then--in 1940--crossing the border into Hungary on foot through the Carpathian Mountains. Padowicz describes how his mother and other adults spent hours foraging for supplies--mostly food and firewood. He details his relationship with his mother, a Warsaw socialite who left his upbringing to Kiki, a Catholic governess who he loved. At the start of the war, Kiki returned to her family in Lodz; the author's stepfather joined the Polish army and was killed. Kiki taught the author about God and Mary, "their little boy Jesus, and the Holy Ghost." He learned the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Act of Contrition, "all of which I recited fervently at bedtime." Much of the book deals with Padowicz's struggle over his religious identity as he and his mother stayed one step ahead of the Germans. There is too much dialogue here--Padowicz could not have remembered verbatim conversations from more than 60 years ago--but Mother and Me recounts a chilling journey during the war. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 413 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers (May 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897335708
• ISBN-13: 978-0897335706
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,094,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart-warming Memoir, April 12, 2007

By	Connecticut Muse (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother and Me: Escape from Warsaw 1939 (Hardcover)

Julian Padowicz's perilous escape from Warsaw is an exciting adventure, made all the more engrossing because he conveys so much about his feelings and impressions of this time in his life. The young Julian, who seems at times wise beyond his years, has a wonderfully wry outlook on the varied circumstances in which he finds himself during the course of his journey. The author enables us to understand his doubts and fears, his joys and sorrows, and above all, his great need to connect with his mother. His story is truly a poignant and heart-warming chronicle.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true story of a Jewish child who grew up estranged from his mother to the point of hating other Jews, September 11, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother and Me: Escape from Warsaw 1939 (Hardcover)

Mother And Me: Escape From Warsaw 1939 by documentary flimmaker Julian Padowicz is the true story of a Jewish child who grew up estranged from his mother to the point of hating other Jews. Virtually ignored by his mother and raised by his Catholic governess Kiki -- who taught him that God didn't love Jews because of what they did to His Son and that the only way Julian could go to heaven was to become bapitized. Julian's world transformed forever when World War II came to Warsaw. Kiki had to return to her family; his stepfather joined the Polish army; and the mother who once barely made time for him assumed responsibility for raising him. Determined to provide for her son, Julian's mother cut in food lines and later, under Soviet occupation, befriended Russian officers for extra rations of food and fuel. In the winter of 1940 as conditions for survival deteriorated, Julian's mother brought him in a daring escape to Hungary on foot, through the Carpathian mountains. Mother And Me is an unforgettable memory of blood bonds being thicker than water, and a family love that burns most fiercely when family is threatened. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars nothing special, March 16, 2009

By	Selma Slossburg "book lover" (phila) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I JUST FINISHED THIS BOOK AND WAS GLAD WHEN I GOT TO THE LAST PAGE. I FOUND IT VERY DRAWN OUT AND AT TIMES BORING. I WOULD FIND IT HARD TO RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.