League of Inveterate Poets

By Mark Traphagen on January 31, 2010

A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Charming, funny, sad, witty, moving…all these describe this gorgeous first novel by Brigid Pasulka. Set in both World War II and present Poland (and the times in between), A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True is a ringing affirmation of the value of sacrifice of one generation for the next, whether for the building of a family or a nation.

The story is built in alternating chapters. One set tells the tale of a family in a remote Polish mountain village starting just before the German invasion, and in particular the love story between the beautiful Anielica and her heroic suitor, “The Pigeon.” The other set of chapters brings us to present-day “New” Poland and the humdrum existence in Krakow of three women all descended from that mountain village family. As the novel progresses, the story of the war-time family races forward on a collision course with the contemporary story, and we more and more come to understand how much the present is rooted in the past. The challenge: will the present-day characters rise to the challenge of living lives worthy of the amazing sacrifices made for them by the generation before?

Pasulka often portrays village life with effective humor, but never at the expense of the characters’ dignity and worth. The humor helps soften the reader to the characters, and in some way prepare for the suffering that is to come.

A personal note: A number of years ago, while teaching at an English-language summer camp in Hungary, I had the opportunity to visit Krakow for a few days. Though the visit was short, I fell forever in love with the Old City, particularly the Rynek square and Wawel Castle, both of which play prominent roles in this novel. The author did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of this marvelous city.

One note about the title. It appears from the acknowledgments at the end of the book that Pasulka based her story on interviews with very real stories of survivors of World War II and the subsequent years of Russian occupation. Thus, I think, the “Essentially True” part of the title.

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A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True From an original new voice in fiction comes this warm-hearted debut. Pasulka reimagines half a century of Polish history through the legacy of one couple”s profound love affair.

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