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mslaura's review against another edition
2.0
I did not enjoy this book at all. Perhaps it is a function of the translation, but I found the writing dry and the story line difficult to follow. The characters never came to life for me and I just never connected.
Ratings:
Writing 3
Story line 2
Characters 2
Emotional impact 2
Overall rating 2.25
Ratings:
Writing 3
Story line 2
Characters 2
Emotional impact 2
Overall rating 2.25
scarpuccia's review against another edition
4.0
I thought I was going to love this. It begins so brilliantly. The stories of the individual interconnected lives he focuses on are initially deeply compelling. It's 1943 in Warsaw. The first thing he shows us is how the social hierarchy of Warsaw has changed under the Nazi occupation. Ideally, civilisation is a social order founded on a hierarchy of spirit, sensibility, acumen. A police state enables the uncouth to lord it over their spiritual superiors. Here a former judge is at the mercy of a benign profiteer who has benefitted from the theft of all Jewish property. Power has shifted from the well-educated to the streetwise and unscrupulous. This was brilliantly achieved. We are then shown the close friendship of two young boys, one a Jew, the other a Catholic. Equals in every sense except in the eyes of the Nazis. Again this is brilliantly and poignantly done. The Catholic boy is in love with a neighbour's wife. This is the beautiful Mrs Seidenman. She is Jewish but pretending to be Catholic and is betrayed to the Gestapo by a fellow Jew. The Nazi is another example of the triumph of mediocrity. He has no special gift except a willingness to unquestioningly follow orders. It's often overlooked in the face of their innumerable crimes that the Nazis also sought to annihilate intellect and sensibility.
I suspect Anthony Marra is a fan of this novel as he copies (and improves) Szczypiorski's tactic of linking disparate characters with a single hidden thread and also telling us early on how their lives will pan out in the future. Thus we learn how each character will die early on in their narrative. This didn't bother me so much as Szczypiorski's penchant for abandoning the personal in favour of the philosophical and political. It soon becomes a novel of ideas. And for me the ideas began sucking all drama from the narrative. I grew less and less impressed with his narrative skills. For me too much attention was paid to the post war political convulsions Poland suffers and the novel began at times to read like an essay. Five stars for the first hundred pages but, though it was very wise and brilliantly written, it all ended up a bit lifeless for me. You could call it a disenchanted love letter to Poland. 3.5 stars.
I suspect Anthony Marra is a fan of this novel as he copies (and improves) Szczypiorski's tactic of linking disparate characters with a single hidden thread and also telling us early on how their lives will pan out in the future. Thus we learn how each character will die early on in their narrative. This didn't bother me so much as Szczypiorski's penchant for abandoning the personal in favour of the philosophical and political. It soon becomes a novel of ideas. And for me the ideas began sucking all drama from the narrative. I grew less and less impressed with his narrative skills. For me too much attention was paid to the post war political convulsions Poland suffers and the novel began at times to read like an essay. Five stars for the first hundred pages but, though it was very wise and brilliantly written, it all ended up a bit lifeless for me. You could call it a disenchanted love letter to Poland. 3.5 stars.
aleksandraiwanowska's review against another edition
5.0
Niesamowita powieść. Była to zdecydowanie jedna z najlepszych książek, które miałam przyjemność przeczytać, w 2021r. Polecam serdecznie. Język, styl, budowanie akcji — to wszystko u Szczypiorskiego jest na wielce wysokim poziomie. Nie jest to najprzyjemniejsza powieść. Podejrzewam, że również nie dla wszystkich.
cynka's review against another edition
3.0
Jestem zaskoczona tym, jak bardzo mi się podobało? Forma, w jakiej "Początek" został napisany jest naprawdę ciekawa i angażująca. Poszczególne opowieści na pozór ze sobą niezwiązane, łączące się między sobą, pokazujące ciągi przyczynowo-skutkowe, różne aspekty historii i motywacje działań bohaterów.
Czasami trochę ciężko mi się było połapać w różnych osiach czasowych, które były ze sobą bardzo przemieszane, pewnie gdybym nie czytała tego "na czas" i na zaliczenie, to odebrałabym to inaczej.
Czasami trochę ciężko mi się było połapać w różnych osiach czasowych, które były ze sobą bardzo przemieszane, pewnie gdybym nie czytała tego "na czas" i na zaliczenie, to odebrałabym to inaczej.
dreesreads's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent novel that looks at Poland (Warsaw) and the Polish during the German occupation of Poland during WWII.
The story is based around the blond and blue-eyed Jewish widow Mrs Seidenman, now known as Mrs Gromowski (sp?), a Polish officer's widow. Someone informs on her, and her community comes through to save her. Though this is the framework for the novel, each chapter looks at a different person living in Warsaw at the time--from Mrs S-G (as she goes by after the war, living in Paris), to Pawel (a teen who plays a part in her rescue), to her academic next door neighbor Mr Korba (who sets the ball rolling, and has no idea that she actually is Jewish), to a street criminal. We also meet a long-time pro-Poland fighter in the Underground who has been fighting for an independent Poland since 1905, Pawel's best friend Henio (and his father and 4-yo sister, who is smuggled from the ghetto to a convent, where she is converted to Catholicism to save her), to Johann (Jás) Müller (a German who has lived in Poland his entire life, and plays the key role in saving Mrs Seidenman).
It can get a bit confusing with multiple nicknames and aliases, but you get a real feel for the community that existed under occupation. During WWI, Poland was occupied by the Russians, and you see the fear from those events effecting some of the characters' actions. You see the confusion over what the Germans are doing to their Jewish friends and neighbors, and anyone who crosses the paths of the wrong German occupier.
The story is based around the blond and blue-eyed Jewish widow Mrs Seidenman, now known as Mrs Gromowski (sp?), a Polish officer's widow. Someone informs on her, and her community comes through to save her. Though this is the framework for the novel, each chapter looks at a different person living in Warsaw at the time--from Mrs S-G (as she goes by after the war, living in Paris), to Pawel (a teen who plays a part in her rescue), to her academic next door neighbor Mr Korba (who sets the ball rolling, and has no idea that she actually is Jewish), to a street criminal. We also meet a long-time pro-Poland fighter in the Underground who has been fighting for an independent Poland since 1905, Pawel's best friend Henio (and his father and 4-yo sister, who is smuggled from the ghetto to a convent, where she is converted to Catholicism to save her), to Johann (Jás) Müller (a German who has lived in Poland his entire life, and plays the key role in saving Mrs Seidenman).
It can get a bit confusing with multiple nicknames and aliases, but you get a real feel for the community that existed under occupation. During WWI, Poland was occupied by the Russians, and you see the fear from those events effecting some of the characters' actions. You see the confusion over what the Germans are doing to their Jewish friends and neighbors, and anyone who crosses the paths of the wrong German occupier.
dissidentreviews's review against another edition
5.0
Obwohl der Autor oft in die Zukunft abschweift und erzählt, was aus einer Figur später geworden ist, hält er die Spannung hoch.
Rezension auf meinem Blog: https://nouw.com/cwidmann/andrzej-szczypiorksi-die-schone-frau-sei-36378082
Rezension auf meinem Blog: https://nouw.com/cwidmann/andrzej-szczypiorksi-die-schone-frau-sei-36378082
thebobsphere's review against another edition
4.0
After already reading a book about the second World War, I wasn’t up to another one. Especially since this one focuses on Jews as well but The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman is so great that I forgot all my complaints and got absorbed into the novel.
As such you could say that the book is a collection of short stories but they are loosely linked as the same characters re-occur. The woman of the title is a Jew who has, through illegal ways, becomes a Polish citizen. Her lover is a young man who tries to understand this crazy situation, his friend is a spoilt young man who tries to escape the ghetto and so.
Not only does Szczypiorski speak about the present and the past, he also mentions the future destinations of his characters obviously unbeknownst to them. It is this factor which made me read this book compulsively as most of the themes here , doubt, fear, bravery have been tackled before in other holocaust novels. Incidentally the translation is great and flowing and that helped my enjoyment of the book.
A cult classic!
As such you could say that the book is a collection of short stories but they are loosely linked as the same characters re-occur. The woman of the title is a Jew who has, through illegal ways, becomes a Polish citizen. Her lover is a young man who tries to understand this crazy situation, his friend is a spoilt young man who tries to escape the ghetto and so.
Not only does Szczypiorski speak about the present and the past, he also mentions the future destinations of his characters obviously unbeknownst to them. It is this factor which made me read this book compulsively as most of the themes here , doubt, fear, bravery have been tackled before in other holocaust novels. Incidentally the translation is great and flowing and that helped my enjoyment of the book.
A cult classic!
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