Reviews

I'd Like to Say Sorry, but There's No One to Say Sorry To by Mikołaj Grynberg

newintroductionbysusan's review

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

tigersmom's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

kimplane's review

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dark funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

balkeyeston's review

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5.0

"We have jokes because we haven't got any hope. But we sure know how to laugh, don't you think?"

Polish photographer and oral historian Mikołaj Grynberg emerges into the English publishing space with his collection of short stories inspired by the stories of Polish Jews across and in-between one generation and the next.

The book's Polish title, Rejwach, can mean several things, but Google Translate's first two translations struck me the most: "hullabaloo" and "uproar." The book's translator, Sean Gasper Bye, includes the term "cacophony" in his note; a "holy racket deeply rooted in Jewish culture and history."

This holy racket, read in conjunction with the book's English title, I'd Like to Say Sorry, But There's No One to Say Sorry To, gives us a clearer picture of the kinds of stories Grynberg shares with us. In no more than 3-4 pages, each story reveals a secret about a parent or child, sibling or artist, that each has hidden from their next of kin. Only when their narrators find out, or share their late partner's buried truth to their children, do we recognize just how much suffering our ancestors have endured, and how little they wanted us to see of that world.

Reading this in a time of endless global war and oppression—where one state of oppression reported in the news gets suffocated by the birth of another somewhere else, "anywhere but here"—I think about the concept of hope, and what we end up filling the well with when hope runs dry.

critter's review

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5.0

This book is about Jewish experiences in present day Poland. The copy I received was translated from Polish. This was an excellent and emotional read that I took my time to read. The stories in this collection surround what it means to be Jewish in Poland. The stories center around trauma and the anti-semitic attitudes in Poland. The stories are all short but are very successful in conveying their messages and emotion.

I would like to thank the New Press for providing me with an ARC.

mylibrarylife's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

A fantastic series of stories that bring up generational trauma from families throughout Poland. The stories are focused on Jewish relations with Poles after the war and I found the different voices throughout the stories to be very unique and bring about very different perspectives that were new to me. I've read many books both fiction and nonfiction about the Holocaust, but this definitely brings a fresh new lens to what relations were like between the Jewish population and the Polish population after the war and even decades later. The stories are short but well-told and intriguing. I think my favorite story was the one about the son whose father was a photographer. I highly recommend this short story collection and I'm excited to read anything else this author has to offer.

nimmzi's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I have to say I was completely blown away by this book. There are no shortage of books regarding the theme of the Holocaust from completely exploitative fiction novels to the most devastating memoirs, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect from this. As soon as I started reading I couldn’t put it down. The book is comprised of 31 short stories, they’re small testimonies all connected by generational trauma. The abundance of different vignettes makes it not only a fast reading experience, but a more complete one. Giving dimension to the consequences of such a tragic period that will never stop spreading, affecting people from multiple generations, revealing the scars that are there for all to see. I had never experienced a work of fiction that made me feel generational trauma in such an effective way. Highly recommend to everyone. 
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book!
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laprevin's review

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reflective
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

kateflood's review against another edition

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5.0

 This is a vital and arresting piece of fiction. At times raw, macabre, painful, but also funny, Grynberg’s writing captures the lasting scars of the Holocaust upon the lives of Polish Jews. The author’s background in oral history is evident in the way he effortlessly crafts the voices of different narrators within each short vignette. I saw another reviewer comment on how authentic the storytelling feels and I couldn’t agree more. As someone from a Jewish family which was affected by the Holocaust, I found my own familial experiences and thought processes were reflected at multiple points, despite my family not being Polish. I think Grynberg pinpoints many of the varied responses to being a second or third generation Holocaust survivor, and I know that I will be returning to this book in the future as I feel I still have more to unpack from it. I also thought the translation was brilliant and I found the note from the translator at the end really interesting. 
 
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. 
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raquelisreading's review against another edition

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dark funny sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

“We have jokes because we haven't got any hope. But we sure know how to laugh, don’t you think?”

A collection of short stories from the perspective of Jewish individuals living in Poland. This was quick, eerie, unsettling, and deeply funny. Each story was only 3 or 4 pages long, with a punchline that would arrive so fast I frequently had to go back and re-read the story to see what clues I missed. There were many loaded cultural and historical references which would likely be more significant for individuals familiar with Jewish history. Still, in this translated work, Grynberg’s ability to tap into a dozen different voices and perspectives was captivating. 

Grynberg’s English-language translator also included a lovely note at the book’s ending, writing, “Though rooted in a catastrophic past, Grynberg's work is fundamentally about the present. At a time of mounting official anti-Semitism in Poland, when many inside and outside the country see no place in Poland for Jews, Grynberg's testimony of a Jewish present—a Jewish presence—is radical.”

I’d Like to Say Sorry is out on February 8. Thank you NetGalley and The New Press for providing this #ARC!