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A review by willowbiblio
The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman by Klara Główczewska, Andrzej Szczypiorski
4.0
"She noticed the hell. But she said that even in hell one must stay one's course as long as it is possible to do so."
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I found this to be a really interesting perspective on the Polish identity during WWII. Sczcypiorski found a way to weave together many disparate identities and create a community amongst those who were living through a deeply traumatic time in history. This ability to join concurrent storylines seamlessly is a hallmark of some of my favorite authors (Haruki Murakami as one example).
I enjoyed the flash forward for each character. It echoed the existential struggles they were facing with spirituality and if this was a design of God- sort of continued that omniscience that they were wrestling with the theory of. Sczcypiorski provided a scathing commentary on Polish non-Jews acceptance of occupation and willingness to turn away from the atrocities being committed just across the wall. However, he provided a few characters who risked everything they had left to try and reduce the harm occurring around them, told through the story of Mrs. Seidenman’s arrest. In this he seemed to say that not all was lost and even amongst the darkness there were lights. A telling quote in reference to Mrs. Seidenman “She noticed the hell. But she said that even in hell one must stay ones course as long as it is possible to do so.”
I took off a star because I got a little tired of Sczcypiorski’s tendency to make lists that lasted well over a page. Additionally, some of the existential woes got a bit sluggish and felt more representative of the author’s views than what that character would have been thinking. Overall a positive experience to read.
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I found this to be a really interesting perspective on the Polish identity during WWII. Sczcypiorski found a way to weave together many disparate identities and create a community amongst those who were living through a deeply traumatic time in history. This ability to join concurrent storylines seamlessly is a hallmark of some of my favorite authors (Haruki Murakami as one example).
I enjoyed the flash forward for each character. It echoed the existential struggles they were facing with spirituality and if this was a design of God- sort of continued that omniscience that they were wrestling with the theory of. Sczcypiorski provided a scathing commentary on Polish non-Jews acceptance of occupation and willingness to turn away from the atrocities being committed just across the wall. However, he provided a few characters who risked everything they had left to try and reduce the harm occurring around them, told through the story of Mrs. Seidenman’s arrest. In this he seemed to say that not all was lost and even amongst the darkness there were lights. A telling quote in reference to Mrs. Seidenman “She noticed the hell. But she said that even in hell one must stay ones course as long as it is possible to do so.”
I took off a star because I got a little tired of Sczcypiorski’s tendency to make lists that lasted well over a page. Additionally, some of the existential woes got a bit sluggish and felt more representative of the author’s views than what that character would have been thinking. Overall a positive experience to read.