Reviews for The last mazurka

The average rating for The last mazurka based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-05-16 00:00:00 Emmanuelle Oppeneau I am not sure what to think of this book. It defies pigeon holing. The writing is just OK. The analysis isn't gripping. But I did find it fascinating, even though I was left with an uneasy feeling of discontent after I finished. I wanted MORE depth, more insight, more analysis than the author conveyed. He tells us that his relatives were displaced and faced with poverty, as well as having the worlds turned upside down, but he did not really evoke any understanding of how they emotionally or affectively dealt with going from aristocrat to house painter. What were they thinking at the time - having gone from fabulous wealth to poverty? What resources did they draw upon? Perhaps that is the psych person in me, to want more depth of understanding of emotional upheaval and how people deal with it. This family memoir is the story of the author's aristocratic family, a markedly dysfunctional one, as well as the tragic tale of the breakdown of Polish society during and after World War II. The war took all of that from them, and they were forced into a war no one wanted and to emigrate away from their beloved country. The narrative begins just before World War I and carries through World War II, the Communist period and the present day. Having said this, there was no one in this book, save the author, who I really liked. These were spoiled, entitled people who cared little for anyone but themselves and their creature comforts, hopping from one sexual liason to another willy-nilly and caring little for an actual relationship or honor. They were not typical Poles who actually hold honor in high regard. These folks were pretty amoral. Even the fact that Staś was in the Polish army and fought well did not make me like him any better. It sounds as if he made a pain in the neck of himself and his arrogance continued to plague even that valiant effort. The interesting thing about the book was that, even though these folks were refugees, their aristocratic lineage enabled them to receive assistance from a plethora of rich friends and acquaintances across Europe and the Middle East so that, even if they weren't in their native land, they still maintained a reasonable standard of living. How does THAT happen?? Entitled once, entitled always. My own parents were not that fortunate, even though they were intelligentsia. No one gave them anything and life was a tremendous struggle, even though the displaced persons post WW II did help each other out. I am glad that I read this book and that the author wrote it. He did a marvelous job of chronicling and piecing together his family history from interviews, memoirs, historical documents and oral family history. I am delighted to learn that one can achieve knowledge of one's ancestry in such depth, as I embark on the same journey. The Last Mazurka does provides insight into the life of one family that made up part of Poland's privileged class It is about a time and culture that not too many of us know about, and I want more. Hopefully, since he is working on another novel, Mr. Tarnowski will build upon his efforts.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-01-18 00:00:00 Sandra Eeuwes Książka o arystokracji, której świat upadł całkowicie wraz z II Wojną Światową. Świat polowań, ogromnych majątków ziemskich i kamienic w miastach, gdzie zatrudniano bardzo dużą liczbę osób (służący, kucharki, pokojówki, guwernantki, zarządcy, chłopi pracujący w polu). Autor urodzony w 1940 roku w Szwajcarii korzystając z własnych wspomnień, korespondencji rodzinnej i innych rodzinnych opowieści opisuje dzieje swojej rodziny od strony ojca - szlacheckiego rodu Tarnowskich, właścicieli m.in. Tarnowa i Tarnobrzega; w XX wieku. Naprawdę nie wybiela nikogo, pokazuje wady i zalety osób z nim spokrewnionych lub skoligaconych z jego rodziną.