My grandmother’s family came from, as she put it, “hearty German peasant stock,” a phrase invoked whenever my mom or her siblings complained about chores or homework. It was Grandma’s way of saying, “Suck it up, kid.” She was clever that way.
Grandpa’s family was from Poznań, Poland, and as far as my childhood self could tell, this gave my family only the legacy of our noses, which look sort of like ski slopes with a mogul about halfway down. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve learned more about Poznań. It’s mentioned in writings from as far back as 1012; it’s home to Poland’s first cathedral; it was the site of a 1945 World War II battle (my family was long gone by then, having established itself in Milwaukee decades before). None of these facts are particularly remarkable in Europe, I guess, but knowing a little about where I come from–being able to point to a specific city, a starting point, a destination–makes me proud.
In that spirit, I hope to read “Stone Upon Stone,” by Wiesaw Myśliwski, one of this week’s Brieflier Noted books:
Szymek Pietruszka, with winning candor, narrates his life story in a stream of meandering and sometimes overlapping anecdotes that chronicle the modernization of rural Poland and celebrate the persistence of desire.