Not Just a Book

Ever hop from one reading to the next? So much to read and everything of interest. For thirty minutes I resided in a small town in Poland looking over the shoulder of the chief policeman attempting to solve a complex murder case. What was of interest to me was the way the author delves into the past and how it marks the present day Poland. Because he's Polish and writes in his native language I am more apt to believe his assessment of present day Poland.

My maternal grandmother immigrated from Poland when she was seventeen. She passed through Ellis Island before settling in the Lower East Side where she had relatives. I know that she spoke no English when she arrived. She, like many other young women, found employment in what became known as the sweat shops. My mother told me that my grandmother Yette worked a treadle sewing machine for ten hours a day.

She never spoke about Poland. I don't know the name of her place of birth. My mother said it didn't survive the war.

After the mystery...more books, other stories.