Book Jacket

 

rank 4801
word count 18155
date submitted 08.09.2008
date updated 10.02.2009
genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
classification: moderate
incomplete

Warsaw Cocktail

J. Szmigin

Four schoolfriends get caught in the doomed Warsaw Uprising of 1944. At the tragic end, their lives go in opposite directions. Will they meet again?

 

Four schoolfriends in Warsaw, Poland, in World War II, endure the German occupation. When the Warsaw Uprising explodes, they are sucked into the tragic events of August and September 1944. The stress buckles their friendship, and when the insurrection fails, their lives are flung in different directions, Theo and Hanna make it to the West, one to England and one to the United States, refugees in the lands of opportunity. Feliks and Stefan stay behind, one collaborates with the Russians, the other slips into the underworld of small time crime. In their own ways, they rebuild their lives.
It's 1990, the Cold War has ended, two young hopefuls arrive in Warsaw from the West, hoping to make their fortunes. But life isn't as simple as that, as they fight with ex-communist bureaucracy, and Polish mafia.

 
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tags

poland, warsaw, world war ii

on 4 watchlists

7 comments

 

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Nick Poole2 wrote 823 days ago

ARISE, AUTHONOMY GHOST!

Ease those weary, withered limbs from your coffin. Push away the stone from the mouth of the tomb.

You have one last task to perform. One last, sacred shelf to confer.

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Nick Poole2 (formerly known as NickP)

Kathrin Allen wrote 1197 days ago

Saw your book with a Warsaw tag - fancy a swap read with my book about Warsaw, Rising Up?
Kathrin

Jan Szmigin wrote 1280 days ago

I really liked this and found it very interesting, very vivid and very moving

I really appreciated you reading and commenting on (the start of) this story. What drew you to it, was it Poland, or the war, or someone you know who had similar experiences?

Jan Szmigin wrote 1280 days ago

I wish I had more time to read this today as the blurb is fascinating. I've put it on my watchlist so that I can come back to it.

Thanks, Mackenzie, tell me, what interests about the story, is it the times, the country, is there a similarity to the history of someone you know?

Jan Szmigin wrote 1280 days ago

I wish I had more time to read this today as the blurb is fascinating. I've put it on my watchlist so that I can come back to it.

Hi, thank you for this, my first comment received on AUthonomy. I apologise that it has taken this long for the penny to drop, that I need to write to you, too. I would be really interested to know which characters come to life, or which didn't. What interests you about the story, is it WW II, Poland, do you have something similar in your own history, or someone's you know?

Parallax wrote 1319 days ago

Hey JS, I've put this on my watchlist as I write about Poland for Lonely Planet and know a lot about the Warsaw Rising. Will give you some feedback when I get the chance.

If you get a moment, please take a look at my novel Mind the Gap - all feedback welcome!

Lisa Polhill wrote 1342 days ago

I really liked this and found it very interesting, very vivid and very moving

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