Travel to Poland

A Polish Son In The Motherland: An American's Journey Home

Format: Hardcover
Author: Leonard Kniffel
ReleaseDate: 30 May, 2005
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Rating:

An absolutely wonderful read!
I've visited Poland nine times since 1972. I loved this book which was given to me as a gift. Leonard Kniffel captures the communist and post-communist Poland very accurately. His observations are honest as he discusses the good and bad in present day Poland. Needless to say the good far outweighs the bad!.

An inspiring tale of the search for family and the sense of belonging
This instantly resonated, as my grandmother also immigrated from Poland as a child, and many of his memories of large Polish family gatherings, Polish mass, and family life rung so true to my own. Leonard Kniffel grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan with a Polish grandmother who immigrated as a young woman. At twenty-five, I am finally embracing my Polish heritage, in no small part inspired by this book. Leonard lands in Nowe Miasto Lubawskie, the town near where his grandmother is born, and quickly makes a network of local friends: Adam, a local entrepreneur and his new landlord, the elegant and sensual Pani Wituchowska, with her memories of grandeur before the war, local journalists Ryszard and Grazyna, the mayor, and innumerable relatives that he discovers on his quest to trace his grandmother's roots in Sugajno. The touching narrative is filled with bittersweet images of modern Poland, of its Communist legacy and strong will to survive, fervent Catholicism, and the legacy of Jewish indifference: a good part of the novel traces the author's struggle to divine what happened to the headstones in the local Jewish cemeteries, and he is shocked by how the Polish Jewish history seems to have evaporated into thin air. Most importantly, he reconnects with his Polish roots in a visceral way, embracing Polish cuisine (hunting for wild mushrooms in forests with Adam's mother), culture, and storytelling. A wonderful tale of family, friendship, being a stranger in a strange land, and rediscovering the important things in life. Dziekuje bardzo!.

Must read for Polish descendants
I wish I could live there and meet the Polish people. I, of Polish descent, thoroughly enjoyed reading this book about the author's trip to Poland to find his grandmother's family. His descriptive writing shows that he enjoyed his visit and the citizens. The Polish surnames may confuse non-Poles. .

Related products:
click image or link for details on these Poland travel books.