nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Jun 3, 2006 20:32:31 GMT -7
Linda,
Jim mentioned very briefly his cancer surgery. He seems to be someone who packs a lot into very few words. I certainly hope that he has no further problems.
If you send me a PM ( personal message) with your address, I will send you the book (PLEASE do not send it back! LOL! I am trying to have fewer books, but that seems to be impossible~)
We have discussed "Question of Honor" on the forum (not sure , I think the thread was in the general, rather than books, forum). I have a copy, but have not read it yet. Too many books, too little time.
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Post by Jaga on Jun 4, 2006 11:36:07 GMT -7
Nancy, Linda,
it seems that this story is making the headlines in Polish-American community, maybe any of you would be able to write the review which we could include as the article toour readers?
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Post by hollister on Jun 4, 2006 12:08:18 GMT -7
Nancy & Linda Whew! Just caught up with your flurry of posts! I can tell I am going to have to be on my toes with the two of you. Linda - I admire your voracious reading habits! I read "Question of Honor" a year ago or so - I enjoyed and learned a lot. I think you will find it interesting (and I bet Jim would enjoy it as well).
I remember reading "Push Not the River" last year - but I read it at the time I was "resting" after my surgery and for the life of me I can only remember the bare outlines of the story. When I go home (Moscow) I will check to see if I left the book there - but I think I may have given it to a friend who was interested in the book.
Without saying too much about the book - A few observations
One of the things I liked about "Jadwiga's Crossing" was the tone of the book. It is a VERY personal family book - I felt honored to be allowed such an intimate glimpse into the lives of these people. I also found it interesting that it is in fact Jadwiga's story - the male characters are all supporting cast. Often with this type of story it seems that you see the story as seen by the woman or women but the males do all the action. Here that is not the case. The women are central to the story and cause much of the action.
The other thing that struck me about the book was how Germans were portrayed. Paul's struggle in trying to understand if his military experience was a good thing or not was interesting. While it enabled him to gain things for his family - it also caused others to be very suspicious of him (Jadwiga's father for example).
I wondered at several points that if Jadwiga herself was writing the book and not a grandson & great grandson - how she would have told the story.
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Post by lindaprez on Jun 5, 2006 16:14:49 GMT -7
Nancy I will (PM) you with my address. I would like to hear from any one at my email address also at Lindaprez@cox.net if you want,in case I'm saying the wrong stuff on this site. Nancy, Jim would love to see me cut down on my supply of books especially for shipping to Poland but I'm afraid I'm going the other way and accumulating and loving it. Thank you for the addition to my supply. Holly, not to get off the subject but when I saw going home to "Moscow" I couldn't help but think of my daughter and her family in St. Petersburg. She would love it if I could send a visitor her way, especially a native. If you are going to be heading that way be sure to let me know and I'll give you her address and phone number she would be elated. She is making the best of a terrific situation. They have been stationed there over a year and the girls are all in Russian schools and speaking the language as are she and her husband. The girls are 5, 8 and 10 and have so many of the arts to get involved in. I have beautiful pics which she has iphoto'd me which I can easily share if you can tell me how. I will try on my own and see what happens. Now back to "Jadwiga's Crossing" I am in total agreement that the men are more observers in the cast of characters in this than are the women and it is certainly a reversal of roles, making it such an enjoyable story. Jaga, it's nice that we are, as you say "In Style" in our reading of this book as it sweeps the European scene. I have written in this area before and touched something wrong and lost my reply so I better not press my luck gonna press the send button this time..
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Jun 6, 2006 15:32:31 GMT -7
Nancy, Linda, it seems that this story is making the headlines in Polish-American community, maybe any of you would be able to write the review which we could include as the article toour readers? Maybe Linda or Holly would give this a try ... ? I am not too far into the book, but while I am enjoying the setting and the Polish-ness of it, I am not entirely captivated by the writing. It strikes me that the internal life of the characters are not well developed -it is sort of a terrific way to tell the story of your ancestors if you had no idea what they were truly like, deep down, but you cold embellish the barebones of the story with some twinkling eyes and pugilistic behaviors. (Does this make any sense?)
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Jun 23, 2006 18:54:04 GMT -7
I finished reading Jadwiga's Crossing a few days ago, and I must say that I enjoyed it very much! Of course, every time I saw the name "Jadwiga", my brain said "Jaga" ;D
This book really brings to life what a crossing in the mid-1800s must have been like. It is hard to imagine the details of our ancestors' travel from Poland, but I never once thought that steerage class meant being cooped up with animals in the forward part of the ship! And what was more difficult...the conditions or the people they were traveling with?
And I also want to mention that I really loved the ending! The book gets stronger as it goes along, but the ending is priceless and worth reading the entire book.
Highly recommended!
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Post by Jaga on Jun 24, 2006 17:40:41 GMT -7
Nancy, sometimes people call "Jadwiga" per "Jagoda", therefore some people would like to call me "Jadzia" or "Jadwiga". Frankly I do not like it because my name is just "Jagoda". In the recent years Jagoda became a separate name and it is more and more popular, so I hope people would stop mixing the names
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Post by dicklutz on Jun 26, 2006 19:13:35 GMT -7
I'm delighted to read that folks are enjoying Jadwiga's Crossing... My father, Aloysius A. Lutz, started the book when I was pre-teen, and I finished it last year... All in all, a 50-year-plus family project. The book is getting an excellent reception from every reader, so far, so the reaction goes beyond what I could have reasonably hoped for. The website for the book is JadwigasCrossing.com. I'm happy to respond to questions and comments on this forum or if sent directly to me at editor@MainStreetWIRE.com. Dick Lutz (aka Richard J. Lutz)
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Post by suzanne on Jun 27, 2006 10:34:49 GMT -7
I'm delighted to read that folks are enjoying Jadwiga's Crossing... My father, Aloysius A. Lutz, started the book when I was pre-teen, and I finished it last year... All in all, a 50-year-plus family project. The book is getting an excellent reception from every reader, so far, so the reaction goes beyond what I could have reasonably hoped for. The website for the book is JadwigasCrossing.com. I'm happy to respond to questions and comments on this forum or if sent directly to me at editor@MainStreetWIRE.com. Dick Lutz (aka Richard J. Lutz) Dick, Welcome to the Forum!
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Jun 27, 2006 20:02:52 GMT -7
I'm delighted to read that folks are enjoying Jadwiga's Crossing... My father, Aloysius A. Lutz, started the book when I was pre-teen, and I finished it last year... Glad to hear your voice on our forum, Dick.. I enjoyed the book very much, more so as it went along. My impression is that Paul's voice is very strong in your book - even stronger than Jadwiga's. I wonder if the stories that were passed down were mostly through the men in the family? Also, I am curious why you used "Paul" rather than "Pawel" .. some of the names are Polish, others seem Americanized - any reason for these decisions?
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Post by dicklutz on Jul 3, 2006 11:53:07 GMT -7
Others, too, have commented on the names. It's hard to answer; most of the character names were chosen by my father when he started the book. He may have been influenced by family choices, or may have felt that the name "Paul" would be easier reading for American eyes. Dick
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Post by Jaga on Jul 3, 2006 18:28:01 GMT -7
Dick,
the name "Paulina" is pretty popular in Poland. Paul is used rarely but it is not unknown especially as the abbreviation. You know, Poles use plenty of abbreviations with their first names. So, I did not feel that this is anything out of the norm to call one of the main characters - Paul.
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Post by gardenmoma on Sept 27, 2006 5:48:42 GMT -7
09/27
Good Morning all!
Did this thread really die out? Or was it moved somewhere else?
I just finished reading Jadwiga's Crossing and because I opted to buy a new copy, I will donate it to our local library. I couldn't find a single copy within our region (western MA / central MA) or eastern MA to borrow on interlibrary loan back when this thread first started. So, if no library (ies) have since invested in a copy, my donation will get Jadwiga's Crossing into general circulation.
Do any of you know if there is a body of work about this crossing experience of Polish around the turn of the 19th century?
From a previous post by Hollister
Most of you probably picked up on this...but...There is mention in the postscript of the story that it was based on letters between Jadwiga and fellow passengers on the Fredricka. Also, tells what happens with many of the people in the book, especially Jadwiga and Paul's family.
GM
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Sept 27, 2006 17:48:47 GMT -7
Do any of you know if there is a body of work about this crossing experience of Polish around the turn of the 19th century? GM, This book is the first of its kind, as far as I know. Glad you finally had a chance to read it. I am surprised that the western Mass libraries did not purchase copies.
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Post by Jaga on Sept 27, 2006 19:13:15 GMT -7
I am half through the book. It took me a while since we were gone for some time. I hope to finish it very soon.
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