I have so much to say about this interview — having read Polish articles about her, having heard about her lifestyle in Poland, and that of her sons (who, last I heard, where sent off to Eaton and the like in England) — so much to say! (The story goes that she wrote the cookbook because it was a money maker and she wants the big bucks to support them in school and her expensive habits in Poland.) But listening to her here, in this interview, I have to give her credit. And I bristle at the attitude of the interviewer. She has more compassion for what took place in Poland and a far greater sensitivity to the nuance of living under communism. I admire that. And yes, it comes through in her book, but it especially comes through in this interview as she resists the holistic condemnation that people from the outside looking in are so quick to bring forth. Good for her, I want to say. Good for her.
Makes me more in a hurry to write about this period as well. I’ve sat on my writing project too long. Time to go back to it.
Thank you for the link!
gs
on August 10 at 11:28 pm
We’re all still waiting for you to finish your memoir and publish it, in one form or another.
As for Applebaum’s cookbook — if she can set about writing a book just for money, more power to her. If that’s the case, there’s a part of me that’s just a little jealous of someone who can (partially) finance living in Poland at that fiscal level through writing. (Having a husband who’s the Minister of Foreign Affairs certainly doesn’t hurt, though.)
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I have so much to say about this interview — having read Polish articles about her, having heard about her lifestyle in Poland, and that of her sons (who, last I heard, where sent off to Eaton and the like in England) — so much to say! (The story goes that she wrote the cookbook because it was a money maker and she wants the big bucks to support them in school and her expensive habits in Poland.) But listening to her here, in this interview, I have to give her credit. And I bristle at the attitude of the interviewer. She has more compassion for what took place in Poland and a far greater sensitivity to the nuance of living under communism. I admire that. And yes, it comes through in her book, but it especially comes through in this interview as she resists the holistic condemnation that people from the outside looking in are so quick to bring forth. Good for her, I want to say. Good for her.
Makes me more in a hurry to write about this period as well. I’ve sat on my writing project too long. Time to go back to it.
Thank you for the link!
We’re all still waiting for you to finish your memoir and publish it, in one form or another.
As for Applebaum’s cookbook — if she can set about writing a book just for money, more power to her. If that’s the case, there’s a part of me that’s just a little jealous of someone who can (partially) finance living in Poland at that fiscal level through writing. (Having a husband who’s the Minister of Foreign Affairs certainly doesn’t hurt, though.)