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#poland
review
charl08
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Pickpick

'She was a very strong lady,' Marzenna recalled. 'For her, nothing was impossible.
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Recommended history of Polish resistance in WW2.

The descriptions of Agent Zo's personal skills reminded me of my gran. Everyone loved her, but not for her small talk!
Personal gripe: one of those "hidden histories" where actually what the author means/ acknowledges is "*English speakers* didn't know about it...".

58 likes1 stack add
blurb
jenniferw88
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#wpnf25

Well, I've read 3 of them! Agree with 2 (Agent Zo & What the Wild Sea Can Be), not so sure about Raising Hare.

I'm glad The Eagle and the Hart didn't make it, but disappointed Sister in Law isn't there.

Will be getting Story of a Heart out of the library!

Hooked_on_books I agree with you on Sister in Law, which is tremendous. I would have swapped Neneh out for that one. 1w
jenniferw88 @Hooked_on_books I don't really want to read Story of a Heart because I had a heart transplant aged 12, so it's a bit close to home. BUT I told myself I'd read it if it made the shortlist. I've never heard of Neneh, so I am willing to give it a go on audio. 1w
Hooked_on_books @jenniferw88 That‘s definitely a close perspective to that book! I can say it‘s beautifully done and respectful to all parties, but of course I can‘t speak to what the reading experience will be like for you. Hopefully you‘ll give yourself a lot of grace to put it down if it‘s too much. Neneh, on the other hand, I knew as a one hit wonder plus I‘m not very interested in childhood memoir and she focuses a lot on that. 1w
jenniferw88 @Hooked_on_books I should technically be OK with it, as I had a domino heart transplant, which occurs when 1 patient (my donor) undergoes heart-lung transplantation and their healthy heart is given, as part of a “domino” procedure, to a heart transplant recipient (me), but thanks. 1w
53 likes4 comments
quote
charl08

As far as possible, the women saved each other.

(Magdeburg camp, 1944)

review
kwmg40
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Pickpick

Given the mixed reviews this book had received, I hadn't expected to like it as much as I did. It was definitely weird and I'm sure there was a lot that went over my head, but I was never bored and the snarky footnotes were the best!
#ToB25

sarahbarnes Good to see a positive review of this one! I haven‘t tried it yet. 2w
Ruthiella Agree with @sarahbarnes ! Nice to see some one who likes it! I need to try it myself. 2w
BarbaraBB I find myself still thinking of this book, that certainly counts for something! Even though I didn‘t like it that much 😀 1w
53 likes3 comments
quote
charl08
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"an insane feminist and pioneer of the "liberation" movement and equality of women', the report continued. 'A hysterical woman'.*" '

Got to love the lack of self-censorship in pre-Freedom of Information civil servants' memos.

quote
charl08
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Zo usually returned from Germany [to Poland] within a few days, bringing back her observations on changing travel regulations, rationing and morale... After one Berlin air raid, Zo was asked to walk around the city and later discreetly mark up a map to help assess the accuracy of the campaign.

'The English know almost everything about the results of their attacks on Germany', Joseph Goebbels... sullenly complained to his diary."

43 likes1 stack add
quote
charl08
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During the Great War the Dutch dancer Margaretha Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, had lodged the idea of femme fatale spies in some romantic minds Although women serving in the resistance deployed whatever skills and resources they had, their distinguishing superpower was not, in fact, irresistible sexual allure, but simply their ability to be consistently overlooked and underestimated.

39 likes1 comment
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GatheringBooks
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#CoverStories Day 8: #Trees - entire premise of this book is intriguing - the way the group of translators hero-worship Irena Ray, their beloved author, is almost cult-like, even their regular gathering with all the rules and their calling each other by their languages was strange. While the other #Tob25 title Colored Television was more of a page-turner, this is still holding my interest, though it is a bit of a struggle finishing it. #LitsyToB25

squirrelbrain It‘s a weird one! 4w
Eggs 💙🌳💚 4w
BkClubCare Mmmm cheesecake 4w
BkClubCare I was along for the ride and felt my appreciation grow with learning more about the author. Almost meta-fusion?! LOL (I made that up) 4w
MaleficentBookDragon That looks delicious! 🤤 4w
53 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

This was one of the books from the #WPNF25 list I was most excited for and it did not disappoint. It‘s a banger of a book, detailing the life of Polish resistance fighter Elzbieta Zawacka in WWII and beyond. She was a remarkable woman. If you love historical fiction but are wary of NF, give this one a try.

squirrelbrain Great review! This is one I still need to get to…. 1mo
charl08 Reading this really slowly (the hardback is not designed for handbags!) 3w
50 likes4 stack adds2 comments
blurb
JuniperWilde
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First book by this author and won‘t be my last. It‘s such a uniquely bookish feeling when I find a writers whose catalogue I know I‘ll devour. 📖

BarbaraBB My absolute favorite by her! (edited) 1mo
JuniperWilde @BarbaraBB I am loving it so far. Is there another you‘d recommend? 1mo
BarbaraBB I enjoyed this one too but not as much as Plough: 1mo
11 likes3 comments