A Country in the Moon
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Review
'Erudite, humbling and rhapsodic A... No thinking traveller interested in Poland should overlook this essential book.' Guardian'Moran is a sensitive, intelligent companion, as able to capture the rapacious spirit and chaotic conditions of modern Poland as he is the mournful, savage ghosts of its past. The result is moving and absorbing' Metro 'A Country in the Moon is literary travel writing at its best: elegiac, informative and profound. It's probably the best travel book I will read this year.' Wanderlust'A well-crafted, spirited and original polonaise, triumphantly balancing humour with scholarship' Observer'There is so much to admire in this well-researched and hugely entertaining book, and so much to learnA...if you fancy elegant erudition, A Country in the Moon is a three-star feast' - Time Out
Wanderlust magazine
'Literary travel writing at its best: elegiac, informative and profound... probably the best travel book I will read this year.'
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you want to read a well-written book about Poland that digs deeper than the usual superficialities, then here's a good place to start. Moran clearly fell in love with the country as well as with a Pole. He writes clearly and informatively about places, people and language; he has an eye for detail and great sensitivity to the complexities of the culture and history of the country and the region, which many non-Poles have difficulty with, and which we should be grateful for. In some ways it's a curious read, as he mingles his work and personal life with his travels and explorations of the country, but in the end the whole works well and reads well and the picture of Poland is the richer for it. And then, when you want more, links for further reading are there, in this very erudite and readable book.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am sure that Edmund Burke was correct in his assessment of Poland as `a country in the moon'. It seems to be a country of very remarkable features, as is the moon if current exploration is to be believed.
Michael Moran's deathbed pledge to his concert pianist uncle to travel to Poland has been redeemed a thousand-fold I would say. His homage to Chopin's country is, in its own right, a polonaise because it "breathes and paints the whole national character" (Brodzinski) from the sublime (the national pride, courage and resilience) through the villainous (crooks, collaborators with the enemy etc.) to the ridiculous (petty bureaucracy including the police and licensing agencies etc.). He has certainly sought out and found the very Heart of Poland I feel.
Stendhal's pseudonymous observation that "a travel diary should be full of sensations" is eloquently upheld by this book - it is amazingly atmospheric. The visit to the concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau is a particularly poignant example of this. Of course I was already aware of the horrors of this place but Moran's description has left an even greater indelible impression than I had before. It should never be forgotten.
The book is so well written that one is finally left with a very positive view of a very proud nation with an indomitable spirit underpinned by a deep-seated faith. In conclusion I would say that Michael Moran has captured the Zeitgeist of the Poland of today and, indeed, of yesterday and of tomorrow.
Michael Moran's deathbed pledge to his concert pianist uncle to travel to Poland has been redeemed a thousand-fold I would say. His homage to Chopin's country is, in its own right, a polonaise because it "breathes and paints the whole national character" (Brodzinski) from the sublime (the national pride, courage and resilience) through the villainous (crooks, collaborators with the enemy etc.) to the ridiculous (petty bureaucracy including the police and licensing agencies etc.). He has certainly sought out and found the very Heart of Poland I feel.
Stendhal's pseudonymous observation that "a travel diary should be full of sensations" is eloquently upheld by this book - it is amazingly atmospheric. The visit to the concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau is a particularly poignant example of this. Of course I was already aware of the horrors of this place but Moran's description has left an even greater indelible impression than I had before. It should never be forgotten.
The book is so well written that one is finally left with a very positive view of a very proud nation with an indomitable spirit underpinned by a deep-seated faith. In conclusion I would say that Michael Moran has captured the Zeitgeist of the Poland of today and, indeed, of yesterday and of tomorrow.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found this book excellent, a very good introduction to Polish history and probably the best guidebook of Poland I have ever read. Also a good reminder for me as a Polish person, what Poland used to be like in early 1990s - good those days are gone... Highly recommended.
Cheers
Cheers
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Entertaining, informative, brilliant
I was told about this book by a long time Polish expat in NZ and bought it having read some of the reviews. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Scott Fannen
Brilliant
This is an exceedingly intelligent, well written, witty book with a splendid vocabulary...absolutely fascinating. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Henri IV
Insight to Poland and it's people and history
Being half Polish on my fathers side sadly I have never really tried to understand the mind set of the Polish people or ever looked into the history of this country apart from the... Read more
Published 18 months ago by raminski
An insight into monumental change
Now we seem blaze to the fact that the Iron Curtain no longer exists. It is also quite difficult for western europeans to fully understand the changes that affected the lives of... Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by Trajik
Best book on this subject I have yet read.
Despite some flaws, no other book or article I've read seems to so completely encapsulate the stubborn and romantic nature of modern-day Poles. Read more
Published on 27 May 2009 by Phil
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