An entertaining look at the life of a diplomat's wife in Poland, giving insight into the diplomatic service, the problems it can cause for those caught up in it as well as life in Poland.

Sadly this wasn’t for me - I couldn’t get into it & didn’t finish it but am grateful for the chance to read & review

I've always wondered what a diplomat's life would be like. Jay Martin tells the story of her experiences while living in Poland for three years. Vodka and Apple Juice was exactly as I thought it would be, a lot of rumor, drinking, entertaining, and adjusting to a life you aren't used to. This book was filled with much humor and that is what helped move this story along.

I tried multiple times to get into this book, unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I had a hard time connecting with the author's voice and the story and just found myself not really interested. I'm sure it's a great book and I'll definitely mention it if someone is talking about this style of book.

A very humorous account that isn't seen often as a view from a diplomat's wife. It's a refreshing side of international diplomacy that isn't heard about often enough.

I wanted to love Vodka and Apple Juice based on the description but I couldn't get through this one... not sure what it was but was unable to finish it.

Jay Martin provides a glimpse into the life of a diplomatic spouse through a series of anecdotes. Lacking in narrative drive, but heartfelt and sometimes illuminating. As a diplomatic spouse in Europe, I found it interesting how vastly different our experiences are. Martin's account likely solidifies the ideas many Americans already have about diplomatic life as a glamorous existence, while the reality of diplomatic postings for many families is far more difficult, not to mention mundane.

As I am about to join the foreign service, I thoroughly enjoyed this inside look at a diplomatic lifestyle

A fascinating look at a trailing spouse's life in Poland when her novice diplomat husband is posted there. I love reading an outsider's perspective on Central Europe and Martin is eager to observe all she can. Her enthusiastic approach to her new life contrasts with her husband's growing depression and the conflict this divide places on their marriage. A really wonderful chronicle of life in modern Poland and the surreal life of diplomats abroad.

Jay Martin’s Vodka and Apple Juice is more than just the author’s account as a diplomat’s non working wife in the Australian Embassy in Warsaw, Poland over a period of three years. She recounts what it means to work in diplomatic circles: the punishing hours, the endless protocol and security snares juxtaposed with social events; there are the perks of getting travel opportunities but bringing with it, the after effects on her marriage brought on by hectic hours of work and the stress that comes with it.

The first chapters come across as light reading but this light tone soon changes to one of genuine puzzlement as she tries to comprehend the language and the people that she encounters in her daily life even as she is facing the challenge of trying to fit in to the life of household chores but found wanting by her husband. We get to know more of the landscape of Poland through Martin’s travels and her interactions in a reading group that gives us a brief introduction to Polish literature and writing as also Polish films.

Filled with amusing insights and anecdotes, Vodka and Apple Juice is an engaging read with its heart in the right place. I loved this book for it gives us not just a slice of the author’s life but also the lessons she discovers while complaining, learning, assimilating and finally, understanding a new culture. I will recommend this book for people who love reading about different cultures and who are looking at travelling to Poland anytime soon or in the future.

This wasn't my typical read but once I started I was hooked. Not only did I learn a huge amount about Poland and the reality of being an ex-pat but the author made the realities of life sound humourous with the odd dose of reality. You really noticed the author's enjoyment in discovering a new way of life, understood her hesitations and frustrations but also the simple things she could celebrate. No plot but a healthy story line that came to a natural conclusion leaving you feeling very satisfied. Highly recommended reading.

“Vodka and Apple Juice: Travels of an Undiplomatic Wife in Poland” by Jay Martin won the 2018 City of Fremantle T.A.G. Hungerford Award for Best First Manuscript, deservedly. This engaging memoir recounts three years in the life of a “trailing spouse” who leaves the corporate Canberra world for a challenging stint as a diplomat’s wife in Europe. Written with great grace, candor and good humor. 5/5

Pub Date 01 Sep 2018

Thanks to Fremantle Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#VodkaAndAppleJuice #NetGalley

A copy of this book was given to me via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vodka and Apple Juice is the fun, fascinating memoir by Jay Martin, who lived in Poland for three years on a diplomatic posting from her native Australia. Now, I’ve never been particularly interested in Poland, per se, but having been an expat for a (very small) amount of time, I do have a thirst for expat memoirs, and this one really hit the spot.

Martin’s voice is friendly and easy, and the book itself, though Martin does explore some of the downsides of living away from one’s home country and having a high-pressure job – or a spouse with a high-pressure job – overall the book is very enthusiastic about Poland and the expat experience. Martin’s enjoyment in exploring her new country is palpable, making for a rollicking adventure of a read. I loved the small bits about finding familiar objects, working out how to function on a day-to-day basis and so on. The author’s exploration of the history of the area piqued my curiosity as well, but mostly, I became very nostalgic for that sense of adventure that one feels when navigating a foreign country, culture, and language.

While Poland was never really on my radar, Vodka and Apple Juice truly brings the country to life. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader interested in travel stories or travel memoirs – or diplomatic memoirs, specifically.

Author Jay Martin documents her three years in Poland as an ambassodor’s Wife in this extremely detailed memoir. I definitely felt for her as she struggled to learn the language, familiarize herself with the city, and learn the customs of a new country. In addition to all of that, she had to attend formal events and support her husband, the Australian ambassador to Poland, in whatever ways that were required. She did all this after giving up her career, family, friends and dog in Australia.

This memoir felt a little too detailed at times, I couldn’t really tell what the point was, other than just a diary of her time in Poland. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in European history or polish history more specifically.

*thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This is a solid 5 star read! Not in the sense of a generational lifetime classic, but certainly in the sense of a very well-written book about a situation most do not experience and how this author gets through it and comes out the other side. As someone who has considered moving to another country, albeit not in the diplomatic corps, I found Martin's tale to be entertaining, enlightening, and at times frightening and frustrating. Highly recommended. My thanks to the publisher and to #NetGalley for an advance copy. Greatly appreciated and enjoyed!

Poland is a country I have never visited but, having a number of Polish friends, and having partaken of the odd Vodka and Apple Juice or two, I was keen to read this.
Martin's style of writing is not one that encourages thigh-slapping merriment but it is an engaging and honest account of her life in Poland and .the characters she meets. My one regret from my reading is that I am now totally convinced I will never be able to learn the language but, adversely, I am more than ever determined to make a trip there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fremantle Press for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an memoir by the wife of an Australian diplomat living as an expat in Warsaw, Poland. Determined to make the best of her three years abroad, Jay Martin tries to learn Polish (and becomes surprisingly fluent), and tries to make the most of her stay in this very foreign country. She makes friends with some unlikely other expat wives and learns how to make a very satisfying life for herself and her husband. When her marriage seems to be falling apart, she manages to bring it back from the brink of disaster, and both she and her husband return to Australia knowing themselves and each other better than when they left, having, overall, had a grand adventure.

Ms. Martin is a gifted writer and made her experiences both relatable and real. This was a wonderful read.

Good travel memoir about the wife of a diplomat. A different view on the travel/relocation memoir. Not like anything I'd read before.

I enjoyed this because I'm always interested in expat memoirs especially in places like Poland that I feel like we hear little about in the US. It was a typical fish out of water type story but it was well written and well-paced.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this travel memoir from Australian Jay Martin documenting her three year stay in Poland. Her husband Tom, who was Australian’s diplomat in Warsaw was supremely busy why Martin struggled with her years “not working”, traveling, learning Polish, and keeping their marriage together. Martin has a good sense of humor and this was a quick read. Recommended for travel and language lovers; Polish and Australians and diplomats.

Pub date Sept 1.