this was fine. i liked grynberg’s short stories better, but this was pretty much in the same vein – his approach to contemporary polish-jewish life is fascinating, although i wish the characters and ideas had been a little more developed.

Life is a work in progress.
Grynberg tells the story of three generations in a family in vignettes, with the first generation going through the Holocaust and the last generation living in today’s Poland. He follows them as they cycle through their life as sometimes the wheel is up and sometimes it is down, and it takes them with it in it’s up and down journey.
The heavy burden endured during the Holocaust has moulded the first generation, but it has also cast its deep dark shadow over the rest of the generations. The family ticks along despite this but still it’s shaping is there. We see the coping mechanisms, the rebellion, the nervous tics, the dark humour and we see the family continue day after day. Sometimes it’s a wash, rinse and repeat with each member dealing with what life throws at us be it school, work, relationships, illness, death. They (we) continue until they (we) do not.

An ARC kindly provided by author/publisher via Netgalley

An unflinchingly honest and blunt portrayal of the burdens life can place on you. Translated from Polish, the novel describes the lives of Jewish sons and daughters, fathers and mothers spanning multiple generations. The punctuated writing leaves no room for empathy from the reader and is interspersed with sardonic humor that cuts to the core of their issues. Though the characters are sometimes hard to track, the unfinished nature of the plot leads you to view the characters themselves as unfinished, existing outside the constructed narrative. Health issues, affairs, and achievement are all delivered in the same tone throughout the novel, leaving it up the reader to attribute emotion to their lives.

"Confidential" by Mikotaj Grynberg reads like a collection of stories that together form a novella. It offers a darkly humorous perspective on an intergenerational Jewish family in modern Poland. The book is infused with dark humor, which seems to be tied to trauma and coping mechanisms. At times, it can feel unsettling, as readers are thrust into intimate scenes within the family. The writing style is sparse yet impactful. Thank you to NetGalley and the New Press for the ARC.