LIVING THROUGH IT TWICE
REVIEWS
"Lety by Písek? I never heard of the place."
Paul Polansky’s chilling testimony of the concentration camp in Lety by Písek is all the more frightening since it’s presented in such a conversational tone. It records the testimonies of those Romanies who survived the Lety camp or the recollections of their children. Czech literature might have as few as two books that can match Polansky’s: David’s Star by Jirí Weil and Black Lyre by Jirí Kolár. Ladies and Gentlemen, hold on to your hats, this ride’ll freeze you to the bone.
Ivan M. Jirous
Paul Polansky’s spare, stark renderings of Romany survivors’ voices have the hardness of memorial stone. But in reading them, the stone dissolves and something infinitely tender and unspeakable takes its place. The restraint and hardness hold in the tears – just barely. The Romany Holocaust, the Czech Romany Holocaust, the denial of it by the Havel government, the repetition of history today – these unknowns are thrown into sharp relief by Polansky’s unblinking gaze. When we see what he sees, we no longer have an excuse to avert our eyes.
Andrei Codrescu, NPR commentator, author of "The Hole in the Flag: A Romanian’s Tale of Exile and Revolution".
PAUL POLANSKY