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A review by irissantos
Swans Are Fat Too by Michelle Granas
5.0
A marvellous book, hard to write down in words.
A simple plot, that doesn't sound too promising turns out to be one of the best books I've ever read.
After the death of Natalia Lanski, a great Polish pianist, her granddaughter Hania flies back from New York, where she works as a piano teacher to - initially - attend the funeral and spend some time with her Polish family, with whom she hasn't been since she was six.
She finds the house upside down with two chaotic children - Maks and Kalina - to be taken care of, for her dismay. Their father is a famous pianist, traveling through Europe on gigs, while their mother is a painter. But they're the worst parents one could wish for, they're negligent and totally unaware (purposedly) of their children's behaviour. Maks and Kalina were accostumed to being left alone for weeks or even months, being left unattended and ignored by their parents.
Hania finds out that their parents won't be coming back any time soon so she is in charge of them. Needless to say that these children have no idea of what respect is or what it represents. Hania is probably the most patient character I've ever seen in a book, never giving up on them, knowing they were not her responsibility and taking care of them with her own short income.
In the meantime she meets her upstairs neighbour - Konstanty - who is a doctor with a deep passion for History. He hands her annotations of his texts in Polish to be translated into English and a beautiful romance flourishes out of this interaction. As they keep exchanging e-mails, they fall in love. But Hania doesn't feel any good about her looks: she's obese and it affects her views in many levels in her life, including her love life.
Although there is a minor plot hole in the story, this is a great read for Summer or for the weekend. Not only I fell in live with Hania's character - that really emphasizes that looks are not everything -, but I ended up learning a few things about Poland's history, which I knew nothing about!
Two words: READ IT!
I totally recommend it. I wouldn't if it wasn't good enough. If you read some of my reviews - specially on romance lit - you will see that in that matter I'm hardly pleased.
I hope you have a great time reading it.
A simple plot, that doesn't sound too promising turns out to be one of the best books I've ever read.
After the death of Natalia Lanski, a great Polish pianist, her granddaughter Hania flies back from New York, where she works as a piano teacher to - initially - attend the funeral and spend some time with her Polish family, with whom she hasn't been since she was six.
She finds the house upside down with two chaotic children - Maks and Kalina - to be taken care of, for her dismay. Their father is a famous pianist, traveling through Europe on gigs, while their mother is a painter. But they're the worst parents one could wish for, they're negligent and totally unaware (purposedly) of their children's behaviour. Maks and Kalina were accostumed to being left alone for weeks or even months, being left unattended and ignored by their parents.
Hania finds out that their parents won't be coming back any time soon so she is in charge of them. Needless to say that these children have no idea of what respect is or what it represents. Hania is probably the most patient character I've ever seen in a book, never giving up on them, knowing they were not her responsibility and taking care of them with her own short income.
In the meantime she meets her upstairs neighbour - Konstanty - who is a doctor with a deep passion for History. He hands her annotations of his texts in Polish to be translated into English and a beautiful romance flourishes out of this interaction. As they keep exchanging e-mails, they fall in love. But Hania doesn't feel any good about her looks: she's obese and it affects her views in many levels in her life, including her love life.
Although there is a minor plot hole in the story, this is a great read for Summer or for the weekend. Not only I fell in live with Hania's character - that really emphasizes that looks are not everything -, but I ended up learning a few things about Poland's history, which I knew nothing about!
Two words: READ IT!
I totally recommend it. I wouldn't if it wasn't good enough. If you read some of my reviews - specially on romance lit - you will see that in that matter I'm hardly pleased.
I hope you have a great time reading it.