Ever heard the joke, ‘Start worrying. Details to follow’? Mikolaj Lozinski’s ‘My Name is Stramer’ brings that dark humor to life in a stunning Jewish tragicomedy. Follow a Polish family’s journey through the 20th century, filled with wry wit, tough choices, and unexpected turns. How do you find hope when everything points to despair?
Mikolaj Lozinski’s “My Name is Stramer” stands as a compelling work of Polish literature, offering a vivid portrayal of a Jewish family navigating the profound turbulence of the early 20th century. This novel masterfully intertwines profound humor with underlying despair, capturing the essence of their struggle in a unique tragicomedy.
The narrative is imbued with a distinctive “deathly humor,” epitomized by the recurring phrase, “Good, but not hopeless,” which ambiguously reflects the precarious nature of existence. This weary comedy echoes the famous Jewish telegram joke, “Start worrying. Details to follow,” setting a poignant yet wry tone for the unfolding historical fiction.
At the heart of this family saga are Nathan, his wife Rywka, and their children, whose individual stories are interwoven through a cyclical narrative. While the perspective shifts rapidly at times, the novel’s strength lies in moments where Lozinski grants each episode the necessary space to develop fully, enriching the reader’s understanding of their lives.
Nathan’s entrepreneurial spirit leads him to open “The Stramers” café on Tarnow’s posh Goldhammer Street. This venture provides some of the book’s most tense and funny episodes, from the anxious wait for the first customer to Nathan’s ingenious, if ill-fated, solution of sawing chair legs to deter “coffee-shop campers,” illustrating the tragicomedy in everyday life.
Geopolitical forces inescapably intrude upon the Stramer family, reflecting the broader anxieties of Jewish history in Europe. Faced with escalating antisemitism, some family members gravitate towards the perceived safety of Soviet communism, while others champion Zionism, sparking internal debates that mirror the ideological schisms of the 20th century.
As the century progresses, the narrative tone darkens considerably. Reports of synagogues being burnt and German raids on Jewish homes become stark reminders of the escalating peril. The initial humor gradually dissipates, giving way to a chilling sense of dread, transforming the earlier jokes into ominous prophecies.
The setting of Tarnow, not far from Auschwitz, casts a long, somber shadow over the family’s journey. The once lighthearted “Start worrying. Details to follow” now resonates with the chilling historical reality of the Nazis’ most notorious crimes, underscoring the tragic climax awaiting many European Jews during this period.
Lozinski’s prose is characterized by a wise, world-weary, and wry sensibility, imbuing the story with an authenticity that makes it feel like a rediscovered classic of Polish literature, despite its contemporary publication in 2019. The novel’s voice is deeply rooted in its historical context.
Ultimately, “My Name is Stramer” emerges as a powerful historical fiction and a profound family saga. It brilliantly combines elements of tragicomedy with a meticulous depiction of a pivotal era in Jewish history, leaving readers with a poignant understanding of resilience, humor, and immense loss in the face of insurmountable odds.
