My Book

Bored with his high powered job, for one of the largest companies in the world based at its Global headquarters in Paris, Englishman (suggest a name) quits with the intention of starting his own Charity Foundation.

Living in the trendy St Germain district of Paris but going through a tricky separation with his ex-partner and mother of his 3 children who are based in The Hague, Holland the narrator announces he is getting married to a stunning mixed Polish and Somalian who is 19 years his junior and bi-sexual. His ex flips on hearing this and is hell belt on taking him to the cleaners. They temporarily relocate to Poland where his future wife’s mother, a village Doctor lives with her surgeon partner and other members of her family.

Having to navigate through the problems associated with a country and its people steeped in religion, still getting to grips with overcoming communism, and coming to terms with being one of Europe’s newest members whilst being in a mixed cultural relationship with a wide age difference to someone, whom, because of her skin colour, is also an alien in her own country, the narrator deals with an alcohol addiction, the prospect of not seeing his children for months, losing his assets and having to find new employment as he is drawn to the Polish people and their culture.

The prose is full of humorous, eccentric, funny and affectionate people and events that occur as the author recounts the every day activities from making a decision to permanently relocate from Paris to Warsaw (but struggling to make it a reality because of the financial issues associated with the separation in Holland), making the wedding arrangements and getting married in a small Polish Town, getting to know his future wife’s family and the different personalities of the villagers and struggling with a language that makes learning Dutch simple.

Working Title (book un-named) Introduces the author’s future wife a mixed race beauty, who is an accomplished photographer but has little self-belief. Her mother the local village GP, Barbara or Basia as she is known to her friends, who has an uncanny resemblance to Princess Diana and a character as zany as Mrs Bucket from Keeping up Appearances. Basia’s partner, Josef, a surgeon and hypochondriac with more medical equipment, around his favourite chair than there is inside a medical theatre. His future wife’s younger sister, Kafi, who always wants to be the centre of attention and her grandmother (Babcia), a survivor of the war with a clear memory of rations which have shaped her hospitality and obsession with food. Anka a weed smoking bi-sexual fashion designer, ex lover of the author’s future wife and family friend! The villagers including a Lawyer struggling with the loss of her husband, who died with debts leaving her to face the problems of creditors, possibly losing her marital home and the unfinished house they have been building for 25 years. A gynaecologist, arrested for carrying out abortions, which are illegal in Poland a country where 70% of the population attend Mass on Sunday and Mati, her cousin a local businessman with connections inside the Government and high hopes of winning a lucrative contract for supplying foreign labour for the building work associated with the 2012 European championships.

The story offers a rare insight into the beautiful countryside and heritage of Poland at a time when over 2 million Polish people have taken up residency in other European Countries, many of those in Wielka Brytania or “Big Britain” as translated from the Polish for Great Britain. This book (untitled) could do the same for a part of Poland as A Year in Provence did for that particular corner of France.

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Book 1 Will be followed by a sequel Dobra Coupa Man! A catch phrase used by the author and his wife’s Grandmother, Babcia, in the first novel, which translates into Good Shit Man! Dobra Coupa Man! will recount living in and setting up his own business in Warsaw, the progress of the marriage between the author and his wife and follow the stories of new friends and acquaintances from diverse cultures with updates of village life from Basia, Josef, Kafi, et al!