Mirosław Żuławski. Opowieśći mojej żony/Tales of My Wife is a glossed reader containing 20 short stories by the late Polish writer and diplomat Mirosław Żulławski. Loosely connected to the nostalgia-enhanced but true history of a Polish family over four generations, first in the Przemyśl area under Austro-Hungary and eventually in Warsaw during and after World War II, each "tale" takes departure from some social gathering at which the narrator's wife is reluctantly prevailed upon to tell a story to which she has alluded in conversation. Partly funny, partly philosophical, sometimes moving, often with unexpected twists and morals and tinged with irony, the stories reflect a belief in the ultimate sense of the way things turn out in life. Rich in concrete everyday vocabulary, the opowieśći are narrated in a simple direct conversational style, ideal for recitation and retelling. They are course-tested and are guaranteed to be read with pleasure by the advanced-intermediate or advanced-level student of Polish, whether as a supplement or as the primary text in a semester-long reading, writing, and conversation course. Occasional difficult passages and cultural obscurities are explained in notes, and the text is enhanced by several pages of photographs relating to places mentioned, some of them taken by the editor on a bicycle trip through the sub-Carpathians, recapturing the backdrop of several of the stories.
For additional materials, visit the author's website at: http://lektorek.org
