I'd Like to Say Sorry, but There's No One to Say Sorry To: Stories

Mikołaj Grynberg is a psychologist and photographer who has collected and published oral histories of Polish Jews. His first work of fiction, "Id Like to Say Sorry, but There's No One to Say Sorry To," is a collection of darkly funny stories that explore the panorama of Jewish experience in contemporary Poland. The book is a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards and the National Translation Award in Prose.

Format: Hardback
Length: 160 pages
Publication date: 30 June 2022
Publisher: The New Press

Mikołaj Grynberg is a psychologist and photographer who has dedicated years to collecting and publishing oral histories of Polish Jews. In his debut work of fiction, a book that has received widespread critical acclaim and was shortlisted for Poland's top literary prize, Grynberg reimagines those histories into captivating fictional short stories that possess a genuine ring of truth. Both poignant and astute, "Id Like to Say Sorry, but There's No One to Say Sorry To" takes the form of first-person vignettes, through which Grynberg delves into the daily lives and tensions within Poland between Jews and gentiles, haunted by the Holocaust and its enduring presence.

In "Unnecessary Trouble," a grandmother reveals on her deathbed that she is Jewish, causing her family to grapple with fear and the challenge of dealing with this newfound information. In "Cacophony," Jewish identity is explored through names, as Miron and his son Jurek demonstrate how heritage can be both embraced and rejected. In "My Five Jews," a non-Jewish narrator reflects on five interactions with her Jewish countrymen, as well as her own anti-Semitism, ruefully acknowledging that perhaps she was wrong and should apologize, but no one is left to say, "I'm sorry."

Each of the thirty-one stories in this collection is a dazzling and haunting masterpiece. Grynberg's prose is masterful, his characters are nuanced and relatable, and the themes he explores are thought-provoking and relevant to contemporary society. "Id Like to Say Sorry, but There's No One to Say Sorry To" is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of Jewish identity, history, and culture.

Weight: 274g
Dimension: 139 x 198 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781620976838