You are cordially invited to hear Polish-American novelist Romuald Roman's delightful storytelling on April 20 at Booked in Chestnut Hill. Mr Roman will sign books after the talk.
About the Book
These twenty-one stories relate how an immigrant family embraces the American dream, with all its imperfections. ‘Aldek’, the narrator and observer, diffuses his underlying angst with humor. His plots, impelled by self-delusion and emotional projection, ring true.
Imagine a mash-up of Temple Grandin and Franz Kafka—if Kafka had a sense of humor. Like Kafka, Romuald Roman grew up under the thumb of incomprehensible bureaucracy. He’s a Pole fully aware of the absurdity of the Soviet-controlled society of his youth and the tragedy of Polish history. The Poland stories in this collection will provide readers with deep-felt yet humorous accounts of coming of age in an farcical society.
Roman has lived in Philadelphia for four decades, his boys were born and raised American and so, these stories offer an immigrant’s view of our own culture as well. Do we fare any better than his native Poland? Alas, his view of his adopted country is equally clear-eyed and ironic. When it comes to imperfections in family or society, Romuald Roman has a jeweler’s eye.
People need simple stories that touch the heartstrings. You’ll learn much from these charming yet profound narratives —how to lie to tell the truth, how to have a friendly conversation between reader and author, how to weave the absurd with the real, how to blend fantasy with reality.
The greatest reward of reading these compelling stories however is to meet their humorous, perceptive, animal-loving narrator, ‘Aldek’, one the most likable characters of modern fiction. I think you will find he makes a great friend.
About the Author
Romuald Roman, a popular Polish writer and long-time Chestnut Hill resident, will read from his first fiction in English, Aldek’s Bestiary, about life growing up in Poland and raising three children as an immigrant family in Philadelphia. An entertaining storyteller, Roman’s Polish-language novels are described as “pitch-perfect satire of the socialist system” by Tatra Quarterly. Published in November by up-and-coming Philadelphia publisher Chestnut Hill Press, Aldek’s Bestiary has excellent reviews:
“A dynamic short story collection… Heartfelt and inviting.” — Booklife by Publishers Weekly
“Lighthearted, displaying a wry wit...” — Kirkus Reviews
“Let me serve others by giving a brief respite from routine thoughts. I lack the material wealth to build a hospital or library, but if my animal stories make you relax and chuckle instead of worrying about problems, then I have succeeded far beyond Jeff Bezos, for he has only his billions, but I have a new friend.” — From the Preface
Here you’ll find the humorous plot twists and unusual characters of great fiction, but these tales touch on deeper truths about our psyches and our species. Barack Obama said, “literature and art remind us of our own folly, our presumptions, our selfishness and our shortsightedness. What books, art and stories can also do is remind you of the joys and hope and beauty we share.”* How did Barack Obama know exactly how to describe Aldek’s Bestiary? — *Michiko Kakutani, NY Times Book Review, 12/09/20