For There is Hope
By Martin Stepek
Published by
Fleming Publications
ISBN 9780955650734
Category Historical
Summer 2013
Synopsis
This book is about Martin Stepek's Polish ancestors' experiences in labour camps during the Second World War and it is illustrated by fascinating sketches of eviction, deportation and life in those camps and photographs of Martin's family.
Author's Biography
artin Stepek co-owned the electrical goods retailer J. Stepek Ltd which his father Jan founded. In 2003 he was elected leader of the Scottish Green Party. He left politics to co-found the Scottish Family Business Association and in 2011 won a prestigious
Reviews
"...this book should be on every table where Poland is discussed, and the brave dead are remembered."
Neal Ascherson.
"...the family background which inspired and underpins the story speaks like a candle glow in the darkness of the telling." Eleanor Livingstone.
this astonishing poem... is at once a monument, a meditation, a prayer and an epic... The poem is a prayer, not only for Poland... but for all peoples and places in all times which have known displacement and suffering. Tender and impassioned - and sensitively translated into Polish on the facing pages - this book should be on every table where Poland is discussed, and the brave dead are remembered
Neal Ascherson
Powerful and compelling... like a candle glow in the darkness of the telling
Eleanor Livingstone, Festival Director of StAnza, Scotland's annual international poetry festival says of the book
Reader Comments
absorbing account of a family torn apart by war. the sources on line from America enabled Martin to obtain so many records. the author pays respect to the polish and Scottish heritage in haunting poetic form. I was at the presentation in Inverness where the audience with both Polish and other nationalities were overwhelmed by the beautiful writing,I am happy to vote for this book.
Beautifully written and deeply moving. A stark reminder of the atrocities that the human race are capable of inflicting.
A heartbreaking history from a kind and genuine man.
Must read...passionate, emotional, thought provoking, will change the way you perceive the past and present and future. Strongly recommending. With compliments to Martin Stepek.
A very moving and heartfelt story. Amazing how they managed to survive physically and mentally. Makes one very humble.
very original and heartfelt
A remarkable piece of work and a very sensitive account of a little understood and reported period of the 20th Century. We in the United Kingdom need to understand this part of our history more thoroughly. Thank you Martin Stepek for this insight.
Poignant and evocative
Well done that man. Love from Andrew.
This is a book to read and re-read, slowly and mindfully, savouring the images, emotions, pain and triumphs it evokes. Martin Stepek's epic poem about his Polish family's experiences during WW2 gives us all the chance to imagine ourselves in the place of those who endured the horrors of deportation and enslavement and to wonder if we would have had the courage, resilience, determination or even the luck needed to survive.
For Polish people past and present
Read it in one sitting. It made me weep and gasp in its sadness,,,, in the author's great love for what he had lost. But the book itself is a wonderful homage, allowing his family to be alive again. It made me weep for my own Polish family and for my own mother, who although died in Scotland in 2008, had her spirit and heart and body abused in that same war.
Heart breaking and inspiring in equal measure, as the author intended, even more poignant because the story is so unfamiliar to many in the west
i'm reminded of the terrible stories my Mothers lovely Polish employer told us when i was very young which just make it hit even harder
Extremely moving poetic words which gives an insight into a much ignored chapter of world war 2 history.
Well written.
Reminds of my own family.
Martin is a very gifted author, and he has found a way to honor the hardships experienced by his father and his family in a very unique way. He has also brought this history to many who have been unaware of this chapter in Polish history.
Graphic and moving
A wonderfully moving book with a very apt title.
A fabulous collection - it speaks of the love and respect that the author has for his father and his relatives as well as reflecting on the horrors of the Soviet and the Nazi regimes.
Have recommended this to colleagues and students.
Thank you Martin for sharing your personal experience
Deeply moving and expressed from the heart and soul.
Stong first-hand story of real horror. beautifully written with love and understanding