the guilt of innocents
Author : Agata Tuszyńska
Title : Vera Gran The Accused
Published : 26/02/2013
Pages : 305
Genre : Biography
Publisher : Knopf Publishing Group
The extraordinary, controversial story of Vera Gran, beautiful, exotic prewar Polish singing star; legendary sensual contralto; Dietrich-like in tone, favorite of the 1930's Warsaw nightclubs, celebrated before, and during, her year in the Warsaw ghetto
Vera Gran first came to attention after having watched the film the pianist. While she does not appear in this film it is based on someone she once worked with. So it was when reading about Władysław Szpilman that I came to learn her name. And also the controversy that surrounded her. She sounded like someone that had a lot to deal with in her life and most certainly did not have the easiest of rides. This was a woman that I want to try and learn a bit more about so after some digging I came across a second-hand copy an immediately purchased it.
This was most certainly, unlike any biography I have read before. Whereas most biographers solely focus on the facts and anecdotes of someone's life this book carry's with it much more of the author than I was first expecting. I think this is mostly due to the way in which she came to her subject matter and how she learned of Vera's life. She spent the last of Vera's life trying to get to the bottom of her truth, But in the reading of this book, I got to learn that this was not an easy task. When Agata comes to meet her she is a frail and paranoid old woman. Someone who has spent her time fighting to clear her name and convince the world she did not collaborate with the Nazi regime. As someone of the Jewish faith, you can only imagine how it must feel to be accused of collaboration and how ultimately it can affect your very soul.
Much of the text is taken up by this very struggle in the countless court battles and letter writings. Most of this is backed up by documents that verify what Vera tells her. There are also times when her subject seems to veer off into speculation and accusation. This is the bases for much of the controversy that surrounds the book when it was published. To me, it felt like a giant mud slinging contest and overshadowed the women her self. After doing a bit more digging it seems a court case was settled and not her favor. One can not lay the blame for this at the author's feet as she was reproducing what Vera had told her. Still, she came across as someone with an interesting yet difficult life. It showed a different light as to how she managed to survive the occupation of Poland. As she says her self when you are famous for the war you can not simply hide and hope they will not find you. But it is in these very actions that her accusers level there argument at.
When I came to the end of this book I was left not only with many questions but also a mixed sense of emotion towards Vera. The sad truth is that the only people that truly know what she did or didn't do are now gone. And we are left with a portrait of women who could never truly outrun her past. While the fate that befell her during those years of occupation certainly had there fair share of tragic events she continued to suffer long after never truly finding peace. I do wish that a little more time had been devoted to her time on the stage as I think this would have been a fascinating story. Also giving insight into prewar Poland. All thought this may be a subject for another book. What you get is an insight into a woman whose life is now mostly forgotten. How much you chose to take a face value I guess is up to you. For me, this was a book worth spending a little time with.
Vera Gran first came to attention after having watched the film the pianist. While she does not appear in this film it is based on someone she once worked with. So it was when reading about Władysław Szpilman that I came to learn her name. And also the controversy that surrounded her. She sounded like someone that had a lot to deal with in her life and most certainly did not have the easiest of rides. This was a woman that I want to try and learn a bit more about so after some digging I came across a second-hand copy an immediately purchased it.
This was most certainly, unlike any biography I have read before. Whereas most biographers solely focus on the facts and anecdotes of someone's life this book carry's with it much more of the author than I was first expecting. I think this is mostly due to the way in which she came to her subject matter and how she learned of Vera's life. She spent the last of Vera's life trying to get to the bottom of her truth, But in the reading of this book, I got to learn that this was not an easy task. When Agata comes to meet her she is a frail and paranoid old woman. Someone who has spent her time fighting to clear her name and convince the world she did not collaborate with the Nazi regime. As someone of the Jewish faith, you can only imagine how it must feel to be accused of collaboration and how ultimately it can affect your very soul.
Much of the text is taken up by this very struggle in the countless court battles and letter writings. Most of this is backed up by documents that verify what Vera tells her. There are also times when her subject seems to veer off into speculation and accusation. This is the bases for much of the controversy that surrounds the book when it was published. To me, it felt like a giant mud slinging contest and overshadowed the women her self. After doing a bit more digging it seems a court case was settled and not her favor. One can not lay the blame for this at the author's feet as she was reproducing what Vera had told her. Still, she came across as someone with an interesting yet difficult life. It showed a different light as to how she managed to survive the occupation of Poland. As she says her self when you are famous for the war you can not simply hide and hope they will not find you. But it is in these very actions that her accusers level there argument at.
When I came to the end of this book I was left not only with many questions but also a mixed sense of emotion towards Vera. The sad truth is that the only people that truly know what she did or didn't do are now gone. And we are left with a portrait of women who could never truly outrun her past. While the fate that befell her during those years of occupation certainly had there fair share of tragic events she continued to suffer long after never truly finding peace. I do wish that a little more time had been devoted to her time on the stage as I think this would have been a fascinating story. Also giving insight into prewar Poland. All thought this may be a subject for another book. What you get is an insight into a woman whose life is now mostly forgotten. How much you chose to take a face value I guess is up to you. For me, this was a book worth spending a little time with.
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