The tense opening chapter of this forceful and timely novel is set in the fall of 1981 in JBJukowo, a small village on the Vistula River in southeast Poland. Here an important meeting has been called for a group of militant farmers, led by Janko Buk, to present their grievances and demands to the Minister of Agriculture. Szynom Bukowski, and other Communist officials. When the farmers insist that the local Catholic bishop join the discussion, Warsaw orders a four-week adjournment. The final chapter is a continuation of the first. The main body of the book, placed between these two contemporary scenes, covers eight important periods of Polish history, from the thirteenth century to the present day--a succession of heroic efforts, sometimes victorious, often tragic, to repel Invaders.
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