A Long Long Time Ago And Essentially True

This summary section includes Chapter 17: “Life As If,” Chapter 18: “The Cellar Under the Sheep,” Chapter 19: “Confessions,” Chapter 20: “The Difference Between Matrimony and Pierogi Ruskie,” and Chapter 21: “And What Are We to Do?”

As the war starts to take a toll on neighboring communities, the residents of Half-Village stick together. Czesław learns that Marysia’s entire shtetl was wiped out. The neighbors feel great pity for her and stop thinking of her as the Jewish convert. Shortly afterward, she gives birth to a daughter, whom they name Irena. The people of the region establish a Resistance network and maintain their allegiance to each other despite the Nazi invaders in their midst.

When Beata awakens the morning after Magda’s return, she’s surprised that the sniping between mother and daughter has ceased. Irena is more optimistic now that Magda is applying herself, and she proposes going to a local cabaret called The Cellar Under the Sheep. The three women agree to meet there on Saturday night, but only Magda and Beata show up. Once the performances start, Beata is enthralled and wishes Nela was alive to see them with her. Afterward, Beata feels a stronger connection to Magda, and the two confide in each other for the first time: “The bond between Irena and me developed slowly [...] but my friendship with Magda is forged in that one night” (132).

During the second year of the war, the village begins to feel the strain. Everyone is involved in the resistance, and Czesław is frequently away from the Hetmański farm. On one return trip, he brings the chalice used for communion in the church. The Nazis have taken over the building as a munitions warehouse. Czesław gives the ciborium to Anielica, instructing her to keep it safe.

By August, Beata, Magda, and Irena have worked out an amicable relationship in the small flat. Irena takes in tourist boarders, and Magda now works at the music club with Beata to earn extra money. One evening, Tadeusz gives Beata a video camera from his parents’ shop. She’s fascinated by the device but doesn’t know what to film with it aside from taping episodes of Dynasty for Pani Bożena.

During the war’s fourth year, the strain is taking a toll on everyone. Baby Irena continues to grow and thrive under Marysia and Anielica’s care, while Czesław and Władysław make their rounds for the resistance. Many older people have died because of the increasing hardship, leaving the younger generation in charge: “The same generation who had at the beginning of the war asked, ‘And what are we to do?’ began answering their own question, bravely, decisively, relentlessly” (144-45). Pan and Pani Hetmański plan a five-day trip to a nearby town to trade for the supplies they need. They tell Marysia and Anielica to stay close to home and even instruct little Irena to shut the door if strangers come by.

This summary section includes Chapter 22: “And What Are We to Do?,” Chapter 23: “Everything Will Be Okay,” Chapter 24: “Załatwić,” and Chapter 25: “Not Life.”

By September, Beata starts pondering her future and thinks about going to college. Meanwhile, Kinga returns from Italy after the au pair agency doesn’t work out. She plans to go to England next. In the meantime, she’ll tend bar at Stash’s along with the other two girls. After their Friday night movie date, Tadeusz encourages Beata to start filming something and suggests that she apply to film school in Łódź. The following Monday, Magda learns that she failed the exam. Rather than being depressed, she immediately makes plans to reapply as a paying student in the next term. She’s determined to become a prosecutor because a career in law is all she’s ever wanted. This aspiration starts Beata thinking about Łódź again. All the film studios are there, and Pani Bożena used to know people in the industry. On Wednesday, Beata suggests filming the old woman, who readily agrees. She’s still reliving her glory days as a starlet from decades earlier. When Bożena watches the footage that Beata shot of her, she gets depressed to see what she has become.

When Czesław returns to the Hetmański farm after being absent for days, he’s shocked by the scene that greets him. Both Marysia and Anielica are nude and tied up, the rape victims of two Nazis. Before the Nazis arrived, everyone was in the cellar, but Anielica ran out to secure the ciborium. She was caught, and Marysia tried unsuccessfully to rescue her. Then, Marysia’s Jewish family, who had been hiding in the cellar all these years, tried to intervene and got captured. Czesław manages to shoot the two Nazis. Marysia’s father and brother drag the bodies into the woods to bury them and burn all the evidence of their presence. For some time, Anielica is too traumatized to speak.

By October, Beata has worked as a bartender for six months. Her monotonous existence continues, with no end in sight. She suggests to Tadeusz that Irena might use her contacts to get him a clarinet audition at the cabaret. While this could constitute his big break, he seems listless and distracted and leaves hurriedly. At home, Beata asks Irena to arrange an audition, but Irena says that she wants something in return. Magda knows English, and Beata must convince her to write replies to all the thank-you notes Irena received from foreign guests over the years. Beata calls her bluff, and the girls force Irena to answer the mail by using Magda as her English translator. In sorting through the correspondence, they discover a sympathy letter regarding the death of Irena’s husband. Beata leaves the apartment to let mother and daughter process this bit of news.

When the Hetmański parents return to the village, they learn of the horror that occurred in their absence. Czesław reassures Pan Hetmański that he intends to marry Anielica as soon as the war is over. Her father is particularly worried about Anielica’s mental state. However, she rallies, and her bond with Marysia grows even stronger because of the trauma they experienced together.