The Best Polish Restaurant in Buffalo

What should we expect from the books we read anyway? The Best Polish Restaurant in Buffalo had me asking that question—in the best way possible, of course.

 

1

Must they all be international bestsellers?

2

Or at least New York Times bestsellers?

3

Perhaps they should end up on that USA Today Booklist?

4

Or an Amazon chart of some sort?

5

At the very minimum, shouldn’t they be on one of the front tables at Barnes & Noble?

6

Should we expect the book to be worthy of a movie?

7

Or at worst a Netflix miniseries?

8

And the author—shouldn’t they be kind of famous?

9

Or good looking and famous?

10

Shouldn’t they be able to support themselves on just writing?

11

Shouldn’t we disregard stuff by someone who needs another income stream?

12

Particularly if that stuff is self-published?

13

Or if it’s from one of those small presses?

14

Shouldn’t we demand the quality of the Big Five publishing houses?

15

If nothing else, shouldn’t there be thousands of ratings on Goodreads?

 

When I first stumbled upon a copy of The Best Polish Restaurant in Buffalo, I had no idea it would convince me to answer in the negative to my entire line of self-interrogation.

In retrospect, I should not have been surprised—answering in the affirmative would have indicated an affinity for exceptional marketing.

I’m cursed, instead, with the thinker-artist profile, the kind that led to me ask a whole other set of questions.

 

16

Isn’t the immigrant experience a universal one?

17

Isn’t the American melting pot beautiful—and sad?

18

Aren’t well-orchestrated slice of life stories timeless?

19

Isn’t the most enduring connection to a motherland often edible?

20

Are the oppressed destined to oppress? And uplift?

21

Can a writer make you realize the jokes you grew up with were cruel?

22

Can historical and contemporary fiction coexist?

23

Can fiction teach as much as nonfiction?

24

Isn’t simple prose refreshing?

25

Are we changing for the better? And the worse?

26

Can progress and regression be simultaneous?

27

Would society collapse without selfless women?

28

Can quick reads stay with you longer than endless ones?

29

Haven’t books that make you think achieved their purpose?

30

Doesn’t anything that pertains to the Rust Belt completely rule?

 

Here, because I answered yes across the board, I knew I had found a jewel.

In other words, it was worthy of a blog post—and my time.

And—as long as you don’t mind spotty marketing—it’s worthy of yours, too.