Like Anna, the heroine of The Lullaby of Polish Girls, Dagmara Dominczyk is the child of a Solidarity activist; she, too, immigrated to the U.S. from Poland at a young age, went to theater school and became an actress. But, if Dominczyk hasn't reached far for the foundations of this novel, she hasn't let the unreal tone of Hollywood destroy her sense of authenticity, either.
Anna begins taking annual summer trips to Kielce, Poland, at the dawn of puberty and is absorbed into a large group of friends to whom her American-ness is irresistible. Two of them become instant, intense confidantes: Justyna is the flirty rebel of the group; Kamila the self-deprecating scold. Early adulthood causes them to drift, what with Anna's budding career in film and television, Justyna's surprisingly happy marriage and Kamila's troubled one. But the murder of Justyna's husband causes each of the women to reevaluate their lives, drawing them back to Kielce and to the unbreakable connection they forged as girls.
This debut novel is a frank but loving character study of three young women who experience--in their hard-living Polish way--the universal pangs of love, sex and maturation. Dominczyk credits Judy Blume as an inspiration; indeed, The Lullaby of Polish Girls often feels like a Polish-flavored Summer Sisters. Like that book, it is an intimate tribute to female friendship--and, with Dominczyk's film background, well poised for a movie version. --Cherie Ann Parker, freelance journalist and book critic