What to read to understand modern Poland

WHERE THERE are two Poles, there are three opinions, goes a Polish saying. Poland’s tumultuous history and polarised politics give its writers a lot to reflect on and disagree about. For more than a century from the late 1700s the country was partitioned by its neighbours, including Russia, Prussia and Austria. After the second world war it was subjugated by the Soviet Union. Many writers sought literary escape from the grimness of communism, through science fiction and reportage from far-off lands. Their tales were often coded satires of the Soviet-imposed system, which managed to escape censorship. Contemporary Poland sees itself as a Western country, anchored in NATO and the European Union, but its government does not always abide by the democratic norms of its allies. Here are six books about a country that is at once at the heart of Europe and on its edge.