New Books Network – Kasia Jaronczyk, Voices in the Air (Palimpsest Press, 2025)
Host: Holly Gattery
Guest: Kasia Jaronczyk
Date: October 11, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode, host Holly Gattery interviews Polish-Canadian writer Kasia Jaronczyk about her new novel Voices in the Air. The book, inspired by real-life hijackings during martial law in 1980s communist Poland, weaves a narrative through the lives and perspectives of multiple women who risk everything in a daring attempt at freedom. The conversation dives deep into the history behind the novel, the construction of its characters and themes, the reality of life under communism, the spread and control of information, and the personal nature of writing and memory.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Origins & Inspirations for the Novel
[04:47–08:20]
- Personal Connection: Kasia discusses living in communist Poland and her longstanding fascination with stories of escape. Most narratives focus on Berlin, but her research uncovered a surprising fact: 16 hijackings occurred from Poland during just two years of martial law, most by ordinary families.
- Media Representation: The well-known photo by Chris Niedenthal of tanks in front of a theater showing Apocalypse Now became a second seed for the novel. Kasia reflects on what everyday people experienced in these historic moments.
Notable Quote:
"When you think of the number—16 airplane hijacking attempts, so like, it's like a hijacking every other month. And 10 of them were successful. And what is even more amazing, that most of them were regular people with families, with no weapons."
—Kasia Jaronczyk [06:51]
2. Flow of Information & History
[08:20–13:24]
- Media Control: Holly draws connections between historic and contemporary censorship and asks about the flow of information in the novel.
- Research Obstacles: Kasia notes she could find records only about the men involved in the hijacking, with little about the women. The Polish government now, even as a democracy, still restricted access to historic details.
- History as Narrative: The novel’s structure, incorporating a documentary filmmaker character, reflects on how truth, memory, and official stories diverge.
- Morality & Naming: The hijackers considered themselves “air partisans,” not terrorists, though both East and West labeled them criminals.
Notable Quote:
“So I started thinking of how much information is still restricted about the past and also how history is just interpretation… history is written by the victors, right?”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [10:22]
3. Character Development & Patriarchy
[13:24–17:53]
- Marta's Character: Holly discusses her deep connection to Marta, who is separated from her daughter due to her husband's choices and secrecy.
- Patriarchal Dynamics: Kasia explores the patriarchal context—men make risky decisions that affect the whole family without women’s consent or knowledge. She contrasts this with another character’s family where a woman is the decision-maker.
- Personal Stakes: Fear of prison, loss of children to the state, and lack of agency are real elements drawn from both history and family stories.
Notable Quote:
“What would I do if my husband decided for our family to escape from Poland… and not consider my opinion?”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [15:04]
4. Immersive Historical Details: Daily Life & Economics
[19:28–27:00]
- Economic Hardship: Discussion centers on Alina, the frugal and shrewd mother-in-law, illustrating creative survival tactics under communism. Even professionals like teachers and doctors earned little.
- Bartering & Resourcefulness: Goods were scarce, rationing was common, and people bartered for basics. Most people made do with little, and ingenuity was necessary for everyday survival.
Notable Quote:
“People really did not care about doing their jobs well because they never got paid well and they never got promoted... So nobody really cared about anything, you know, just doing the minimum to survive.”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [26:43]
5. Historical Protest & Social Unrest
[27:00–28:08]
- Background Turbulence: The book features strikes, protests, and hunger strikes in universities and factories, all weaving into the narrative landscape.
6. Author Reading
[28:08–31:49]
- Kasia reads a powerful passage set on the morning martial law was announced, detailing protagonist Ivona’s tense, fearful journey for medicine for her child. The passage directly references the iconic Niedenthal photograph.
Notable Quote:
“Years later, Ivona would recognize herself in the famous photograph. There she was in her sheepskin coat... It struck her now, by a complete chance, by being there, the exact moment when Chris Niedenthal pressed the shutter, not a moment earlier or later, she became immortalized for all history like a fly caught in amber.”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [30:47]
7. Weaving Multiple Voices & Perspectives
[31:49–39:04]
- Narrative Structure: Voices in the Air is divided in three: the women’s lives before the hijacking, documentary-style interviews during it, and their aftermath. The women’s voices are intentionally distinct, with their own personalities and histories.
- Juggling Perspectives: Kasia explains her process of ensuring each character stands out, how she distributed key scenes among characters, and her intent that each character’s life be interesting even without the hijacking event.
Notable Quote:
“I wanted to make the women very distinct and have very distinct life stories and to make their life stories interesting even if the hijacking did not happen.”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [33:29]
- Stewardess Character: Kasia discusses steep class differences and the privilege of travel in communist Poland, as well as the sometimes grey moral areas of survival and smuggling.
8. Themes of Power & Relevance to the Present
[35:39–39:04]
- Holly reflects on the book’s interrogation of power—who has it, who is denied it, and how it changes people. Kasia connects this to contemporary events and the fragility of democracy and freedom.
9. Humor & Humanity
[39:04–40:21]
- Despite the subject matter, the novel contains humorous and lively moments, especially through characters like Alina, inspired by Kasia’s own grandmother.
10. Current & Future Work
[40:38–44:32]
- Memoir-in-Progress: Kasia is working on a memoir/essay collection about her complex relationship with her mother, grappling with self-sacrifice, personal ambition, and the elusive inner lives of mothers.
- Emotional Challenges: The writing process is personally fraught, especially following her mother’s sudden loss during the pandemic.
Notable Quote:
“I want to kind of immortalize women who kind of disappear, who no one writes about. Women like her, who just do everything for their family and their children.”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [41:15]
11. Closing Reflections on Motherhood and Writing
[44:32–end]
- Notes on the delicate balance parents face in revealing vulnerability to their children while offering strength.
- Holly and Kasia reflect, warmly and candidly, on their own family experiences and the universality of imperfect, evolving motherhood.
Memorable Moments & Quotes
-
On history’s partiality:
"History, even though it contains facts, they are... every historian has a certain bias. It's very hard to be unbiased."
—Kasia Jaronczyk [10:12] -
On daily ingenuity:
“People have to be really resourceful. There’s a Polish saying that says, ‘A Polish person can do everything,’ because people had to learn how to repurpose things.”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [26:14] -
On judgment and empathy:
“I don't offer any judgments in my book. I leave it open to the readers to, you know, make their own minds up about how they judge the people who did it.”
—Kasia Jaronczyk [13:17] -
A reader’s reflection:
“This book made me reflect on who has power, who's denied power, how power changes people, how it can change some people for the better, how it can change some people for the worse.”
—Holly Gattery [35:41]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 04:47 — The real history behind Voices in the Air
- 10:12 — How information and history are constructed—and concealed
- 13:24 — Marta’s story: secrecy and patriarchy in practice
- 19:28 — Character Alina and everyday economics under communism
- 28:08 — Author reading: martial law morning
- 31:49 — Polyphonic narrative: developing and sequencing multi-voiced storytelling
- 35:39 — Themes of power, relevance for today
- 39:04 — Humor and the character of Alina
- 40:38 — Kasia’s next project: a memoir about her mother
- 44:32 — Reflections on motherhood and the challenge of self-revelation
Episode Tone
The conversation is insightful, passionate, and deeply personal, combining historical seriousness with warmth and wit. Holly is a thoughtful, enthusiastic reader-interviewer; Kasia is candid, reflective, occasionally humorous, and always generous in her storytelling.
Final Thoughts
Voices in the Air promises a nuanced, moving exploration of history, truth, and the capacity for agency and courage in ordinary—and extraordinary—lives. Through polyphonic narrative and immersive detail, Kasia Jaronczyk rescues overlooked histories while challenging readers to examine questions of information, power, and honesty—in the past and present alike.