Jake Kaminski, USA

Interviewed by Don McCauley
Publisher: Archway Publishing

Beneath the Polish Moon

  • Literary Fiction
Fiction
Image

Synopsis

Two boys meet and a friendship is forged that will echo for a lifetime. Luke Karpinski and his friend Eugene, along with a cast of unforgettable characters navigate life in a Polish neighborhood in mid-century Milwaukee. Their stories are both hilarious and heartwarming. For the boys, every day is an adventure. It never occurs to them that one day they will grow up and have to go their separate ways. Many years later, Luke is a cop working in the lush city of Miami, his childhood friends almost forgotten. He chose his career to make the world a better place, but life is never that simple. Miami has become the drug capital of the world and Luke is in the middle of it, caught in a life and death struggle with the fierce Colombian cartels. The battle is all-consuming and Luke will sacrifice everything for the job: his family life, his health, and even his dreams. This is a story of two Lukes. An innocent boy and a hardened undercover cop. The stories converge when Luke returns to his home in Milwaukee, old and alone. As he steps onto the streets of his old neighborhood, the memories come roaring back. He blinks back tears as he breathes it in, remembering how happy he was in this place. Why did things have to change? He meets a young black girl in front of his childhood home. He tries to explain his presence, but something is happening. He hears voices—voices from the past; and visions from another time. It feels like a doorway opening. Was that his mom? Impossible. She’s so young. Eugene? It can’t be; he’s still a kid. What is this place? Even the light is different; somehow softer, warmer. They seem to be beckoning. What to do . . .