Overall, it’s an effortless task to empathise with Aitken, especially when you’ve been in his shoes. As someone who very vaguely studied Poland's diaspora in England for geography, I was quite intrigued by the prospect of learning more about a country so antagonised by the British media.

As a slight spoiler, there's a Christmas custom of an empty place at each table for a (hungry) stranger, so he "invites" himself to a random family's dinner! The younger students, aged between eight and ten, already spoke much more English than he did Polish, despised him and were unruly. In a strange twist of Immigration, Aitken sets off to discover for himself through moving to Poland for a year. I liked the chapters in Krakow and Konin; and reading about Hubert's farm, Jerzy on the mountain, and Christmas with the Polish family was all very enjoyable.In June, his job as a teacher came to an end (we are not told why – perhaps because he was so often unpunctual?

I think the author was too reliant on these to add meaning or credibility to his work, and it at times felt more like I was reading a Wikiquotes page. This is a bittersweet portrait of an unsung country, challenging stereotypes that Poland is a grey, ex-soviet land, and revealing a diverse country, rightfully proud of its colourful identity.The Marmalade Diaries (2022) is the story of an unlikely friendship during an unlikely time, and stems from the author’s decision to move in with an 85 year old widow ten days before a national lockdown.

One such promise is the quote on the front cover that claims this is 'One of the funniest books of the year'. There was an altercation in the beginning and throughout the novel about Islamaphobia yet the author never seems to recognise how much he is able to get away with. For some months, he did not seem to be doing any paid work, but continued travelling around a lot: to Lodz; to Lublin; to Jelenia Gora, in the south-western corner of Poland; to Konin; to Krakow, where he rented a guest room in a nunnery and where he visits the salt mine. The premise is brilliant - do to the Eastern Europeans what they do to the Brits - come over legally and work hard at the jobs we don't want.This is something I think everyone should take into account when forming their critique of this book, and I would like to start by thanking the author for giving us a view into his time and experiences in Poland. It wasn’t love that took him but curiosity: he wanted to know what the Poles in the UK had left behind. The author claimed that he had “grown tired” of the UK and its associated “comforts” and “nice routines”. The idea of heading to Poland to discover why the Poles were heading in the other direction was an inspiring motive. A sincere, mischievious and hilariously funny journal of strange and absolutely normal encounters that made me wish to visit Poland, even though I'm Polish.

Certainly, with my first journey to Polandand getting used to a wholly new culture, I sought to find myself – to have my character reset. This book would've been much better if it was more argumentative instead of descriptive but I can understand that the author wasn't trying to make a huge political statement but rather just describe what happened and lead you to believe what you want- a key theme near the end (I liked the discussion of the glamourisation of news and its harmful effects).

All topics are narrated with sensitivity, and Askitt is often able to take a step back and admit his ignorance on a topic or even to explain complex thoughts in a light and funny manner. Descriptions and the way he noticed little things and him commenting what he took photos of was cool.