Josef is Mum’s father. He was Polish and a part of the Resistance during World War Two. The experience disturbed him and eventually led him to extreme alcoholism. He married Julie in Germany and the two moved to Australia. Though Josef was initially trustworthy and kind, the trauma he experienced in the war soon made him violent and delusional. Though he became quite wealthy, he never was able to accept state authority and was jailed several times for refusing to pay taxes. He soon lost all the family’s money and property to loan sharks.
Josef Quotes in A Long Way Home
The A Long Way Home quotes below are all either spoken by Josef or refer to Josef. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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6. My Mum's Journey
Quotes
Because of all she'd been through growing up, Mum had decided that there was nothing sacrosanct about families formed only by birth parents.
Related Characters:Saroo Brierley (speaker), Julie, Mum / Sue Brierley, Josef
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
130
Explanation and Analysis:
After Saroo offers a brief account of Mum's tumultuous and sometimes scary upbringing, he shows how these experiences taught Mum that blood is sometimes a poor signifier of family. After suffering abuse and neglect from her father, Josef, Mum comes to believe that what truly makes a family is the one’s desire to help other members of their family—essentially prioritizing actions over a simple relation. She chooses to use this belief in her own life by deciding to adopt rather than have biological children with Dad. Doing so also allows her to give back and act kindly towards others, something Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam volup
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The timeline below shows where the character Josef appears in A Long Way Home. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
6. My Mum's Journey
Mum’s father, Josef, was born in Poland. His mother died when he was little, and his stepmother hated...
(full context)
Mum described Josef as being huge, powerful, and scary, as his moods could shift instantly from melancholia to...
(full context)
Mum left school at 16 per Josef’s insistence, and she got a job as a pharmacy assistant in Burnie. She loved her...
(full context)
Mum was very affected by Josef’s ensuing downfall. He went bankrupt twice and was eventually sent to the lockup. An accountant...
(full context)