Olga Tokarczuk

[Leseratte]

Reading “The Books of Jacob” with — and Against — the Riverhead Reader’s Guide: A Reader’s Guide | Los Angeles Review of Books

Marek Makowski wends his way through Jennifer Croft’s translation of “The Books of Jacob,” a novel by Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk....

lareviewofbooks.org

I think I hardly remember a recent book that is being so much reviewed as "The Books of Jacob". It certainly deserves it. One only must be careful not to read too many spoilers beforehand.

 

[Abhi]

This is the one of the very few articles in English I found on Olga Tokarczuk's upcoming novel Empuzjon (apparently her first since the Nobel), scheduled to come out in early June. Looking forward to reading more about it; hope there's surge of writings/reviews in English once it is published. Too bad I can't read Polish, now I have to wait for years for the English translation. The book looks promising (she's dabbling in the horror genre)!

 

[Leseratte]

This is the one of the very few articles in English I found on Olga Tokarczuk's upcoming novel Empuzjon (apparently her first since the Nobel), scheduled to come out in early June. Looking forward to reading more about it; hope there's surge of writings/reviews in English once it is published. Too bad I can't read Polish, now I have to wait for years for the English translation. The book looks promising (she's dabbling in the horror genre)!

This is the one of the very few articles in English I found on Olga Tokarczuk's upcoming novel Empuzjon (apparently her first since the Nobel), scheduled to come out in early June. Looking forward to reading more about it; hope there's surge of writings/reviews in English once it is published. Too bad I can't read Polish, now I have to wait for years for the English translation. The book looks promising (she's dabbling in the horror genre)!

Thanks for sharing Abhi. The curious thing is that I found a short novel (less than 200 pages) that has been translated to German called "Anna In". I´m not sure, if it is the same, according to the review it is about old myths.

 

[Abhi]

Thanks for sharing Abhi. The curious thing is that I found a short novel (less than 200 pages) that has been translated to German called "Anna In". I´m not sure, if it is the same, according to the review it is about old myths.

I think this book (which anglophone readers probably call Anna in the Tombs of the World/Anna in the Catacombs?) has been partially translated into English. I read someone's glowing remark on how the first chapter of Anna In has been meticulously rendered into English. I'm not sure exactly where to find that translation. I found this as well as this one. The former (translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones) seems to be a part of Anna In but I'm not sure if the latter (Jennifer Croft's translation) is from the book (It doesn't refer to the source book) although it mentions some Sister Anna all throughout.

 

[tiganeasca]

This is the one of the very few articles in English I found on Olga Tokarczuk's upcoming novel Empuzjon (apparently her first since the Nobel), scheduled to come out in early June. Looking forward to reading more about it; hope there's surge of writings/reviews in English once it is published. Too bad I can't read Polish, now I have to wait for years for the English translation. The book looks promising (she's dabbling in the horror genre)!

With the Nobel and her popularity in the USA, my guess is that your wait for an English version won't be very long.

 

[Leseratte]

I think this book (which anglophone readers probably call Anna in the Tombs of the World/Anna in the Catacombs?) has been partially translated into English. I read someone's glowing remark on how the first chapter of Anna In has been meticulously rendered into English. I'm not sure exactly where to find that translation. I found this as well as this one. The former (translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones) seems to be a part of Anna In but I'm not sure if the latter (Jennifer Croft's translation) is from the book (It doesn't refer to the source book) although it mentions some Sister Anna all throughout.

Thanks for posting these translations @Abhi. I didn´t read all of it yet, but the beginning reminds me a bit of Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain.

 

[Camillo]

this

This is the part of the book Anna In

this one

This is one of her shorts stories from the collection Opowiadania bizarne (Bizarre stories) from 2018

 

[Leseratte]

This is the part of the book Anna In

This is one of her shorts stories from the collection Opowiadania bizarne (Bizarre stories) from 2018

Thanks for the clarification, @Camillo. It seems that it was just translated into German as a separate novella, what made me think that it was her most recent novel.

 

[Abhi]

This is the part of the book Anna In

This is one of her shorts stories from the collection Opowiadania bizarne (Bizarre stories) from 2018

Thanks for clearing it up. I looked up the collection and it appears that tje book is yet to be available in English. Glad I found this particular short story!

 

[Elie]

May be of interest to some here: Empuzjon is forthcoming in English translation from Fitzcarraldo Editions, as is Anna In The Catacombs. Both translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. They also seem to have acquired the rights to Primeval and Other Times and House of Day, House of Night as those too are forthcoming. Source: right at the bottom of this list.

So pleased to be getting some more in English translation at last!

 

[Ben Jackson]

One writer that I'm very impressed with. I read Flights last year and found the book brilliantly encyclopedic.

Aside from Flights, which of her next book would you recommend? I'm thinking of reading Drive Your Plow or Primeval next since I can't find Books of Jacob.

 

[Bartleby]

Primeval is a delight to read; it's not as ambitious as it perhaps in some parts suggests that it wanted itself to be, but nevertheless delivers a quiet, melancholy, warm impression.

Drive your plow is more of a diversion, albeit one with intellectually stimulating ruminations (the voice of the narrator is quite fun).

Haven't read Jacob yet.

 

[alik-vit]

Agree with @Bartleby . "Drive your plow" is a kind of exercise in style, "Primeval", IMHO, is one of her best books.

 

[tiganeasca]

Good to hear; I found Drive Your Plow to be okay, but certainly nothing that would suggest Nobel-level abilities. Guess I'm gonna have to find Primeval!

 

[Cleanthess]

House of Day, House of Night is excellent, in a Gabo manner.
If you read French, the last story of her Histoires Bizarroïdes, the P K Dicksian "Monodikos the God and the Calendar of Human Holidays", is a delight. And some of the other short stories in that collection are very good too.

 

[Leseratte]

One writer that I'm very impressed with. I read Flights last year and found the book brilliantly encyclopedic.

Aside from Flights, which of her next book would you recommend? I'm thinking of reading Drive Your Plow or Primeval next since I can't find Books of Jacob.

Drive your plow is a much less encyclopedic work if compared with The Books of Jacob. It's Olga T. in Agatha Christie mood.

 

[kpjayan]

'Primeval' is what I suggest as a starting point, good and much simpler book to read. Drive Your Plow will be the least preferred book. Flights and Jakob are really good. I have to read "House of Day, House of Night", which probably is better than all these.

 

[meepmurp]

One writer that I'm very impressed with. I read Flights last year and found the book brilliantly encyclopedic.

Aside from Flights, which of her next book would you recommend? I'm thinking of reading Drive Your Plow or Primeval next since I can't find Books of Jacob.

I thought Drive Your Plow was a lot of fun - though I did read it rather quickly.

I also thought House of Day, House of Night was amazing. It feels like a companion piece to Flights but confess that I actually preferred it to the latter.

She's also got a couple of short stories in English translation scattered about the web. Here's one of my favorites.

 

[Morbid Swither]

I thought Drive Your Plow was a lot of fun - though I did read it rather quickly.

I also thought House of Day, House of Night was amazing. It feels like a companion piece to Flights but confess that I actually preferred it to the latter.

She's also got a couple of short stories in English translation scattered about the web. Here's one of my favorites.

I don’t often see/hear much love for Drive Your Plow…, but I must confess that I really, really like this book! And, enough I’ve read it probably 3-4 times, lol. While I agree, that this book hardly suggests its author would be a Nobel Prize recipient, I don’t have any strong points of contention, and completely appreciate its quirkiness. I also think that reading it somewhat quickly is ideal for it. Lastly, I think there is potential for it to be a very stunning movie. I love how each chapter feels like a “scene,” the characters are all just really vivid and compelling, even the narrator, Tokarczuk’s “log lady,” is awesome. (Can see why some readers would pan it, but it really appeals to me!)

And yes, for those who haven’t read Primeval, you definitely should! It was actually the book I read first from her, published in English by Twisted Spoon Press, which has a catalog that really makes my mouth water. Somewhat disappointing is that I’ve only read 4 of them! Loved them all, though!

 

[Leseratte]

I don’t often see/hear much love for Drive Your Plow…, but I must confess that I really, really like this book! And, enough I’ve read it probably 3-4 times, lol. While I agree, that this book hardly suggests its author would be a Nobel Prize recipient, I don’t have any strong points of contention, and completely appreciate its quirkiness. I also think that reading it somewhat quickly is ideal for it. Lastly, I think there is potential for it to be a very stunning movie. I love how each chapter feels like a “scene,” the characters are all just really vivid and compelling, even the narrator, Tokarczuk’s “log lady,” is awesome. (Can see why some readers would pan it, but it really appeals to me!)

And yes, for those who haven’t read Primeval, you definitely should! It was actually the book I read first from her, published in English by Twisted Spoon Press, which has a catalog that really makes my mouth water. Somewhat disappointing is that I’ve only read 4 of them! Loved them all, though!

Maybe one of the curiosities about Drive your Plough... is the moral of the narrator.