Olga Tokarczuk has won the Nobel Prize in Literature and the
International Booker Prize, among many other honors. She is the
author of a dozen works of fiction, two collections of essays, and
a children’s book; her work has been translated into fifty
languages.
Jennifer Croft won the 2020 William Saroyan
International Prize for Writing for her illustrated memoir Homesick
and the 2018 Booker International Prize for her translation of
Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights.
Praise for The Books of Jacob:
“Sophisticated and ribald and brimming with folk wit. . . The
comedy in this novel blends, as it does in life, with genuine
tragedy.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“Monumental . . . could help the Swedish Academy restore its rather
tattered reputation as an arbiter of serious literature. …Tokarczuk
is as comfortable rendering the world of the Jewish peasantry as
that of the Polish royal court. . . . Incalculably rich in learning
and driven by a faith in the numinous properties of
knowledge.” —Wall Street Journal
“It’s just as awe-inspiring as the Nobel judges claimed. . . .
Miraculously entertaining and consistently fascinating. Despite his
best efforts, Frank never mastered alchemy, but Tokarczuk certainly
has. . . . Haunting and irresistible.” —The Washington Post
“Yes, there’s a miracle in these pages. It’s not about the Virgin
Mary or the false Messiah Jacob Frank, however, but the way
Tokarczuk can make a period so distant from us in every way feel so
completely alive.” —Los Angeles Times
“Tokarczuk aims high, spinning a layered, majestic, polyphonic
novel based on a real-life figure. . . . A golden age of historical
fiction is upon us: Tokarczuk links arms with Hilary Mantel and
Colson Whitehead, connecting our own perilous moment with the
past.” —Oprah Daily
“A colossal work - an epic, a fable, a history, sometimes a satire,
always a magnum opus.” —NPR
“Funny, tragic, comprehensive, and at times hilariously graphic …
both earthy and ethereal.” —Boston Globe
“You can practically smell the damp earth, the household fires, the
dry paper of Nobel laureate Tokarczuk’s epic set across the
villages of 18th-century Poland. Everything about The Books of
Jacob, including Tokarczuk’s generous, comfortable style, is vast
but meticulously detailed.” —Vulture
“Olga Tokarczuk is one of our greatest living fiction writers,
Jennifer Croft’s translations are always magnificent, and this epic
thousand-page novel is said to be their magnum opus. . . . This
could well be a decade-defining book akin to Bolaño’s
2666.” —AV Club
“Contains an entire overflowing, sensual world to get lost in. . .
. truly bewitching account of untold fissures in history, minor
religions, little lives, and splinterings-off. It is rich, strange,
astonishing in scope, and delightfully enigmatic. . . . Tokarczuk’s
magnum opus shows us a world on the precipice of a great change,
one hand clinging to certainty while the other reaches for
transcendence.” —World Literature Today
“Truly an epic historical novel.” —Hey Alma
“Deeply researched [and] fascinating. . . [it] has the power
to both enlighten and unnerve, especially in its eerie reflection
of the rampant prejudices and inequalities that roil our world
today.” —Hadassah Magazine
“[A] subtle and sensuous masterpiece. . . . Readers are rewarded
throughout with tender and ebullient moments. . . . In the hands of
Tokarczuk and Croft, these concerns feel real and vital. . . . This
visionary work will undoubtedly be read and talked about by lovers
of literature for years to come.” —Publishers Weekly (starred
review)
“A massive achievement that will intrigue and baffle readers for
years to come.” —Kirkus (starred review)
“Nobel laureate Tokarczuk’s magnum opus. . . . With language that’s
engaging, erudite, and spiced with witty colloquialisms and
wonderful turns of phrase via Jennifer Croft’s supple translation,
Tokarczuk explores the state of being an outsider in places with
fixed cultural boundaries. . . . A wealth of fine quotidian detail
and brilliantly connected narrative threads draw the reader in. . .
. masterful.” —Booklist (starred review)
“As crowded as a Bruegel painting. . . visionary. . . . Tokarczuk
is wrestling with the biggest philosophical themes: the purpose of
life on earth, the nature of religion, the possibility of
redemption, the fraught and terrible history of eastern European
Jewry. . . . A landmark.” —The Guardian
“A kind of literary miracle.” —The Times (UK)
Praise for The Books of Jacob:
“Sophisticated and ribald and brimming with folk wit. . . The
comedy in this novel blends, as it does in life, with genuine
tragedy.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“Monumental . . . could help the Swedish Academy restore its rather
tattered reputation as an arbiter of serious literature. …Tokarczuk
is as comfortable rendering the world of the Jewish peasantry as
that of the Polish royal court. . . . Incalculably rich in learning
and driven by a faith in the numinous properties of
knowledge.” —Wall Street Journal
“It’s just as awe-inspiring as the Nobel judges claimed. . . .
Miraculously entertaining and consistently fascinating. Despite his
best efforts, Frank never mastered alchemy, but Tokarczuk certainly
has. . . . Haunting and irresistible.” —The Washington Post
“Yes, there’s a miracle in these pages. It’s not about the Virgin
Mary or the false Messiah Jacob Frank, however, but the way
Tokarczuk can make a period so distant from us in every way feel so
completely alive.” —Los Angeles Times
“Tokarczuk aims high, spinning a layered, majestic, polyphonic
novel based on a real-life figure. . . . A golden age of historical
fiction is upon us: Tokarczuk links arms with Hilary Mantel and
Colson Whitehead, connecting our own perilous moment with the
past.” —Oprah Daily
“A colossal work - an epic, a fable, a history, sometimes a satire,
always a magnum opus.” —NPR
“Funny, tragic, comprehensive, and at times hilariously graphic …
both earthy and ethereal.” —Boston Globe
“You can practically smell the damp earth, the household fires, the
dry paper of Nobel laureate Tokarczuk’s epic set across the
villages of 18th-century Poland. Everything about The Books of
Jacob, including Tokarczuk’s generous, comfortable style, is vast
but meticulously detailed.” —Vulture
“Olga Tokarczuk is one of our greatest living fiction writers,
Jennifer Croft’s translations are always magnificent, and this epic
thousand-page novel is said to be their magnum opus. . . . This
could well be a decade-defining book akin to Bolaño’s
2666.” —AV Club
“Contains an entire overflowing, sensual world to get lost in. . .
. truly bewitching account of untold fissures in history, minor
religions, little lives, and splinterings-off. It is rich, strange,
astonishing in scope, and delightfully enigmatic. . . . Tokarczuk’s
magnum opus shows us a world on the precipice of a great change,
one hand clinging to certainty while the other reaches for
transcendence.” —World Literature Today
“Truly an epic historical novel.” —Hey Alma
“Deeply researched [and] fascinating. . . [it] has the power
to both enlighten and unnerve, especially in its eerie reflection
of the rampant prejudices and inequalities that roil our world
today.” —Hadassah Magazine
“[A] subtle and sensuous masterpiece. . . . Readers are rewarded
throughout with tender and ebullient moments. . . . In the hands of
Tokarczuk and Croft, these concerns feel real and vital. . . . This
visionary work will undoubtedly be read and talked about by lovers
of literature for years to come.” —Publishers Weekly (starred
review)
“A massive achievement that will intrigue and baffle readers for
years to come.” —Kirkus (starred review)
“Nobel laureate Tokarczuk’s magnum opus. . . . With language that’s
engaging, erudite, and spiced with witty colloquialisms and
wonderful turns of phrase via Jennifer Croft’s supple translation,
Tokarczuk explores the state of being an outsider in places with
fixed cultural boundaries. . . . A wealth of fine quotidian detail
and brilliantly connected narrative threads draw the reader in. . .
. masterful.” —Booklist (starred review)
“As crowded as a Bruegel painting. . . visionary. . . . Tokarczuk
is wrestling with the biggest philosophical themes: the purpose of
life on earth, the nature of religion, the possibility of
redemption, the fraught and terrible history of eastern European
Jewry. . . . A landmark.” —The Guardian
“A kind of literary miracle.” —The Times (UK)
Praise for The Books of Jacob:
“Sophisticated and ribald and brimming with folk wit. . . The
comedy in this novel blends, as it does in life, with genuine
tragedy.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“Monumental . . . could help the Swedish Academy restore its rather
tattered reputation as an arbiter of serious literature. …Tokarczuk
is as comfortable rendering the world of the Jewish peasantry as
that of the Polish royal court. . . . Incalculably rich in learning
and driven by a faith in the numinous properties of
knowledge.” —Wall Street Journal
“It’s just as awe-inspiring as the Nobel judges claimed. . . .
Miraculously entertaining and consistently fascinating. Despite his
best efforts, Frank never mastered alchemy, but Tokarczuk certainly
has. . . . Haunting and irresistible.” —The Washington Post
“Yes, there’s a miracle in these pages. It’s not about the Virgin
Mary or the false Messiah Jacob Frank, however, but the way
Tokarczuk can make a period so distant from us in every way feel so
completely alive.” —Los Angeles Times
“Tokarczuk aims high, spinning a layered, majestic, polyphonic
novel based on a real-life figure. . . . A golden age of historical
fiction is upon us: Tokarczuk links arms with Hilary Mantel and
Colson Whitehead, connecting our own perilous moment with the
past.” —Oprah Daily
“A colossal work - an epic, a fable, a history, sometimes a satire,
always a magnum opus.” —NPR
“Funny, tragic, comprehensive, and at times hilariously graphic …
both earthy and ethereal.” —Boston Globe
“You can practically smell the damp earth, the household fires, the
dry paper of Nobel laureate Tokarczuk’s epic set across the
villages of 18th-century Poland. Everything about The Books of
Jacob, including Tokarczuk’s generous, comfortable style, is vast
but meticulously detailed.” —Vulture
“Olga Tokarczuk is one of our greatest living fiction writers,
Jennifer Croft’s translations are always magnificent, and this epic
thousand-page novel is said to be their magnum opus. . . . This
could well be a decade-defining book akin to Bolaño’s
2666.” —AV Club
“Contains an entire overflowing, sensual world to get lost in. . .
. truly bewitching account of untold fissures in history, minor
religions, little lives, and splinterings-off. It is rich, strange,
astonishing in scope, and delightfully enigmatic. . . . Tokarczuk’s
magnum opus shows us a world on the precipice of a great change,
one hand clinging to certainty while the other reaches for
transcendence.” —World Literature Today
“Truly an epic historical novel.” —Hey Alma
“Deeply researched [and] fascinating. . . [it] has the power
to both enlighten and unnerve, especially in its eerie reflection
of the rampant prejudices and inequalities that roil our world
today.” —Hadassah Magazine
“[A] subtle and sensuous masterpiece. . . . Readers are rewarded
throughout with tender and ebullient moments. . . . In the hands of
Tokarczuk and Croft, these concerns feel real and vital. . . . This
visionary work will undoubtedly be read and talked about by lovers
of literature for years to come.” —Publishers Weekly (starred
review)
“A massive achievement that will intrigue and baffle readers for
years to come.” —Kirkus (starred review)
“Nobel laureate Tokarczuk’s magnum opus. . . . With language that’s
engaging, erudite, and spiced with witty colloquialisms and
wonderful turns of phrase via Jennifer Croft’s supple translation,
Tokarczuk explores the state of being an outsider in places with
fixed cultural boundaries. . . . A wealth of fine quotidian detail
and brilliantly connected narrative threads draw the reader in. . .
. masterful.” —Booklist (starred review)
“As crowded as a Bruegel painting. . . visionary. . . . Tokarczuk
is wrestling with the biggest philosophical themes: the purpose of
life on earth, the nature of religion, the possibility of
redemption, the fraught and terrible history of eastern European
Jewry. . . . A landmark.” —The Guardian
“A kind of literary miracle.” —The Times (UK)
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