House of Day, House of Night
First edition cover (Wydawnictwo Ruta, 1998)
AuthorOlga Tokarczuk
Original titleDom dzienny, dom nocny
TranslatorAntonia Lloyd-Jones
CountryPoland
LanguagePolish
PublisherWydawnictwo Ruta
Publication date
1998
Published in English
2002
Media typePrint
Pages277
ISBN9788390028194
OCLC41258229
891.8/5373
LC ClassPG7179.O37 D66

House of Day, House of Night (Polish: Dom dzienny, dom nocny) is a novel by Olga Tokarczuk, published by Wydawnictwo Ruta in 1998.[1]

Synopsis

Although nominally a novel, House of Day, House of Night is rather a patchwork of loosely connected disparate stories, sketches, and essays about life past and present in the author's adopted home of Krajanów, a Polish village in the Sudetes near the Polish-Czech border. While some have labeled the novel Tokarczuk's most "difficult" piece, at least for those unfamiliar with Central European history, it was her first book to be published in English.[2]

Publication

Dom dzienny, dom nocny was first published by Tokarczuk's independent publishing company Wydawnictwo Ruta in 1998.[1]

In 1999, the book sold 40,000 copies, which placed it sixth overall among the year's bestsellers written by Polish authors.[3]

In late 2000, Bertelsmann published the novel on the Internet. For this reason, Dom dzienny, dom nocny became the first novel in Poland to be published on the Internet in electronic form.[4] The book was made available as a plain text file on the Świat Książki website.[5] This event is considered to be the beginning of the e-book market in Poland.[6]

Translation

The novel was translated into English as House of Day, House of Night by translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Granta Books in 2002. In 2003, it was published in the United States by Northwestern University Press.[7]

Reception

In a review from 1998, Jarosław Klejnocki [pl] described the novel as "Olga Tokarczuk's most ambitious prose project", and also indicated that it integrates different styles and genres.[8][9] Dariusz Nowacki [pl], who was previously critical Tokarczuk, regarded the novel as the first praiseworthy work in her oeuvre. Kinga Dunin praised Tokarczuk for finding her unique voice in the novel; Dunin also felt that the novel would help readers cope with death anxiety. Przemysław Czapliński [pl] described it as "one of the most beautiful sylwa" in Polish literature.[10]

The novel was awarded the Nike Award's audience prize for 1999.[11]

Awards and honours

Year Award Result Ref.
2004 International Dublin Literary Award Shortlisted [12]
1999 Nike Audience Award Won [11]
1998 Władysław Reymont Award Won [13]

References

  1. ^ a b Czapliński, Przemysław (2003). Kalendarium życia literackiego 1976-2000 : wydarzenia, dyskusje, bilanse (1 ed.). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 498. ISBN 83-08-03511-6. OCLC 53952728.
  2. ^ Neale, Alison, ed. (2003). International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004. Europa Publications. p. 545. ISBN 978-1-85743-179-7.
  3. ^ Czapliński, Przemysław (2003). Kalendarium życia literackiego 1976-2000 : wydarzenia, dyskusje, bilanse (1 ed.). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 540. ISBN 83-08-03511-6. OCLC 53952728.
  4. ^ "EBIB 3/2008 (94) – L. Osowska: O e-bookach subiektywnie". ebib.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  5. ^ "CZY WIESZ, ŻE... – OSDW Azymut – książki, e-książki, książki audio – dystrybucja". azymut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Historia e-książki, czyli 40 lat minęło". passwordincorrect.com (in Polish). 21 February 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Read Tokarczuk's novels in your language!". poland.pl. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  8. ^ Klejnocki, Jarosław (10 November 1998). "Mój sen jest moim domem". Wyborcza (supplement). Vol. 11, no. 264. p. 6. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  9. ^ Czapliński, Przemysław (2003). Kalendarium życia literackiego 1976-2000 : wydarzenia, dyskusje, bilanse (1 ed.). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 514. ISBN 83-08-03511-6. OCLC 53952728.
  10. ^ Czapliński, Przemysław (2003). Kalendarium życia literackiego 1976-2000 : wydarzenia, dyskusje, bilanse (1 ed.). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 525. ISBN 83-08-03511-6. OCLC 53952728.
  11. ^ a b "Nike dla Olgi Tokarczuk". Zwrot (in Polish). 6 October 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  12. ^ "2004 Shortlist". dublinliteraryaward.ie. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  13. ^ Czapliński, Przemysław (2003). Kalendarium życia literackiego 1976-2000 : wydarzenia, dyskusje, bilanse (1 ed.). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 518. ISBN 83-08-03511-6. OCLC 53952728.
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