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The Books of Jacob
First edition cover (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2014)
The Books of Jacob is a 912-page novel divided into seven books. It begins in 1752 in Rohatyn and ends in Holocaust-era Korolówka.[8] Its title subject is Jacob Frank, a Polish Jew who claimed to be the messiah. The novel combines dozens of third-person perspectives of those connected to Jacob Frank.[9]
Writing for Gazeta Wyborcza, Przemysław Czapliński [pl] wrote that the novel "revolutionizes the image of religious life in the 18th century, but also changes the perception of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth."[15]
Writing for Polityka, Justyna Sobolewska [pl] wrote that "Tokarczuk proved that it is possible to write an over 900-page novel, full of pictorial descriptions, religious disputes and letters, which keeps you in suspense" and called it an "extremely interesting panorama of 18th-century Poland."[16]
In regard to the historical and ideological divides of Polish literature, the novel has been characterized as anti-Sienkiewicz. It was soon acclaimed by critics and readers alike, but its reception has been hostile in some Polish nationalistic circles and Olga Tokarczuk became a target of an internet hate and harassment campaign.[17][18]
Upon publication in the UK, the book garnered critical acclaim. In The Guardian, Marcel Theroux writes that, "[d]ense, captivating and weird, The Books of Jacob is on a different scale from either" of her previous novels translated into English. "It is a visionary novel that conforms to a particular notion of masterpiece – long, arcane and sometimes inhospitable. Tokarczuk is wrestling with the biggest philosophical themes [...]." He goes on to compare it to John Milton's Paradise Lost and concludes that the novel is one that "will be a landmark in the life of any reader with the appetite to tackle it."[19] Anthony Cummins of The Observer writes that the book is a "panorama of early Enlightenment Europe that doubles as an open-minded study in the mysteries of charisma, it is perhaps above all – and aptly – a gargantuan act of faith, a novel in which your reading has barely begun by the time you’ve turned the last of its 900 pages."[20]
Catherine Taylor, writing for Prospect, calls The Books of Jacob an "extraordinary 1,000-page novel", comparing it to Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace and Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Of the English translation, Taylor has the following to say: "Huge credit must be given to Croft, whose magnificent, lively translation is also a work of pure scholarship: the multiple voices, styles, landscapes and inventories she renders into English bring this lost world vividly to life." Concluding, she singles out the subject of Jewish life in Poland of Frank's time as being at the core of the novel: "Tokarczuk's determination in this tremendous work to recast and restore to Poland's past its vanished Jewish culture has never been more necessary."[21] Antonia Senior, in The Times, calls the book "a work of genius."[22]
Awards
The Books of Jacob was awarded the 2015 Nike Award Jury prize, Poland's most prestigious literary prize.[17] It also received Nike's Audience award for 2015.[23]
The Swedish translation by Jan Henrik Swahn [sv] was awarded in 2016 with the first international prize awarded by the Stockholm institution Kulturhuset Stadsteatern.[26]
^Full English title: The Books of Jacob, or: A Fantastic Journey Across Seven Borders, Five Languages, and Three Major Religions, Not Counting the Minor Sects. Told by the Dead, Supplemented by the Author, Drawing from a Range of Books, and Aided by Imagination, the Which Being the Greatest Natural Gift of Any Person. That the Wise Might Have It for a Record, That My Compatriots Reflect, Laypersons Gain Some Understanding, and Melancholy Souls Obtain Some Slight Enjoyment.[1]
^Full title: Księgi Jakubowe albo Wielka podróż przez siedem granic, pięć języków i trzy duże religie, nie licząc tych małych. Opowiadana przez zmarłych, a przez autorkę dopełniona metodą koniektury, z wielu rozmaitych ksiąg zaczerpnięta, a także wspomożona imaginacją, która to jest największym naturalnym darem człowieka. Mądrym dla memoryału, kompatriotom dla refleksji, laikom dla nauki, melancholikom zaś dla rozrywki.[2][3]
^Full stylized title: KSIĘGI JAKUBOWE albo WIELKA PODRÓŻ przez siedem granic, pięć języków i trzy duże religie, nie licząc tych małych. Opowiadana przez ZMARŁYCH, a przez AUTORKĘ dopełniona metodą KONIEKTURY, z wielu rozmaitych KSIĄG zaczerpnięta, a także wspomożona IMAGINACJĄ, która to jest największym naturalnym DAREM człowieka. Mądrym dla Memoryału, Kompatriotom dla Refleksji, Laikom dla Nauki, Melancholikom zaś dla Rozrywki.[4]
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