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mpoper's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was a laborious read. I can appreciate its literary value but I did not connect to the plot or characters in any way. I can’t imagine ever recommending this to someone.
readbyrodkelly's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
miguelf's review against another edition
3.0
Way too long and overstuffed with characters the book at times reminded me of I.B. Singer’s superior writings on this similar cast of historical figures which is one reason I stuck it out. The other was that I read in German while listening in English and it was interesting to compare and contrast the various place names that the translators chose to use as many of them have changed more times than the characters names in the book and I was taken with it up until about the last third. I was just so glad to be done with this doorstop and at this point after some reflection would be hesitant to recommend anyone else try to make the same journey.
arationalvein's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
veerle's review against another edition
5.0
Indrukwekkend boek, maar niet gemakkelijk op bepaalde punten. Vooral al het religieus gezwets, maar dat heeft wel zijn plek is deze geschiedenis over de religieuze sekteleider Jacob Frank die duizenden mensen bekeerde tot het frankisme, een rare mix van joodse en christelijke elementen.
Het verhaal wordt verteld vanuit het perspectief van zijn grootmoeder, Jenta die niet doodgaat maar door de tijd reist. Vooral de vrouwelijke personages zijn interessant. Ook knap is hoe Tokarczuk de dynamieken van religieus fanatisme vat.
Het verhaal wordt verteld vanuit het perspectief van zijn grootmoeder, Jenta die niet doodgaat maar door de tijd reist. Vooral de vrouwelijke personages zijn interessant. Ook knap is hoe Tokarczuk de dynamieken van religieus fanatisme vat.
h2oetry's review against another edition
5.0
“The World is a deceitful lie, rehearsed theater.”
These Books show myriad perspectives on the prophetic and ordinary goings on of Jacob Frank and those surrounding him and the effect he left on many. “Who could resist this young man who has a hundred ideas a second, and who works faster than anybody else?”
It reads like my favorite modern artist’s (Ricky Allman) paintings: apocalyptically geometric and topographic depictions of luminescence. The translation by Jennifer Croft is astounding. I was shocked at how lively and delicious the prose was. Give her every award under the sun (and, obviously, the author Olga Tokarczuk).
“They are used to whatever Jacob says being the truth. The truth is like a gnarled tree, made up of many layers that are twisted all around each other, some layers holding others inside them, and sometimes being held. The truth is something that can be expressed in many tales, for it is like that garden the sages entered, in which each of them saw something else.”
To repeat the words of the Zohar: “Salvation is located in the worst place.”
So many beautiful sentences — just a few underlined passages after thumbing randomly through the book after reading:
“All kinds of different shoes can tread a path to God…” … “I don’t believe in the disasters that might come. I believe in the ones we have been able to escape.” ... “War is a jumble between marketplace and nightmare.” … “Every order, every system, is simply a matter of what you’ve gotten used to.”
Stuff like that happens on almost every one of the 965 pages. I almost certainly have to read this again in a few years. I feel like I know everything and nothing simultaneously. So much of the book echoed familiarity. I made the mistake of reading this on and off over almost the entire year when I should have just read it all the way through without breaks.
I felt these words deeply from Polish poet Mrs. Elżbieta Drużbacka: “She does not even try to pray, the words of prayer exhaust her, as if she were pouring out something that is empty into something that is void, grinding the same grain over and over, infected with ergot, poisoned through and through.”
Reading this book felt like a prayer, but in the good way.
These Books show myriad perspectives on the prophetic and ordinary goings on of Jacob Frank and those surrounding him and the effect he left on many. “Who could resist this young man who has a hundred ideas a second, and who works faster than anybody else?”
It reads like my favorite modern artist’s (Ricky Allman) paintings: apocalyptically geometric and topographic depictions of luminescence. The translation by Jennifer Croft is astounding. I was shocked at how lively and delicious the prose was. Give her every award under the sun (and, obviously, the author Olga Tokarczuk).
“They are used to whatever Jacob says being the truth. The truth is like a gnarled tree, made up of many layers that are twisted all around each other, some layers holding others inside them, and sometimes being held. The truth is something that can be expressed in many tales, for it is like that garden the sages entered, in which each of them saw something else.”
To repeat the words of the Zohar: “Salvation is located in the worst place.”
So many beautiful sentences — just a few underlined passages after thumbing randomly through the book after reading:
“All kinds of different shoes can tread a path to God…” … “I don’t believe in the disasters that might come. I believe in the ones we have been able to escape.” ... “War is a jumble between marketplace and nightmare.” … “Every order, every system, is simply a matter of what you’ve gotten used to.”
Stuff like that happens on almost every one of the 965 pages. I almost certainly have to read this again in a few years. I feel like I know everything and nothing simultaneously. So much of the book echoed familiarity. I made the mistake of reading this on and off over almost the entire year when I should have just read it all the way through without breaks.
I felt these words deeply from Polish poet Mrs. Elżbieta Drużbacka: “She does not even try to pray, the words of prayer exhaust her, as if she were pouring out something that is empty into something that is void, grinding the same grain over and over, infected with ergot, poisoned through and through.”
Reading this book felt like a prayer, but in the good way.
hpnyknits's review against another edition
3.0
This book was too long. 3.5 A good story and an attempt to explain cults and why are people drawn to false messiahs. One can’t help but ask - even today with so much access to information, ignorant people are drawn to these manipulative “leaders” grifters really, and their handlers. The premise was good and the historical background was good, it’s just that it was too long.
jessypat's review against another edition
I don’t think I would’ve finished the book with 900 pages. It would’ve taken a long time
kskaro's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0