A review by reggiewoods
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Jacob Frank was an 18th century Polish Jew who claimed to be the messiah and started a religious movement that managed to piss off pretty much everyone that wasn’t a follower of his. I had never heard of Jacob Frank before this book, so I don’t know how accurate Tokarczuk’s account is, but it is indeed both epic and detailed. The only problem I had with this book happens to be a big one: I did not find Jacob Frank to be anything special. I don’t know if this is a failure of the author, the translator, or my own inherent skepticism, but nothing about Jacob ever helped me understand why people would see him as a prophet or messiah. Otherwise it is a solid book by a terrific author. I recommend it to fans of historical fiction, religious history, and epics.
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