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A review by buddhafish
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
3.0
127th book of 2021. All pictures in the review are from Vol.co.
Firstly, I gotta say I'm a big Tokarczuk fan and respect her as much (or more) after reading this beast. This beast is too long and I've got my problems with it, but what a novel to have written. Spanning the 18th century, and beyond, and the historical figure Jacob Frank, a man believed to be the Messiah. Though the novel is certainly centred around him, Jacob floats in and out of the narrative (in fact, he doesn't actually appear in the narrative for the first 200 or so pages) and instead we get a sweeping 'panorama of an almost neglected chapter in European history', as said by the Nobel Committee. The novel crosses several borderlines and characters, including the most interesting character, Yente, Tokarczuk's 'fourth-person narrator', the woman who cannot die and instead flies about the novel's events as an omnipresent 'eye'.
There are pictures interspersed through the novel as her Flights was, there are letters, and diaries too. It is a sometimes overwhelming experience reading the novel, being physically larger than paperback size and big-enough-to-wrestle in length. Its most overwhelming feature is down to its first flaw. The Books of Jacob is readable enough, Tokarczuk doesn't bog it down with historical exposition or long religious ideas, but she does tell the novel in a very detached and unemotional way. For mostly 900-odd pages the tone of the novel stays the same, there's no rise or fall, nothing: it is like one very long road which is oftentimes interesting and oftentimes simply exhausting. Did it need to be so long? I'd say No. If it were shorter it would probably be a better novel. There are so many characters, so many plots, we hear about what they are doing, thinking, moving around, marrying, it is a constant barrage of stuff, fictional or not. And when it comes to wondering what is historical truth in the novel and what isn't, Tokarczuk answers that herself in a way. When a character asks another character to write a novel about the Frankists and how it was, he asks, ''But how were things? Is there anybody still around who could tell me?'' and the friend answers, ''You're a writer, just make up whatever's missing.''
Tokarczuk certainly does that with the depth of the novel and the characters like Yente. For those daunted by the size, it is wonderfully readable, almost simple in prose. There are moments of beauty but I would say it is almost entirely character-driven. This is ironic as Jacob Frank is unlikeable at almost every point. Fans of Tokarczuk should read it simply because it is hailed as her magnum opus and maybe it is. It's ambitious and ambitious writing always gains my respect whether I like it or not. It is a portrait into an interesting part of the world for me, an interesting time period, and focused on men accused of being Jews, but then becoming Muslims, but then being taken into the Catholic faith. If you like big books on history and religion then really look no further. Otherwise, it depends how much time you have and how much you like Olga. I'll add more thoughts when they are better organised but for now I can say it was a good experience but I'm glad it's over and back on the bookcase smiling the 'I've been read'-smile.
Firstly, I gotta say I'm a big Tokarczuk fan and respect her as much (or more) after reading this beast. This beast is too long and I've got my problems with it, but what a novel to have written. Spanning the 18th century, and beyond, and the historical figure Jacob Frank, a man believed to be the Messiah. Though the novel is certainly centred around him, Jacob floats in and out of the narrative (in fact, he doesn't actually appear in the narrative for the first 200 or so pages) and instead we get a sweeping 'panorama of an almost neglected chapter in European history', as said by the Nobel Committee. The novel crosses several borderlines and characters, including the most interesting character, Yente, Tokarczuk's 'fourth-person narrator', the woman who cannot die and instead flies about the novel's events as an omnipresent 'eye'.
There are pictures interspersed through the novel as her Flights was, there are letters, and diaries too. It is a sometimes overwhelming experience reading the novel, being physically larger than paperback size and big-enough-to-wrestle in length. Its most overwhelming feature is down to its first flaw. The Books of Jacob is readable enough, Tokarczuk doesn't bog it down with historical exposition or long religious ideas, but she does tell the novel in a very detached and unemotional way. For mostly 900-odd pages the tone of the novel stays the same, there's no rise or fall, nothing: it is like one very long road which is oftentimes interesting and oftentimes simply exhausting. Did it need to be so long? I'd say No. If it were shorter it would probably be a better novel. There are so many characters, so many plots, we hear about what they are doing, thinking, moving around, marrying, it is a constant barrage of stuff, fictional or not. And when it comes to wondering what is historical truth in the novel and what isn't, Tokarczuk answers that herself in a way. When a character asks another character to write a novel about the Frankists and how it was, he asks, ''But how were things? Is there anybody still around who could tell me?'' and the friend answers, ''You're a writer, just make up whatever's missing.''
Tokarczuk certainly does that with the depth of the novel and the characters like Yente. For those daunted by the size, it is wonderfully readable, almost simple in prose. There are moments of beauty but I would say it is almost entirely character-driven. This is ironic as Jacob Frank is unlikeable at almost every point. Fans of Tokarczuk should read it simply because it is hailed as her magnum opus and maybe it is. It's ambitious and ambitious writing always gains my respect whether I like it or not. It is a portrait into an interesting part of the world for me, an interesting time period, and focused on men accused of being Jews, but then becoming Muslims, but then being taken into the Catholic faith. If you like big books on history and religion then really look no further. Otherwise, it depends how much time you have and how much you like Olga. I'll add more thoughts when they are better organised but for now I can say it was a good experience but I'm glad it's over and back on the bookcase smiling the 'I've been read'-smile.