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袝屑锌褍蟹懈芯薪
鈥炐曅夹垦冃沸感拘解€� 械 褉芯屑邪薪, 褉邪蟹泻褉懈胁邪褖 懈褋褌懈薪懈褌械 蟹邪 褋胁械褌邪, 泻芯懈褌芯 薪械 蟹邪斜械谢褟蟹胁邪屑械 懈谢懈 薪械 懈褋泻邪屑械 写邪 锌褉懈蟹薪邪械屑. 孝芯胁邪 械 锌褗褉胁懈褟褌 褉芯屑邪薪 薪邪 袨谢谐邪 孝芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 褋谢械写 懈蟹谢懈蟹邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 鈥炐毿叫感承秆傂� 薪邪 携泻芯胁鈥� 锌褉械蟹 2014 谐. 懈 褋谢械写 锌芯谢褍褔邪胁邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 袧芯斜械谢芯胁邪褌邪 薪邪谐褉邪写邪 蟹邪 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉邪.
小械锌褌械屑胁褉懈, 1913. 袚褜芯斜械褉褋写芯褉褎, 写薪械褋 小芯泻芯谢芯胁褋泻芯, 袛芯谢薪邪 小懈谢械蟹懈褟. 孝褍泻, 胁 锌芯谢懈褌械 薪邪 锌谢邪薪懈薪邪褌邪, 胁 锌褉芯写褗谢卸械薪懈械 锌芯胁械褔械 芯褌 锌械褌写械褋械褌 谐芯写懈薪懈, 褎褍薪泻褑懈芯薪懈褉邪 械写懈薪 芯褌 锌褗褉胁懈褌械 胁 褋胁械褌邪 懈 薪邪泄-懈蟹胁械褋褌械薪 胁 袝胁褉芯锌邪 褋锌械褑懈邪谢懈蟹懈褉邪薪 褋邪薪邪褌芯褉懈褍屑 蟹邪 谢械褔械薪懈械 薪邪 斜械谢芯写褉芯斜薪懈 蟹邪斜芯谢褟胁邪薪懈褟. 小褌褍写械薪褌褗褌 芯褌 袥胁芯胁 袦械褔懈褋谢邪胁 袙芯泄薪懈褔 锌褉懈褋褌懈谐邪 胁 斜邪谢薪械芯泻褍褉芯褉褌邪 褋 薪邪写械卸写邪褌邪, 褔械 懈薪芯胁邪褌懈胁薪懈褌械 屑械褌芯写懈 薪邪 谢械褔械薪懈械 懈 泻褉懈褋褌邪谢薪芯 褔懈褋褌懈褟褌 胁褗蟹写褍褏 褖械 芯胁谢邪写械褟褌 褉邪蟹胁懈褌懈械褌芯 薪邪 斜芯谢械褋褌褌邪 屑褍, 邪 屑芯卸械 斜懈 写芯褉懈 褖械 谐芯 懈蟹谢械泻褍胁邪褌 薪邪锌褗谢薪芯. 袛懈邪谐薪芯蟹邪褌邪 芯斜邪褔械 薪械 芯褋褌邪胁褟 屑褟褋褌芯 蟹邪 蟹邪斜谢褍写邪: 褌褍斜械褉泻褍谢芯蟹邪.
袩芯 胁褉械屑械 薪邪 胁械褔械褉褟 懈谢懈 锌褉懈 写褗谢谐懈褌械 褉邪蟹褏芯写泻懈 懈蟹 泻褍褉芯褉褌邪 懈 胁 锌谢邪薪懈薪邪褌邪, 谐械褉芯懈褌械 褉邪蟹谐芯胁邪褉褟褌 蟹邪 械褋褌械褋褌胁芯褌芯 薪邪 褋胁械褌邪, 邪 褋褗褖芯 蟹邪 屑褟褋褌芯褌芯 懈 褉芯谢褟褌邪 薪邪 卸械薪邪褌邪. 袛褍屑懈褌械 懈屑, 芯褋芯斜械薪芯 蟹邪 胁薪懈屑邪褌械谢薪懈褟 褔懈褌邪褌械谢, 屑芯卸械 斜懈 褖械 锌褉芯蟹胁褍褔邪褌 薪褟泻邪泻 锌芯蟹薪邪褌芯. 袙 褌芯蟹懈 褉芯屑邪薪 袨谢谐邪 孝芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 锌芯写褏胁邪褖邪 懈薪褌械褉械褋薪邪 懈谐褉邪 褋 鈥炐捬娦谎埿敌毙叫把傂� 锌谢邪薪懈薪邪鈥� 芯褌 孝芯屑邪褋 袦邪薪 鈥� 褉芯屑邪薪, 泻芯泄褌芯 锌懈褋邪褌械谢泻邪褌邪, 锌芯 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪懈褌械 褲 写褍屑懈, 蟹薪邪械 薪邪懈蟹褍褋褌. 袙 褋邪薪邪褌芯褉懈褍屑邪 褋械 谐芯胁芯褉懈 薪械 褋邪屑芯 蟹邪 蟹写褉邪胁械 懈 谢械褔械斜薪懈 锌褉芯褑械写褍褉懈. 袛芯 袙芯泄薪懈褔 懈 芯褋褌邪薪邪谢懈褌械 锌邪褑懈械薪褌懈 写芯褋褌懈谐邪褌 褋屑褉邪蟹褟胁邪褖懈 泻褉褗胁褌邪 懈褋褌芯褉懈懈 蟹邪 褌褉邪谐懈褔薪懈 褋褗斜懈褌懈褟, 褋谢褍褔胁邪褖懈 褋械 胁 芯泻芯谢薪懈褌械 锌谢邪薪懈薪懈. 袦邪泻邪褉 谐械褉芯褟褌 写邪 械 蟹邪械褌 褋 褍褋懈谢懈褟褌邪 写邪 泻褉懈械 懈褋褌懈薪邪褌邪 蟹邪 褋褗褋褌芯褟薪懈械褌芯 褋懈, 屑懈褋褌械褉懈褟褌邪 薪邪 褍卸邪褋褟胁邪褖懈褌械 褋谢褍褏芯胁械 谐芯 锌褉懈胁谢懈褔邪 胁褋械 锌芯-薪械褍写褗褉卸懈屑芯. 孝芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 薪械 蟹薪邪械, 械, 褔械 褌褗屑薪懈褌械 褋懈谢懈 胁械褔械 褋邪 谐芯 胁蟹械谢懈 薪邪 锌褉懈褑械谢.
袧邪写胁懈褋薪邪谢邪 谢懈 械 薪邪写 袝胁褉芯锌邪 褋褟薪泻邪褌邪 薪邪 胁芯泄薪邪? 袛械屑芯薪懈 懈屑邪 谢懈?
小械锌褌械屑胁褉懈, 1913. 袚褜芯斜械褉褋写芯褉褎, 写薪械褋 小芯泻芯谢芯胁褋泻芯, 袛芯谢薪邪 小懈谢械蟹懈褟. 孝褍泻, 胁 锌芯谢懈褌械 薪邪 锌谢邪薪懈薪邪褌邪, 胁 锌褉芯写褗谢卸械薪懈械 锌芯胁械褔械 芯褌 锌械褌写械褋械褌 谐芯写懈薪懈, 褎褍薪泻褑懈芯薪懈褉邪 械写懈薪 芯褌 锌褗褉胁懈褌械 胁 褋胁械褌邪 懈 薪邪泄-懈蟹胁械褋褌械薪 胁 袝胁褉芯锌邪 褋锌械褑懈邪谢懈蟹懈褉邪薪 褋邪薪邪褌芯褉懈褍屑 蟹邪 谢械褔械薪懈械 薪邪 斜械谢芯写褉芯斜薪懈 蟹邪斜芯谢褟胁邪薪懈褟. 小褌褍写械薪褌褗褌 芯褌 袥胁芯胁 袦械褔懈褋谢邪胁 袙芯泄薪懈褔 锌褉懈褋褌懈谐邪 胁 斜邪谢薪械芯泻褍褉芯褉褌邪 褋 薪邪写械卸写邪褌邪, 褔械 懈薪芯胁邪褌懈胁薪懈褌械 屑械褌芯写懈 薪邪 谢械褔械薪懈械 懈 泻褉懈褋褌邪谢薪芯 褔懈褋褌懈褟褌 胁褗蟹写褍褏 褖械 芯胁谢邪写械褟褌 褉邪蟹胁懈褌懈械褌芯 薪邪 斜芯谢械褋褌褌邪 屑褍, 邪 屑芯卸械 斜懈 写芯褉懈 褖械 谐芯 懈蟹谢械泻褍胁邪褌 薪邪锌褗谢薪芯. 袛懈邪谐薪芯蟹邪褌邪 芯斜邪褔械 薪械 芯褋褌邪胁褟 屑褟褋褌芯 蟹邪 蟹邪斜谢褍写邪: 褌褍斜械褉泻褍谢芯蟹邪.
袩芯 胁褉械屑械 薪邪 胁械褔械褉褟 懈谢懈 锌褉懈 写褗谢谐懈褌械 褉邪蟹褏芯写泻懈 懈蟹 泻褍褉芯褉褌邪 懈 胁 锌谢邪薪懈薪邪褌邪, 谐械褉芯懈褌械 褉邪蟹谐芯胁邪褉褟褌 蟹邪 械褋褌械褋褌胁芯褌芯 薪邪 褋胁械褌邪, 邪 褋褗褖芯 蟹邪 屑褟褋褌芯褌芯 懈 褉芯谢褟褌邪 薪邪 卸械薪邪褌邪. 袛褍屑懈褌械 懈屑, 芯褋芯斜械薪芯 蟹邪 胁薪懈屑邪褌械谢薪懈褟 褔懈褌邪褌械谢, 屑芯卸械 斜懈 褖械 锌褉芯蟹胁褍褔邪褌 薪褟泻邪泻 锌芯蟹薪邪褌芯. 袙 褌芯蟹懈 褉芯屑邪薪 袨谢谐邪 孝芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 锌芯写褏胁邪褖邪 懈薪褌械褉械褋薪邪 懈谐褉邪 褋 鈥炐捬娦谎埿敌毙叫把傂� 锌谢邪薪懈薪邪鈥� 芯褌 孝芯屑邪褋 袦邪薪 鈥� 褉芯屑邪薪, 泻芯泄褌芯 锌懈褋邪褌械谢泻邪褌邪, 锌芯 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪懈褌械 褲 写褍屑懈, 蟹薪邪械 薪邪懈蟹褍褋褌. 袙 褋邪薪邪褌芯褉懈褍屑邪 褋械 谐芯胁芯褉懈 薪械 褋邪屑芯 蟹邪 蟹写褉邪胁械 懈 谢械褔械斜薪懈 锌褉芯褑械写褍褉懈. 袛芯 袙芯泄薪懈褔 懈 芯褋褌邪薪邪谢懈褌械 锌邪褑懈械薪褌懈 写芯褋褌懈谐邪褌 褋屑褉邪蟹褟胁邪褖懈 泻褉褗胁褌邪 懈褋褌芯褉懈懈 蟹邪 褌褉邪谐懈褔薪懈 褋褗斜懈褌懈褟, 褋谢褍褔胁邪褖懈 褋械 胁 芯泻芯谢薪懈褌械 锌谢邪薪懈薪懈. 袦邪泻邪褉 谐械褉芯褟褌 写邪 械 蟹邪械褌 褋 褍褋懈谢懈褟褌邪 写邪 泻褉懈械 懈褋褌懈薪邪褌邪 蟹邪 褋褗褋褌芯褟薪懈械褌芯 褋懈, 屑懈褋褌械褉懈褟褌邪 薪邪 褍卸邪褋褟胁邪褖懈褌械 褋谢褍褏芯胁械 谐芯 锌褉懈胁谢懈褔邪 胁褋械 锌芯-薪械褍写褗褉卸懈屑芯. 孝芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 薪械 蟹薪邪械, 械, 褔械 褌褗屑薪懈褌械 褋懈谢懈 胁械褔械 褋邪 谐芯 胁蟹械谢懈 薪邪 锌褉懈褑械谢.
袧邪写胁懈褋薪邪谢邪 谢懈 械 薪邪写 袝胁褉芯锌邪 褋褟薪泻邪褌邪 薪邪 胁芯泄薪邪? 袛械屑芯薪懈 懈屑邪 谢懈?
328 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2022
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About the author
Olga Tokarczuk
72听books7,598听followersOlga Nawoja Tokarczuk is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland. She was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature as the first Polish female prose writer for "a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life".
For her novel Flights, Tokarczuk was awarded the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. For Flights and The Books of Jacob, she won the Nike Awards, Poland's top literary prize, among other accolades; she won the Nike audience award five times.
Her works have been translated into almost 40 languages, making her one of the most translated contemporary Polish writers. The Books of Jacob, regarded as her magnum opus, was released in the UK in November 2021 after seven years of translation work, followed by release in the US in February 2022. In March that year, the novel was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.
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Photo: 艁ukasz Giza
For her novel Flights, Tokarczuk was awarded the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. For Flights and The Books of Jacob, she won the Nike Awards, Poland's top literary prize, among other accolades; she won the Nike audience award five times.
Her works have been translated into almost 40 languages, making her one of the most translated contemporary Polish writers. The Books of Jacob, regarded as her magnum opus, was released in the UK in November 2021 after seven years of translation work, followed by release in the US in February 2022. In March that year, the novel was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.
Source:
Photo: 艁ukasz Giza
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,435 reviews
April 20, 2023
, but make it feminist: In her first novel after being awarded the Nobel, Tokarczuk tackles another Nobel recipient's work, and the result is dark and hilarious. Short recap: In "The Magic Mountain", sends engineer Hans Castorp into a sanatorium near Davos / Switzerland, where he spends seven years ruminating world affairs and philosophy with fellow patients. The parody on the classic German Bildungsroman ends with the beginning of WW I. Set in 1913, Tokarczuk sends another aspiring engineer (fun fact: Castorp specializes in building ships, this protagonist in sewage infrastructure - love that twist), Mieczyslaw Wojnicz, to a sanatorium in , where, you guessed it, he ruminates with other patients about the state of the world. The Magic Mountain, now even more mountainous?
The real sanatorium in G枚rbersdorf was the first in the world to specialize in the treatment of tuberculosis, and the methods applied there to treat lung diseases inspired Mann's novel. Tokarczuk's sickly protagonist Wojnicz resides near the sanatorium in a guesthouse for men, where he and the other patients living there spend quite some time talking about the nature of women - and the brilliant idea here is that the author lets those guys paraphrase real misogynistic utterances from famous... 盲hem ... thinkers (not in this respect though) like , , , , , etc. pp. The montage is genius, because it brings out how outrageously stupid these sentences are and presents the men repeating them in slight variations as fearful, as terrified of women, which prompts them to try and control them (Tokarczuk sounds like she knows her ).
So while there are almost no women, the men are obsessed with women - and the men are also narrated by women. Not only is the author of the novel female, no, the mysterious "we" that functions as the narrator seems to be the title-giving choir of female ghosts that haunt the forests nearby, the spectres of dead women, of women who fled their homes (as the story tells us), who were murdered in the witch trials in G枚rbersdorf in the 17th century, and who appear as hallucinogenic mushrooms reminiscent of the female anatomy, mushrooms that the patients turn into liquor and permanently ingest. is a shape-shifting female ghost from Greek mythology, and while in Mann's Magic Mountain, women are either seductresses (I mean, who names their character "Clawdia Chauchat", the clawy hot cat? Thomas, WTF?) or not exactly bright, Tokarczuk turns them into the ones claiming the narrative about misogynistic men. Love it, 10 out of 10 from me.
But there are more narrative strands: Right at the beginning, the abused wife of the owner of the guesthouse kills herself, plus we learn that (male) patients mysteriously die every November. What does it have to do with the female spirits, and with the fact that all men are permanently on mushroom liquor? There's a horror mystery element in there, but one relating to femicide. The whole text sounds as if was written during the narrated time, and it adds a hallucinatory quality, a foggy, oppressive atmosphere. The suppressed sex drive is channeled in violence, grandiosity, and bizarre sex dolls, and it makes the men appear small and pathetic.
A main theme here is perspective though: Not only is there a fantastic plot twist in the final quarter of the book, vision and art play a pivotal role to illuminate the dynamics between genders. In a central scene, patient and gay art student Thilo discusses painter with Wojnicz, and explains how his depiction of nature changes according to where you stand before the image (also note that Wojnicz is cross-eyed!).
This novel, illustrated with historic materials, is a treasure trove of ideas, and while the sound - rooted in the beginning of the 20th century and partly a pastiche of Mann - is probably not to everyone's taste, I enjoyed the witty construction and the many serious points Tokarczuk makes in an expertly hilarious manner. Full disclosure: I hated , but now I get why this woman received the Nobel.
The real sanatorium in G枚rbersdorf was the first in the world to specialize in the treatment of tuberculosis, and the methods applied there to treat lung diseases inspired Mann's novel. Tokarczuk's sickly protagonist Wojnicz resides near the sanatorium in a guesthouse for men, where he and the other patients living there spend quite some time talking about the nature of women - and the brilliant idea here is that the author lets those guys paraphrase real misogynistic utterances from famous... 盲hem ... thinkers (not in this respect though) like , , , , , etc. pp. The montage is genius, because it brings out how outrageously stupid these sentences are and presents the men repeating them in slight variations as fearful, as terrified of women, which prompts them to try and control them (Tokarczuk sounds like she knows her ).
So while there are almost no women, the men are obsessed with women - and the men are also narrated by women. Not only is the author of the novel female, no, the mysterious "we" that functions as the narrator seems to be the title-giving choir of female ghosts that haunt the forests nearby, the spectres of dead women, of women who fled their homes (as the story tells us), who were murdered in the witch trials in G枚rbersdorf in the 17th century, and who appear as hallucinogenic mushrooms reminiscent of the female anatomy, mushrooms that the patients turn into liquor and permanently ingest. is a shape-shifting female ghost from Greek mythology, and while in Mann's Magic Mountain, women are either seductresses (I mean, who names their character "Clawdia Chauchat", the clawy hot cat? Thomas, WTF?) or not exactly bright, Tokarczuk turns them into the ones claiming the narrative about misogynistic men. Love it, 10 out of 10 from me.
But there are more narrative strands: Right at the beginning, the abused wife of the owner of the guesthouse kills herself, plus we learn that (male) patients mysteriously die every November. What does it have to do with the female spirits, and with the fact that all men are permanently on mushroom liquor? There's a horror mystery element in there, but one relating to femicide. The whole text sounds as if was written during the narrated time, and it adds a hallucinatory quality, a foggy, oppressive atmosphere. The suppressed sex drive is channeled in violence, grandiosity, and bizarre sex dolls, and it makes the men appear small and pathetic.
A main theme here is perspective though: Not only is there a fantastic plot twist in the final quarter of the book, vision and art play a pivotal role to illuminate the dynamics between genders. In a central scene, patient and gay art student Thilo discusses painter with Wojnicz, and explains how his depiction of nature changes according to where you stand before the image (also note that Wojnicz is cross-eyed!).
This novel, illustrated with historic materials, is a treasure trove of ideas, and while the sound - rooted in the beginning of the 20th century and partly a pastiche of Mann - is probably not to everyone's taste, I enjoyed the witty construction and the many serious points Tokarczuk makes in an expertly hilarious manner. Full disclosure: I hated , but now I get why this woman received the Nobel.
June 1, 2022
Przed chwil膮 sko艅czy艂em 鈥濫mpuzjon鈥� i ostatnie zdanie zostawi艂o mnie z my艣l膮, 偶e przeczyta艂em ksi膮偶k臋 kompletn膮: gatunkow膮 marmolad臋 rozsmarowan膮 na wielkim p艂贸tnie tak zwanej 鈥瀕iteratury pi臋knej鈥�. To by艂a powie艣膰 ponura, przera偶aj膮ca, acz od pierwszej do ostatniej strony intryguj膮ca. Pisz膮c najpro艣ciej 鈥� Tokarczuk stworzy艂a pi臋kny horror, odpowiadaj膮c tym samym na to, czego aktualnie (mam wra偶enie) pragniemy w naszych czytelniczych 偶yciach. Jest nuta niepokoju, s膮 istotne tematy spo艂eczne i zach臋ta do refleksji nad 偶yciem oraz postaw膮 wobec spraw kluczowych tj. r贸wno艣ci (na wielu p艂aszczyznach). Dzie艂o bazuj膮ce na spojrzeniu na rzeczywisto艣膰 z cienia, z mroku. Narracja implikuje wielk膮 niewiadom膮, co艣 nie z tego 艣wiata, co bacznie obserwuje nasz膮 g艂贸wn膮 posta膰, Mieczys艂awa Wojnicza.
Wojnicz przybywa do Pensjonatu dla m臋偶czyzn, 偶eby si臋 kurowa膰, pokona膰 gru藕lic臋. Jest cz艂owiekiem wra偶liwym, delikatnym i nie da si臋 do niego nie pa艂a膰 sympati膮. Jednak偶e wida膰 od pocz膮tku, 偶e postrzegany jest przez innych jako jednostka s艂aba (nie tylko ze wzgl臋du na chorob臋, kt贸ra nawiedzi艂a jego cia艂o). Swoj膮 si艂臋 ma dopiero odkry膰. Na przestrzeni kilku pierwszych rozdzia艂贸w dochodzi do pewnego samob贸jstwa, a przynajmniej tak si臋 Wojniczowi na pierwszy rzut oka wydaje. Im dalej w las, tym jest mroczniej, trudniej, a z ka偶dego zak膮tka krzyczy m臋偶czyzna nienawidz膮cy jakiej艣 kobiety. Mizoginia s膮czy si臋 z ust bohater贸w otaczaj膮cych Wojnicza, a on troch臋 nie wie, co z tym pocz膮膰 i jak reagowa膰. Ciekawe jest to, 偶e w tej ksi膮偶ce kobiet, teoretycznie, nie ma, a jednak stanowi膮 zal膮偶ek wszystkiego, o czym mo偶na w 鈥濫mpuzjonie鈥� przeczyta膰. I to jest wspania艂e. Tokarczuk umiej臋tnie pokazuje nam, 偶e czasami nie chcemy dopu艣ci膰 do siebie pewnych prawd i powiedzie膰 rzeczywisto艣ci 鈥瀟ak鈥�. Ona robi to za nas, poprzez t臋 ksi膮偶k臋.
Od startu narasta napi臋cie i d膮偶ymy ku kulminacji, kt贸ra niekt贸rym mo偶e wyda膰 si臋 zbyt magiczna i oniryczna (albo i fantastyczna), ale autorka czerpie z r贸偶nych gatunk贸w 鈥� nie ogranicza si臋 w formie przekazu, kt贸ry wybrzmiewa bardzo wyra藕nie.
Nic wi臋cej nie powiem 鈥� polecam przeczyta膰!
Wojnicz przybywa do Pensjonatu dla m臋偶czyzn, 偶eby si臋 kurowa膰, pokona膰 gru藕lic臋. Jest cz艂owiekiem wra偶liwym, delikatnym i nie da si臋 do niego nie pa艂a膰 sympati膮. Jednak偶e wida膰 od pocz膮tku, 偶e postrzegany jest przez innych jako jednostka s艂aba (nie tylko ze wzgl臋du na chorob臋, kt贸ra nawiedzi艂a jego cia艂o). Swoj膮 si艂臋 ma dopiero odkry膰. Na przestrzeni kilku pierwszych rozdzia艂贸w dochodzi do pewnego samob贸jstwa, a przynajmniej tak si臋 Wojniczowi na pierwszy rzut oka wydaje. Im dalej w las, tym jest mroczniej, trudniej, a z ka偶dego zak膮tka krzyczy m臋偶czyzna nienawidz膮cy jakiej艣 kobiety. Mizoginia s膮czy si臋 z ust bohater贸w otaczaj膮cych Wojnicza, a on troch臋 nie wie, co z tym pocz膮膰 i jak reagowa膰. Ciekawe jest to, 偶e w tej ksi膮偶ce kobiet, teoretycznie, nie ma, a jednak stanowi膮 zal膮偶ek wszystkiego, o czym mo偶na w 鈥濫mpuzjonie鈥� przeczyta膰. I to jest wspania艂e. Tokarczuk umiej臋tnie pokazuje nam, 偶e czasami nie chcemy dopu艣ci膰 do siebie pewnych prawd i powiedzie膰 rzeczywisto艣ci 鈥瀟ak鈥�. Ona robi to za nas, poprzez t臋 ksi膮偶k臋.
Od startu narasta napi臋cie i d膮偶ymy ku kulminacji, kt贸ra niekt贸rym mo偶e wyda膰 si臋 zbyt magiczna i oniryczna (albo i fantastyczna), ale autorka czerpie z r贸偶nych gatunk贸w 鈥� nie ogranicza si臋 w formie przekazu, kt贸ry wybrzmiewa bardzo wyra藕nie.
Nic wi臋cej nie powiem 鈥� polecam przeczyta膰!
October 1, 2024
"Have you seen...the cemetery...in Langwaltersdorf?" asked Thilo, breaking the silence, breathing heavily. "It's worth a look. It鈥檚 a special map of the world of the living."
The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk is a wild mix of gothic, philosophical, and psychological elements. Set in 1913, the novel follows Mieczys艂aw, a man with tuberculosis as he checks into Wilhelm Opitz鈥檚 Guesthouse for Gentlemen in the village of G枚rbersdorf.听A health resort/Sanitorium of sorts in the Silesian mountains.
Straight off the bat, the setting gives off major Dracula vibes, with a group of eccentric patients engaging in deep (sometimes unsettling and misogynistic) conversations on life, death, women and the nature of existence.
Tokarczuk鈥檚 signature style, mixing the mystical with the mundane, is all over this book. There鈥檚 a constant feeling of something lurking just below the surface, which makes the slow build incredibly tense. It鈥檚 a novel that asks a lot of big questions, but instead of offering clean answers, it leaves you with a haunting sense of unease.
The book feels like a fever dream, strange, immersive, and thought provoking. It鈥檚 not a light or easy read, but if you enjoy meditative, eerie, and complex narratives, you will love this one.
The Empusium is a novel that challenges and rewards, appealing to readers who appreciate literature that intertwines psychological depth with gothic horror.
My Highest Recommendation.
Thank you Text Publishing for gifting me an advanced copy of The Empusium for review.
Available now!
The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk is a wild mix of gothic, philosophical, and psychological elements. Set in 1913, the novel follows Mieczys艂aw, a man with tuberculosis as he checks into Wilhelm Opitz鈥檚 Guesthouse for Gentlemen in the village of G枚rbersdorf.听A health resort/Sanitorium of sorts in the Silesian mountains.
Straight off the bat, the setting gives off major Dracula vibes, with a group of eccentric patients engaging in deep (sometimes unsettling and misogynistic) conversations on life, death, women and the nature of existence.
Tokarczuk鈥檚 signature style, mixing the mystical with the mundane, is all over this book. There鈥檚 a constant feeling of something lurking just below the surface, which makes the slow build incredibly tense. It鈥檚 a novel that asks a lot of big questions, but instead of offering clean answers, it leaves you with a haunting sense of unease.
The book feels like a fever dream, strange, immersive, and thought provoking. It鈥檚 not a light or easy read, but if you enjoy meditative, eerie, and complex narratives, you will love this one.
The Empusium is a novel that challenges and rewards, appealing to readers who appreciate literature that intertwines psychological depth with gothic horror.
My Highest Recommendation.
Thank you Text Publishing for gifting me an advanced copy of The Empusium for review.
Available now!
June 15, 2024
4.5 stars. Olga fucking went there. Olga woke up one day and thought 鈥淚 have absolutely fucking had it鈥� and wrote this book. She snapped and good for her. This book is absolutely iconic.
It is set in Poland in 1913 and follows Wojnicz who is a student suffering from a debilitating tuberculous infection. He travels to a health resort which promises a new, 鈥榥atural鈥� sort of treatment and he and the other ailed guests spend their days strolling through the woods, drinking liquor and discussing philosophy over dinner together every night.
It focuses heavily on a group of men who all seem to make friends with each other but keep saying and doing the dumbest things I鈥檝e ever read on paper. And I kept thinking to myself 鈥渨hy are these men to stupid鈥� through the whole book, and Olga鈥檚 true genius of why she created the characters this way is revealed at the very end. I really enjoyed the sense of kinship that was developing between them all amongst the growing paranoia of each other the sicker and sicker they got. They hear each other moving around a night and tell stories of bodies found in the woods in November, swearing it to be true. Despite their hearty discussions every evening there is a damning sense of mistrust that the main character can鈥檛 shake about the entire resort, its doctors and its patients.
The horror in this book is so subtle it feels at times almost undetectable, but once you finish the book you realise it鈥檚 been there all along. The Empusium is not a novel which spells things out for you and the reader must work out a lot of the clues and references throughout the book to decipher what鈥檚 going on and what it鈥檚 actually trying to say. This book does not spoon-feed you and it鈥檚 not a horror which screams in your face. It鈥檚 whole vibe feels ghostly and like there is some sort of presence within the words that you can鈥檛 put your finger on, and only with a careful understanding of language and the body of work she is referencing will one feel as though they get the horror of the book.
Not unlike Drive Your Plow, it鈥檚 written reminiscent of an eighteenth century classic, which I think is a nod to her deep appreciation of romanticism but also in a way it allows her to reclaim a lot of the narratives from this period which were very much dominated by male voices. It had a really strong Edgar Allan Poe feel to it, with the way the omniscient narrator kept making themselves known to the reader and there was an eerie foreshadowing at the end of almost every chapter.
Small bits of information are revealed to you through this book but it is truly in the last third where it comes to its absolutely climax and just blows everything out of the water. I couldn鈥檛 read fast enough because I was in awe of what was happening. There is a slight lull in the middle section where a lot of the men are just going on walks and there doesn鈥檛 seem to be much happening. But it鈥檚 worth it to get to the ending - and then to the acknowledgements.
I MEAN it when I say you HAVE to read the acknowledgment page at the end of this book. My jaw literally dropped open when I read it and it made the entire novel just make complete sense to me. Like she actually did that, she truly went there. Olga took absolutely no prisoners with this book and I genuinely can鈥檛 think of a book which has been so clever that I鈥檝e read recently. I really just want to start the whole thing over again so I can appreciate it even more with the hindsight knowledge of what is to come.
It is set in Poland in 1913 and follows Wojnicz who is a student suffering from a debilitating tuberculous infection. He travels to a health resort which promises a new, 鈥榥atural鈥� sort of treatment and he and the other ailed guests spend their days strolling through the woods, drinking liquor and discussing philosophy over dinner together every night.
It focuses heavily on a group of men who all seem to make friends with each other but keep saying and doing the dumbest things I鈥檝e ever read on paper. And I kept thinking to myself 鈥渨hy are these men to stupid鈥� through the whole book, and Olga鈥檚 true genius of why she created the characters this way is revealed at the very end. I really enjoyed the sense of kinship that was developing between them all amongst the growing paranoia of each other the sicker and sicker they got. They hear each other moving around a night and tell stories of bodies found in the woods in November, swearing it to be true. Despite their hearty discussions every evening there is a damning sense of mistrust that the main character can鈥檛 shake about the entire resort, its doctors and its patients.
The horror in this book is so subtle it feels at times almost undetectable, but once you finish the book you realise it鈥檚 been there all along. The Empusium is not a novel which spells things out for you and the reader must work out a lot of the clues and references throughout the book to decipher what鈥檚 going on and what it鈥檚 actually trying to say. This book does not spoon-feed you and it鈥檚 not a horror which screams in your face. It鈥檚 whole vibe feels ghostly and like there is some sort of presence within the words that you can鈥檛 put your finger on, and only with a careful understanding of language and the body of work she is referencing will one feel as though they get the horror of the book.
Not unlike Drive Your Plow, it鈥檚 written reminiscent of an eighteenth century classic, which I think is a nod to her deep appreciation of romanticism but also in a way it allows her to reclaim a lot of the narratives from this period which were very much dominated by male voices. It had a really strong Edgar Allan Poe feel to it, with the way the omniscient narrator kept making themselves known to the reader and there was an eerie foreshadowing at the end of almost every chapter.
Small bits of information are revealed to you through this book but it is truly in the last third where it comes to its absolutely climax and just blows everything out of the water. I couldn鈥檛 read fast enough because I was in awe of what was happening. There is a slight lull in the middle section where a lot of the men are just going on walks and there doesn鈥檛 seem to be much happening. But it鈥檚 worth it to get to the ending - and then to the acknowledgements.
I MEAN it when I say you HAVE to read the acknowledgment page at the end of this book. My jaw literally dropped open when I read it and it made the entire novel just make complete sense to me. Like she actually did that, she truly went there. Olga took absolutely no prisoners with this book and I genuinely can鈥檛 think of a book which has been so clever that I鈥檝e read recently. I really just want to start the whole thing over again so I can appreciate it even more with the hindsight knowledge of what is to come.
November 20, 2024
Was this book intelligently and skillfully written? Yes, absolutely it was. Was it particularly engaging or entertaining for me? No, not really.
January 12, 2025
Loved it!
September 19, 2024
Olga Tokarczuk鈥檚 ambitious, thought-provoking novel鈥檚 loosely based on Thomas Mann鈥檚 bildungsroman The Magic Mountain which she frequently rereads. Through the experiences of protagonist Hans Castorp, Mann鈥檚 novel examines pre-WW1 European society: competing strands of political thought; the search for meaning in a world in which Nietzsche鈥檚 declared God dead. Tokarczuk borrows from Mann鈥檚 framework but changes the setting from Swiss TB sanitorium to a version of Hermann Brehmer鈥檚 famous sanitorium in an isolated, mountainous valley in G枚rbersdorf, compressing the action so her story unfolds over several months in 1913.
Tokarczuk鈥檚 book features Mieczys艂aw Wojnicz, Polish, in his twenties, like Castorp he鈥檚 diffident and sensitive, slightly adrift. Wojnicz travels to Brehmer鈥檚 sanitorium for its wellness cure, renting a room in a gentlemen鈥檚 guesthouse close to the main complex. His fellow residents seem desperate to command Wojnicz鈥檚 attention. These men have an abundance of spare time, caught between hoping to survive and waiting for death. Each night they swig Schwarmerei, a local concoction with hallucinogenic qualities, and engage in heated debates about the nature of things. Each striving to convert Wojnicz to their particular viewpoints. The men vary in their affiliations ranging from conservative Catholic to theosophist yet are united in fear and loathing of women. Theirs is a heteropatriarchal society in microcosm, women are relegated to the margins: useful for domestic labour and/or sex but little else.
Wojnicz listens to the men but rarely reciprocates possibly because he has a secret to keep. He quickly realises he鈥檚 not alone in that, the boarding-house and its surrounds are shrouded in mystery: the manager鈥檚 wife dies in suspicious circumstances; at night Wojnicz hears strange whisperings in the attics overhead; and there are rumours of macabre occurrences in the woods above the town. These sinister elements build on Mann but give Tokarczuk鈥檚 narrative a more pronounced gothic flavour mixed with flashes of folk horror, laced with unsettling undercurrents. The novel鈥檚 narration intensifies the atmosphere of unease, borrowing from Aristophanes Tokarczuk shifts between an enigmatic choral perspective and one more aligned to Wojnicz鈥檚. Allusions to classical Greek and Roman texts pervade her story, from the play on Plato鈥檚 Symposium in her title, to the mythical Empusa, a terrifying, shape-shifting woman鈥� whose name also conjures Polish tales of witchcraft and malevolent, blood-sucking beings.
As usual, Tokarczuk鈥檚 piece is highly referential weaving in aspects of history, myth and folklore: from Jean Renoir鈥檚 La r猫gle du jeu to the Alpine fable of the Sennentuntschi, a variation on a rape-revenge fantasy involving sex dolls crudely-fashioned by mountain workers 鈥� although a more recent find suggests such dolls may not be purely fictional. Tokarczuk picks up on a number of Mann鈥檚 themes, his ideas on myth and recurring patterns overlap with her own interest in Jung. But this is recognisably Tokarczuk鈥檚 territory from the oblique commentary on speciesism to the condemnation of racism and antisemitism. Like Mann鈥檚, Tokarczuk鈥檚 novel traces a line from certain forms of belief to the advent of war. But she also hints at connections between some characters鈥� worldviews and the later rise of National Socialism, the twisted morality that justified the Holocaust 鈥� underlined by making Lviv Wojnicz鈥檚 home and placing him in a sanitorium in Silesia. But Tokarczuk鈥檚 flagging concerns too over events in contemporary Europe: climate change; the resurgence of far-right nationalism; the war in Ukraine.
However, Tokarczuk鈥檚 overriding preoccupation here鈥檚 with toxic masculinity, body fascism, destructive gender binaries/species divides, the misogynistic, phallocentric belief systems that have dominated European thought. She deftly exposes these prejudices by having numerous characters spout appalling ideas about women drawn directly from the work of prominent male thinkers and writers from Darwin and Freud to Yeats and Sartre. Tokarczuk then challenges these gendered attitudes through Wojnicz鈥檚 personal journey to an unexpected, radical awakening. She constructs scenarios promoting alternative ways of seeing, emphasizing the organic, interspecies networks, fluidity over rigidity 鈥� possibly drawn from queer mycology. But she blends concepts centred on the potential for transcendence and the queering of gender with a plea for equal status for so-called 鈥榳omen鈥檚鈥� work within human society 鈥� aiming for a world in which the feminine-coded domestic sphere carries as much weight as the male-coded public.
But I found this combination slightly vexing, Tokarczuk鈥檚 organic network鈥檚 one in which gender should theoretically be dissolved, merging into a greater, interspecies collective. Yet Tokarczuk鈥檚 version retains sufficient 鈥榝eminine鈥� rage to fight against male oppression suggesting conventional gender binaries still retain some force; similarly, Tokarczuk鈥檚 specific set of arguments in favour of elevating the status of domestic labour 鈥� which I鈥檓 obviously all for 鈥� sometimes seemed to skirt dangerously close to reinforcing essentialist feminine archetypes. It鈥檚 possible that part of the problem, at least for me, was that Tokarczuk's trying to pack too much in, making her narrative overly dense, difficult to negotiate at times, muddling her arguments. But, doubts aside, there鈥檚 a lot here I fully support. Overall, a stimulating, engrossing read. Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fitzcarraldo for an ARC
Rating: 3.5
Tokarczuk鈥檚 book features Mieczys艂aw Wojnicz, Polish, in his twenties, like Castorp he鈥檚 diffident and sensitive, slightly adrift. Wojnicz travels to Brehmer鈥檚 sanitorium for its wellness cure, renting a room in a gentlemen鈥檚 guesthouse close to the main complex. His fellow residents seem desperate to command Wojnicz鈥檚 attention. These men have an abundance of spare time, caught between hoping to survive and waiting for death. Each night they swig Schwarmerei, a local concoction with hallucinogenic qualities, and engage in heated debates about the nature of things. Each striving to convert Wojnicz to their particular viewpoints. The men vary in their affiliations ranging from conservative Catholic to theosophist yet are united in fear and loathing of women. Theirs is a heteropatriarchal society in microcosm, women are relegated to the margins: useful for domestic labour and/or sex but little else.
Wojnicz listens to the men but rarely reciprocates possibly because he has a secret to keep. He quickly realises he鈥檚 not alone in that, the boarding-house and its surrounds are shrouded in mystery: the manager鈥檚 wife dies in suspicious circumstances; at night Wojnicz hears strange whisperings in the attics overhead; and there are rumours of macabre occurrences in the woods above the town. These sinister elements build on Mann but give Tokarczuk鈥檚 narrative a more pronounced gothic flavour mixed with flashes of folk horror, laced with unsettling undercurrents. The novel鈥檚 narration intensifies the atmosphere of unease, borrowing from Aristophanes Tokarczuk shifts between an enigmatic choral perspective and one more aligned to Wojnicz鈥檚. Allusions to classical Greek and Roman texts pervade her story, from the play on Plato鈥檚 Symposium in her title, to the mythical Empusa, a terrifying, shape-shifting woman鈥� whose name also conjures Polish tales of witchcraft and malevolent, blood-sucking beings.
As usual, Tokarczuk鈥檚 piece is highly referential weaving in aspects of history, myth and folklore: from Jean Renoir鈥檚 La r猫gle du jeu to the Alpine fable of the Sennentuntschi, a variation on a rape-revenge fantasy involving sex dolls crudely-fashioned by mountain workers 鈥� although a more recent find suggests such dolls may not be purely fictional. Tokarczuk picks up on a number of Mann鈥檚 themes, his ideas on myth and recurring patterns overlap with her own interest in Jung. But this is recognisably Tokarczuk鈥檚 territory from the oblique commentary on speciesism to the condemnation of racism and antisemitism. Like Mann鈥檚, Tokarczuk鈥檚 novel traces a line from certain forms of belief to the advent of war. But she also hints at connections between some characters鈥� worldviews and the later rise of National Socialism, the twisted morality that justified the Holocaust 鈥� underlined by making Lviv Wojnicz鈥檚 home and placing him in a sanitorium in Silesia. But Tokarczuk鈥檚 flagging concerns too over events in contemporary Europe: climate change; the resurgence of far-right nationalism; the war in Ukraine.
However, Tokarczuk鈥檚 overriding preoccupation here鈥檚 with toxic masculinity, body fascism, destructive gender binaries/species divides, the misogynistic, phallocentric belief systems that have dominated European thought. She deftly exposes these prejudices by having numerous characters spout appalling ideas about women drawn directly from the work of prominent male thinkers and writers from Darwin and Freud to Yeats and Sartre. Tokarczuk then challenges these gendered attitudes through Wojnicz鈥檚 personal journey to an unexpected, radical awakening. She constructs scenarios promoting alternative ways of seeing, emphasizing the organic, interspecies networks, fluidity over rigidity 鈥� possibly drawn from queer mycology. But she blends concepts centred on the potential for transcendence and the queering of gender with a plea for equal status for so-called 鈥榳omen鈥檚鈥� work within human society 鈥� aiming for a world in which the feminine-coded domestic sphere carries as much weight as the male-coded public.
But I found this combination slightly vexing, Tokarczuk鈥檚 organic network鈥檚 one in which gender should theoretically be dissolved, merging into a greater, interspecies collective. Yet Tokarczuk鈥檚 version retains sufficient 鈥榝eminine鈥� rage to fight against male oppression suggesting conventional gender binaries still retain some force; similarly, Tokarczuk鈥檚 specific set of arguments in favour of elevating the status of domestic labour 鈥� which I鈥檓 obviously all for 鈥� sometimes seemed to skirt dangerously close to reinforcing essentialist feminine archetypes. It鈥檚 possible that part of the problem, at least for me, was that Tokarczuk's trying to pack too much in, making her narrative overly dense, difficult to negotiate at times, muddling her arguments. But, doubts aside, there鈥檚 a lot here I fully support. Overall, a stimulating, engrossing read. Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fitzcarraldo for an ARC
Rating: 3.5
June 5, 2022
Mam wra偶enie, 偶e Tokarczuk napisa艂a ksi膮偶k臋 zupe艂nie inn膮 od poprzednich. Podszyt膮 niepokojem, niemal grobowym mrokiem histori臋, kt贸ra uchwyca wszystko to, co nieuchwytne, a przy tym porusza wiele aktualnych temat贸w. Prawdziwie intryguj膮ca.
April 8, 2024
It has been said before: receiving the Nobel Prize in literature can be fatal for the creativity of an author. The list of writers who didn鈥檛 produce anything of worth afterwards is quite long. But here Olga Tokarczuk (Nobel Prize 2018) proves to be fairly immune to the phenomenon. With Empusion she has delivered a cool novel with many gothic elements, and a twist at the end, as we are used to from her, but also with a more profound philosophical reflection. How could it not be: in this novel she strongly refers to Thomas Mann's masterful : the young Polish student Mieczyslaw Wojnicz who comes to undergo a treatment in the mountains of Silesia looks very much like Hans Castorp in Davos, including the endless conversations he witnesses on the tricky relation between reason and emotion.
But when, in the second chapter, a female corpse turns out to be lying on the dining room table of his residence, it is clear that Tokarczuk is going to offer a different approach than Mann. The accumulation of misogynistic statements by his fellow-patients - as Tokarczuk points out at the end, they are simply quotes from prominent names from Western intellectual history - is only one of the threads in this book. But, towards the end, it is this thread that will culminate in a revelation about the strange 'disease' that the delicate Mieczyslaw suffers from.
Related to this, but in a much broader context, she shows through the young man's observations and reflections how elusive and tenuous or thin (the term is a well-chosen reference to the low mountains where the novel is set) reality is for us, and how we can best also take into account a dark side that remains hidden, but that irrevocably intervenes in our lives. The motto at the front of the book, by Fernando Pessoa, already announced it: 鈥淪unlight remains the director of the observable world. The unknown lurks at us from the shadows.鈥� And so the book is peppered with passages in which Mieczyslaw practices looking into that shadow, exploring other than apparently rational or reasonable approaches: 鈥淗e now stood naked opposite the open cupboard. The small, cracked mirror above the washbasin reflected his body, which was divided into pieces, as if this image were part of a larger puzzle, for which each of us was given a whole life to put together. In his brain he saw, as in the windows of a huge room, what forms his future would take. He felt numerous, multiple, multi-dimensional, composite and complex like a coral reef, like a mycelium, whose true existence was underground.鈥� And so this novel, much more than Mann's The Magic Mountain, appears to move away from binary thinking (visible-invisible/man-woman/reason-feeling, etc.) and seeking out more fluid spheres and ways of looking. It's a typical Tokarczuk theme, that is also illustrated in this book by the appearance of intermediate beings (here 'Tuntschi'). They will contribute to the Walpurnis-like denouement of the story.
I've enjoyed this read, set in a very classic style, and spiced with lots of gothic elements. But I have to concede that Tokarczuk is no Mann. For once I think this is a book that could have been served in a more elaborate way. Keeping it rather short, her story has a far less mesmerizing quality than her famous example.
But when, in the second chapter, a female corpse turns out to be lying on the dining room table of his residence, it is clear that Tokarczuk is going to offer a different approach than Mann. The accumulation of misogynistic statements by his fellow-patients - as Tokarczuk points out at the end, they are simply quotes from prominent names from Western intellectual history - is only one of the threads in this book. But, towards the end, it is this thread that will culminate in a revelation about the strange 'disease' that the delicate Mieczyslaw suffers from.
Related to this, but in a much broader context, she shows through the young man's observations and reflections how elusive and tenuous or thin (the term is a well-chosen reference to the low mountains where the novel is set) reality is for us, and how we can best also take into account a dark side that remains hidden, but that irrevocably intervenes in our lives. The motto at the front of the book, by Fernando Pessoa, already announced it: 鈥淪unlight remains the director of the observable world. The unknown lurks at us from the shadows.鈥� And so the book is peppered with passages in which Mieczyslaw practices looking into that shadow, exploring other than apparently rational or reasonable approaches: 鈥淗e now stood naked opposite the open cupboard. The small, cracked mirror above the washbasin reflected his body, which was divided into pieces, as if this image were part of a larger puzzle, for which each of us was given a whole life to put together. In his brain he saw, as in the windows of a huge room, what forms his future would take. He felt numerous, multiple, multi-dimensional, composite and complex like a coral reef, like a mycelium, whose true existence was underground.鈥� And so this novel, much more than Mann's The Magic Mountain, appears to move away from binary thinking (visible-invisible/man-woman/reason-feeling, etc.) and seeking out more fluid spheres and ways of looking. It's a typical Tokarczuk theme, that is also illustrated in this book by the appearance of intermediate beings (here 'Tuntschi'). They will contribute to the Walpurnis-like denouement of the story.
I've enjoyed this read, set in a very classic style, and spiced with lots of gothic elements. But I have to concede that Tokarczuk is no Mann. For once I think this is a book that could have been served in a more elaborate way. Keeping it rather short, her story has a far less mesmerizing quality than her famous example.
November 19, 2024
Made of sticks and slimy mushrooms
I am the teller of this tale
I have eyes in many rooms
Observing what goes on in there
Look how they occupy themselves
These men who seem to know them all
The gilded titles on the shelves
That line the study down the hall
Men whose opinions fill like smoke
The narrow corners of the mind
Who turn woman into a joke
Of which they can't recall the punchline
Watch as they remove the layers
They have wrapped about their persons
And indulge in lonely prayers
Released from private prisons
Some will hack and cough all night
Toss and turn in narrow beds
Others touch themselves and fight
The female demons in their heads
They鈥檙e all here to find a cure
For their infected lungs
It has been over a year
Since they could sing their bawdy songs
But me and my fellow creatures know
That these mountains are but a trap
And we stand here in patient snow
Like a branch about to snap
September 17, 2024
I feel very conflicted about this book, because on one hand, I think it鈥檚 very well done and clever, and on the other I just wanted a little bit more, especially things to happen.
Without giving anything away, I feel that most of the action or excitement of this book happens in the last 5 to 10%. So I think this has been in. I would鈥檝e liked it a lot more because of the middle half of the book is quite slow.
It鈥檚 more of an intellectual horror that looks at society and makes social commentary, especially examining old ways of thinking about gender roles and male power in history.
The vibes are definitely creepy, and I could see this being made into a very unsettling film. I actually really liked how sinister it was at times without 鈥榡ump scares鈥� so to speak. At the same time that made a lot of the book about tension building and a slow rollout of information, that for me just felt like it took way too long.
This is my third book by Olga Tokarczuk and I鈥檝e never been blown away, so I think it鈥檚 fair to say it鈥檚 me and not her. As much as I want to love her books, I just don鈥檛. I鈥檇 still recommend this one if you like literary horror and are OK with something a bit slower.
Without giving anything away, I feel that most of the action or excitement of this book happens in the last 5 to 10%. So I think this has been in. I would鈥檝e liked it a lot more because of the middle half of the book is quite slow.
It鈥檚 more of an intellectual horror that looks at society and makes social commentary, especially examining old ways of thinking about gender roles and male power in history.
The vibes are definitely creepy, and I could see this being made into a very unsettling film. I actually really liked how sinister it was at times without 鈥榡ump scares鈥� so to speak. At the same time that made a lot of the book about tension building and a slow rollout of information, that for me just felt like it took way too long.
This is my third book by Olga Tokarczuk and I鈥檝e never been blown away, so I think it鈥檚 fair to say it鈥檚 me and not her. As much as I want to love her books, I just don鈥檛. I鈥檇 still recommend this one if you like literary horror and are OK with something a bit slower.
January 21, 2025
An erudite work in conversation with The Magic Mountain. The sick, the outsiders, the old are all at risk of being sacrificed, while misogyny, in the form of actual quotes of real authors, is rife.
As we know however the most interesting things however are always in the shadows, in the invisible
To say I always knew what was going on in , the newest translated novel from Nobel laureate , is a stretch, even having just read the Magic Mountain.
We are in a 1913 setting, in a mountain spa resort. Our engineer from Hamburg, focused on shipbuilding becomes a sewage engineer, and Polish.
This young Pole, suffering from lung disease as the story begins, arriving in the spa town of G枚rbersdorf, today in Southern Poland, back in 1913 then the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Because the official Kurhaus is full, he stays in a Pension for Gentlemen. The 'gentlemen' take themselves very seriously and inversely take women very serious as objects of mockery and discussion.
At least the surrounding mountains are used more for hikes than in his work, but the discussions about ideas are similarly philosophical, if more often focused on the inferiority of the female. This clearly makes our main character uncomfortable, and there are not just secrets to uncover in respect to Mieczys艂aw, but also in the surrounding woods and the village itself, that is not as quaint as it seems. At times the book feels almost fever dream like and I am not fully sure what really happened or not, but definitely a thought provoking novel that I might, because of the more manageable length and "horror" tension, have even enjoyed more than the 100 year work it is in conversation with. Also major shout out to Natasha Soudek who does incredible work as narrator of the audiobook.
Already in the first chapter we have a person dying, and things develop further atmospherically. The appreciation of the main character for the male form, including firemen, seems rather homo-erotic, creating tension in the toxic masculine environment. Humboldt (both an icon of imperialistic, rationalist 19th century science and virility, and very gay) comes back a lot in the perfect spa village, where death is lurking below the surface, and every party is augmented by mushroom liquor Schw盲rmerei.
Meanwhile normal life is continuing in certain form, with fried trout in almond sauce as lunch, and champagne as a cure. Even though the situation is fascinating and mysterious, including attics with torture machinery, there are so much flashbacks to the youth of the main character that very little seems to happens in the current timeline in the midsection of the book. Violence of male desire, art philosophy and Thio as an ailing roommate are however all interesting, as are the allusions to Mittel Europa, and especially the dying Austrian Hungarian dynasty, nature versus rationality and the overtunes of antisemitism and polarisation. brings a lot, which unfortunately makes the central part quite plodding.
Overcoming the binary, the need of society to burst into animalistic, hermetic bursts of violence, with the setting in 1913 being especially ominous from this angle. Since every November at fool moon some of the villagers and spa goers, as new tourists in the region, end up being found ripped up.
It鈥檚 believed that there are spirits in the forest that claim a villager every year as a sacrifice, Abraham like. And then there are man-made, vegetation dolls with a hole where vagina's should be, as a commentary on how men use both women and nature just to satisfy themselves.
A big novel with so many ideas it is almost overwhelming, very thought provoking yet not a 100% successful, despite being fascinating, in my opinion.
Quotes:
People should get used to the fact that they are being watched.
Nature itself cures us
As we know however the most interesting things however are always in the shadows, in the invisible
Well the misogyny is upped a few levels here compared to Hans Castorp his reflections on Claudia
No one beliefs in their own death
Behind the truth hides violence
Being dead is a disgrace
Death was decidedly cosmopolitan
Whether we like it or not, motherhood is the only reason for the existence of this troublesome sex
One could tell he was fond of his own voice
Weakness was cured by champagne
It was simple: to be a man is learning to ignore anything that cases trouble
Threefold stereotypes of woman as girl, wife and crone
Because a woman鈥檚 body belongs not only to her, but to mankind.
Since she gives birth, she is public property
Being both a subject and an object
Oh well, it is pity she died, but that isn鈥檛 to say she is blameless
Men鈥檚 desire needed to be satisfied immediately, or the world would descend into chaos
Is he a girl that he doesn鈥檛 want to undress and his nipples are sensitive?
With results like this you have been dead for three days, dear sir
A person, meaning a man
Only very small and very big things are immortal
My lungs are real, my nationality is not
Why would anyone want to kill us?
It is enough that we were born.
As we know however the most interesting things however are always in the shadows, in the invisible
To say I always knew what was going on in , the newest translated novel from Nobel laureate , is a stretch, even having just read the Magic Mountain.
We are in a 1913 setting, in a mountain spa resort. Our engineer from Hamburg, focused on shipbuilding becomes a sewage engineer, and Polish.
This young Pole, suffering from lung disease as the story begins, arriving in the spa town of G枚rbersdorf, today in Southern Poland, back in 1913 then the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Because the official Kurhaus is full, he stays in a Pension for Gentlemen. The 'gentlemen' take themselves very seriously and inversely take women very serious as objects of mockery and discussion.
At least the surrounding mountains are used more for hikes than in his work, but the discussions about ideas are similarly philosophical, if more often focused on the inferiority of the female. This clearly makes our main character uncomfortable, and there are not just secrets to uncover in respect to Mieczys艂aw, but also in the surrounding woods and the village itself, that is not as quaint as it seems. At times the book feels almost fever dream like and I am not fully sure what really happened or not, but definitely a thought provoking novel that I might, because of the more manageable length and "horror" tension, have even enjoyed more than the 100 year work it is in conversation with. Also major shout out to Natasha Soudek who does incredible work as narrator of the audiobook.
Already in the first chapter we have a person dying, and things develop further atmospherically. The appreciation of the main character for the male form, including firemen, seems rather homo-erotic, creating tension in the toxic masculine environment. Humboldt (both an icon of imperialistic, rationalist 19th century science and virility, and very gay) comes back a lot in the perfect spa village, where death is lurking below the surface, and every party is augmented by mushroom liquor Schw盲rmerei.
Meanwhile normal life is continuing in certain form, with fried trout in almond sauce as lunch, and champagne as a cure. Even though the situation is fascinating and mysterious, including attics with torture machinery, there are so much flashbacks to the youth of the main character that very little seems to happens in the current timeline in the midsection of the book. Violence of male desire, art philosophy and Thio as an ailing roommate are however all interesting, as are the allusions to Mittel Europa, and especially the dying Austrian Hungarian dynasty, nature versus rationality and the overtunes of antisemitism and polarisation. brings a lot, which unfortunately makes the central part quite plodding.
Overcoming the binary, the need of society to burst into animalistic, hermetic bursts of violence, with the setting in 1913 being especially ominous from this angle. Since every November at fool moon some of the villagers and spa goers, as new tourists in the region, end up being found ripped up.
It鈥檚 believed that there are spirits in the forest that claim a villager every year as a sacrifice, Abraham like. And then there are man-made, vegetation dolls with a hole where vagina's should be, as a commentary on how men use both women and nature just to satisfy themselves.
A big novel with so many ideas it is almost overwhelming, very thought provoking yet not a 100% successful, despite being fascinating, in my opinion.
Quotes:
People should get used to the fact that they are being watched.
Nature itself cures us
As we know however the most interesting things however are always in the shadows, in the invisible
Well the misogyny is upped a few levels here compared to Hans Castorp his reflections on Claudia
No one beliefs in their own death
Behind the truth hides violence
Being dead is a disgrace
Death was decidedly cosmopolitan
Whether we like it or not, motherhood is the only reason for the existence of this troublesome sex
One could tell he was fond of his own voice
Weakness was cured by champagne
It was simple: to be a man is learning to ignore anything that cases trouble
Threefold stereotypes of woman as girl, wife and crone
Because a woman鈥檚 body belongs not only to her, but to mankind.
Since she gives birth, she is public property
Being both a subject and an object
Oh well, it is pity she died, but that isn鈥檛 to say she is blameless
Men鈥檚 desire needed to be satisfied immediately, or the world would descend into chaos
Is he a girl that he doesn鈥檛 want to undress and his nipples are sensitive?
With results like this you have been dead for three days, dear sir
A person, meaning a man
Only very small and very big things are immortal
My lungs are real, my nationality is not
Why would anyone want to kill us?
It is enough that we were born.
June 11, 2024
Here we are, slightly changed, but just the same as before, warm but also cold, both seeing and blind. Here we are, here are our hands formed from decaying branches, our bellies, our nipples that are puffballs, our womb that blends into a fox's den, into the depths of the earth, and is now nursing a fox's litter. Can you see us at last, Mieczyslaw Wojnicz, you brave engineer from the flat woodless steppes?
In a textual conversation between one Nobel winner and another, Tokarczuk re-opens Mann's but in her own inimitable way. This feels more like than : it's easy to read, is quite the page-turner, in fact, though - of course - there are depths here too. OT's humour is on full display as is her sardonic wit and intelligence and, make no mistake, there's a whole raft of quotations, allusions and intertexts that make up the narrative. With an author's note that stretches from Ovid to Shakespeare, Augustine to Milton, Darwin to Kerouac, this places itself firmly in dialogue with a whole stretch of what we might loosely call western thought, just as Mann offered up a compressed survey of European philosophy.
What is at stake here, though, is a question of gender and the extent to which misogyny is deeply (deeply) engrained within western intellectual traditions and culture. OT deals with this with a sense of biting sarcasm: ' "Woman represents a bygone, inferior stage of evolution, so writes Darwin... Woman is like..." - here he sought the right word - "an evolutionary laggard" '; and the 'puppen', kinds of organic sex dolls (though keep your eye on them...).
The book also revitalises the bildungsroman tradition partly by exploring the way Wojnicz's upbringing by his father inculcates a sense of conservative masculinity but also by offering up quite a different sense of growth: 'he felt plural, multiple, multifaceted, compound and complicated like a coral reef, like a mushroom spawn whose actual existence is located underground'.
I'm assuming the title is a compound term indicating a merger between 'empusa', the female witch-like spirits mentioned in Aristophanes' , and Plato's (all male) - a spot-on mash-up that brings together the philosophical and the comical in all these texts.
It's worth adding that you should keep an eye out for the switch to a 'we' first-person plural voice - I was reading an ARC which doesn't always allow a space before the transition, though it's easy enough to note it - I won't say anything about what this means in terms of plot but certainly perspective is one of the themes of the narrative.
So, my verdict is that this may well be a popular OT sitting alongside Drive Your Plow - it wears its learning and politics lightly (even, we might say, a little heavy handedly) but it's a nimble, knowing way of saying something serious in a witty and sardonic voice.
Many thanks Fitzcarraldo for an ARC via NetGalley
April 11, 2025
Finalist for the 2025 PEN Translation Prize
And so it went鈥揻irst a declamation by August, then another tirade about the collapse of civilization from Lukas, followed by some incomprehensible allusions made by Frommer, until the disputants鈥� tongues were slowed by the effect of Schw盲rmerei and once again they were all overcome by a sort of thickening feeling, which made it hard to move because of weakness or disinclination. As if the world were built of plywood and were now delaminating before their eyes, as if all contours were blurring, revealing fluid passages between things. The same process affected their ideas, and so the discussion became less and less factual, because the speakers had suddenly lost their sense of certainty, and every word that had been reliable so far now acquired contexts, entailed allusions, or flickered with remote associations. Finally they sank into dreadful fatigue, and one after another floated off to their rooms, breathing heavily on the stairs.
Subtitled 'A Health Resort Horror Story', The Empusium is Antonia Lloyd-Jones' translation of Olga Tokarczuk's 2022 novel Empuzjon.
The book is an alternative take on Mann's Der Zauberberg, set in 1913 the Silesian health spa resort of G枚rbersdorf (now Soko艂owsko) from which the clinic in Davos took its inspiration. At initial face value, this reads as a work of the same period as Mann's novel, and read simply as historical fiction, Tokarczuk's recreation of the town is impressive, rendered in vivid prose:
By a twist of circumstance, as Frau Opitz鈥檚 body was descending on ropes into the open grave, the exact autumn equinox took place, and the ecliptic was aligned in such a special way that it counterbalanced the vibration of the Earth. Naturally, nobody noticed this鈥損eople have more important things on their minds. But we know it.
In the highland valley that spread above the underground lake stillness sets in, and although it is never windy here, now there is no sense of the faintest puff, as though the world were holding its breath. Late insects are perching on stems, a starling turns to stone, staring at a long-gone movement among the clumps of parsley in the garden. A spiderweb stretched between the blackberry bushes stops quivering and goes taut, straining to hear the waves coming from the cosmos, and water makes itself at home in the moss thallus, as if it were to stay there forever, as if it were to forget about its most integral feature鈥搕hat it flows. For the earthworm, the world鈥檚 tension is a sign to seek shelter for the winter. Now it is planning to push down into the ground, perhaps hoping to find the deeply hidden ruins of paradise. The cows that chew the yellowing grass also come to a standstill, putting their internal factories of life on hold. A squirrel looks at the miracle of a nut and knows that it is pure, condensed time, that it is also its future, dressed in this strange form. And in this brief moment everything defines itself anew, marking out its limits and aims afresh; just for a short while, blurred shapes cluster together again.
It is a very brief moment of equilibrium between light and darkness, almost imperceptible, a single instant in which the whole pattern is filled, the promise of great order is fulfilled, but only in the blink of an eye. In this scrap of time everything returns to a state of perfection that existed before the sky was separated from the earth. But at once this perfect balance dissolves like a shape on water, the image dims and dusk starts to drift towards night, then night gains the upper hand鈥搉ow it will be avenged for its six-month period of humiliation, establishing new bridgeheads every evening.
But the political and philosophical debates, unlike Mann's, rather peter out as the patients are too fond of the local liquor, Schw盲rmerei: Its strange flavour and smell made Wojnicz think of the word 鈥榰nderground鈥�. It tasted of roots and moss, mushroom spawn and liquorice all at once. It must have contained aniseed and wormwood. The first impression on the tongue was not good鈥搃t seemed to smell bad, but only for a split second. Then warmth flooded the mouth, and the sensation of an incredible wealth of flavours鈥搇ike forest berries and something entirely exotic.
and also descend rapidly into one topic - Wojnicz had noticed that every discussion, whether about democracy, the fifth dimension, the role of religion, socialism, Europe, or modern art, eventually led to women - and to straight out misogyny:
'脌 propos, sometimes when we address a woman,鈥� continued the buttoned-up Walter Frommer, 鈥榳e might gain the impression that she replies sensibly and thinks as we do. But that is an illusion. They imitate鈥欌€揾e placed special emphasis on the word imitate鈥撯€榦ur way of communicating, and one cannot deny that some of them are very good at it.鈥�
Cleverly, Tokarczuk has taken all the views expressed from a range of 36 canonical male writers and thinkers, including Augustine of Hippo, William S. Burroughs, Joseph Conrad, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Jack Kerouac, D.H. Lawrence, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ovid and Plato, Jean-Paul Sartre, Shakespeare, August Strindberg and Thomas Aquinas.
The novel takes its title from Aristophanes play 螔维蟿蟻伪蠂慰喂 (The Frogs), which one character tells claims is the earliest known mention of witches in literature:
XANTHIAS Aargh, I can see a gigantic monster!
DIONYSUS What鈥檚 it like?
XANTHIAS Terrifying. And it keeps changing: it鈥檚 a bull, no, it鈥檚 a mule, and now it鈥檚 a woman. And what a beauty!
DIONYSUS Where is she? Let me at her!
XANTHIAS The woman鈥檚 gone, she鈥檚 changed into a dog.
DIONYSUS So it鈥檚 Empusa!
XANTHIAS Her whole face is one great ball of fire!
DIONYSUS Does she have a leg of bronze?
XANTHIAS By Poseidon, the other one鈥檚 made of cow dung, I鈥檓 sure of it!
DIONYSUS Where can I run to?
XANTHIAS And where can I?
And as the novel progresses the Horror Story element comes to the fore, with the mysterious Tutschi, figures in the form of a woman created out of the natural products of the forest which the local charcoal burners used for sexual relief, but which seem to, once a year, have a life of their own (leading to an oddly high number of graves in the local cemetary with men who die in November). And the Hans-Castorp-like central character, Mieczys艂aw Wojnicz, in his early 20s, harbours a hidden secret of his own.
An impressive read - not as innovative or erudite as Flights (tr. Jennifer Croft), which remains my favourite of Tokarczuk's works, but one which combines the atmosphere and mythology of Primeval and Other Times and the mystery element of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (both tr. Lloyd-Jones) with a clear, if unsubtle, political message [and at a more sensible length than The Books of Jacob (tr. Croft)].
And so it went鈥揻irst a declamation by August, then another tirade about the collapse of civilization from Lukas, followed by some incomprehensible allusions made by Frommer, until the disputants鈥� tongues were slowed by the effect of Schw盲rmerei and once again they were all overcome by a sort of thickening feeling, which made it hard to move because of weakness or disinclination. As if the world were built of plywood and were now delaminating before their eyes, as if all contours were blurring, revealing fluid passages between things. The same process affected their ideas, and so the discussion became less and less factual, because the speakers had suddenly lost their sense of certainty, and every word that had been reliable so far now acquired contexts, entailed allusions, or flickered with remote associations. Finally they sank into dreadful fatigue, and one after another floated off to their rooms, breathing heavily on the stairs.
Subtitled 'A Health Resort Horror Story', The Empusium is Antonia Lloyd-Jones' translation of Olga Tokarczuk's 2022 novel Empuzjon.
The book is an alternative take on Mann's Der Zauberberg, set in 1913 the Silesian health spa resort of G枚rbersdorf (now Soko艂owsko) from which the clinic in Davos took its inspiration. At initial face value, this reads as a work of the same period as Mann's novel, and read simply as historical fiction, Tokarczuk's recreation of the town is impressive, rendered in vivid prose:
By a twist of circumstance, as Frau Opitz鈥檚 body was descending on ropes into the open grave, the exact autumn equinox took place, and the ecliptic was aligned in such a special way that it counterbalanced the vibration of the Earth. Naturally, nobody noticed this鈥損eople have more important things on their minds. But we know it.
In the highland valley that spread above the underground lake stillness sets in, and although it is never windy here, now there is no sense of the faintest puff, as though the world were holding its breath. Late insects are perching on stems, a starling turns to stone, staring at a long-gone movement among the clumps of parsley in the garden. A spiderweb stretched between the blackberry bushes stops quivering and goes taut, straining to hear the waves coming from the cosmos, and water makes itself at home in the moss thallus, as if it were to stay there forever, as if it were to forget about its most integral feature鈥搕hat it flows. For the earthworm, the world鈥檚 tension is a sign to seek shelter for the winter. Now it is planning to push down into the ground, perhaps hoping to find the deeply hidden ruins of paradise. The cows that chew the yellowing grass also come to a standstill, putting their internal factories of life on hold. A squirrel looks at the miracle of a nut and knows that it is pure, condensed time, that it is also its future, dressed in this strange form. And in this brief moment everything defines itself anew, marking out its limits and aims afresh; just for a short while, blurred shapes cluster together again.
It is a very brief moment of equilibrium between light and darkness, almost imperceptible, a single instant in which the whole pattern is filled, the promise of great order is fulfilled, but only in the blink of an eye. In this scrap of time everything returns to a state of perfection that existed before the sky was separated from the earth. But at once this perfect balance dissolves like a shape on water, the image dims and dusk starts to drift towards night, then night gains the upper hand鈥搉ow it will be avenged for its six-month period of humiliation, establishing new bridgeheads every evening.
But the political and philosophical debates, unlike Mann's, rather peter out as the patients are too fond of the local liquor, Schw盲rmerei: Its strange flavour and smell made Wojnicz think of the word 鈥榰nderground鈥�. It tasted of roots and moss, mushroom spawn and liquorice all at once. It must have contained aniseed and wormwood. The first impression on the tongue was not good鈥搃t seemed to smell bad, but only for a split second. Then warmth flooded the mouth, and the sensation of an incredible wealth of flavours鈥搇ike forest berries and something entirely exotic.
and also descend rapidly into one topic - Wojnicz had noticed that every discussion, whether about democracy, the fifth dimension, the role of religion, socialism, Europe, or modern art, eventually led to women - and to straight out misogyny:
'脌 propos, sometimes when we address a woman,鈥� continued the buttoned-up Walter Frommer, 鈥榳e might gain the impression that she replies sensibly and thinks as we do. But that is an illusion. They imitate鈥欌€揾e placed special emphasis on the word imitate鈥撯€榦ur way of communicating, and one cannot deny that some of them are very good at it.鈥�
Cleverly, Tokarczuk has taken all the views expressed from a range of 36 canonical male writers and thinkers, including Augustine of Hippo, William S. Burroughs, Joseph Conrad, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Jack Kerouac, D.H. Lawrence, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ovid and Plato, Jean-Paul Sartre, Shakespeare, August Strindberg and Thomas Aquinas.
The novel takes its title from Aristophanes play 螔维蟿蟻伪蠂慰喂 (The Frogs), which one character tells claims is the earliest known mention of witches in literature:
XANTHIAS Aargh, I can see a gigantic monster!
DIONYSUS What鈥檚 it like?
XANTHIAS Terrifying. And it keeps changing: it鈥檚 a bull, no, it鈥檚 a mule, and now it鈥檚 a woman. And what a beauty!
DIONYSUS Where is she? Let me at her!
XANTHIAS The woman鈥檚 gone, she鈥檚 changed into a dog.
DIONYSUS So it鈥檚 Empusa!
XANTHIAS Her whole face is one great ball of fire!
DIONYSUS Does she have a leg of bronze?
XANTHIAS By Poseidon, the other one鈥檚 made of cow dung, I鈥檓 sure of it!
DIONYSUS Where can I run to?
XANTHIAS And where can I?
And as the novel progresses the Horror Story element comes to the fore, with the mysterious Tutschi, figures in the form of a woman created out of the natural products of the forest which the local charcoal burners used for sexual relief, but which seem to, once a year, have a life of their own (leading to an oddly high number of graves in the local cemetary with men who die in November). And the Hans-Castorp-like central character, Mieczys艂aw Wojnicz, in his early 20s, harbours a hidden secret of his own.
An impressive read - not as innovative or erudite as Flights (tr. Jennifer Croft), which remains my favourite of Tokarczuk's works, but one which combines the atmosphere and mythology of Primeval and Other Times and the mystery element of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (both tr. Lloyd-Jones) with a clear, if unsubtle, political message [and at a more sensible length than The Books of Jacob (tr. Croft)].
July 1, 2023
Torkarczuks erstes Buch nach dem Nobelpreis. H盲lt es den Erwartungen stand? Ich wei脽 es nicht. Ich wei脽 nur, dass ich dieses Buch mit gro脽em Vergn眉gen gelesen habe. Es unterh盲lt nicht, aber es besch盲ftigt. Aufgrund des Settings 鈥� eine M盲nnerpension im Luftkurort G枚rbersdorf (heute Soko艂owsko) in Schlesien 鈥� ziehen viele Rezensenten den Vergleich zu Thomas Manns Zauberberg. Unpassender Weise, denn Empuzjon rei脽t viele Themen nur an, stellt Ansichten h盲ufig nur plakativ dar ohne tiefere Betrachtung des Gesagten. Dies ist, wie wir im Nachwort der Autorin erfahren, Absicht, legt sie doch die frauenfeindlichen und misogynen Zitate ber眉hmter K枚pfe ihren Akteuren in den Mund. Im Gegensatz zum Zauberberg beinhaltet Empuzjon einen mystisch-sagenhaften Unterton, der mit einer Kriminalfall verwoben in einer fast faustischen (Walpurgisnacht) Szene kulminiert. Von der Landschaft, den eigenartigen Gebr盲uchen und Speisen der Einheimischen geht etwas Bedrohliches aus, wie von dem im Roman erw盲hnten Gem盲lde "Landschaft mit Opferung Isaaks" von Henri met de Bles.
Und dann ist da doch eine Parallele zum Zauberberg. Auch Empuzjon ist im Grund genommen ein Roman 眉ber das Ankommen in der Erwachsenenwelt, um die Selbstfindung des 23j盲hrigen angehenden Ingenieurs f眉r Abwasserwirtschaft aus Lw贸w (heute Lviv) Mieszys艂aw Wojnicz. Nur geht es anders als bei Mann nicht um Fragen der Weltanschauung, sondern um das soziale Geschlecht, sprich 鈥瀏ender鈥�.
Ich habe den Roman im Original gelesen. Die Sprache ist klar, treffend und war f眉r mich gut verst盲ndlich. Die Meisterschaft Tokarczuks zeigt sich nicht in der Wortwahl, sondern der Atmosph盲re, die sie erschafft und wie sie uns ein grundlegendes Problem menschlicher Existenz mit dieser Geschichte nahebringt. F眉r mich ein Buch, das einer Nobelpreistr盲gerin w眉rdig ist.
Und dann ist da doch eine Parallele zum Zauberberg. Auch Empuzjon ist im Grund genommen ein Roman 眉ber das Ankommen in der Erwachsenenwelt, um die Selbstfindung des 23j盲hrigen angehenden Ingenieurs f眉r Abwasserwirtschaft aus Lw贸w (heute Lviv) Mieszys艂aw Wojnicz. Nur geht es anders als bei Mann nicht um Fragen der Weltanschauung, sondern um das soziale Geschlecht, sprich 鈥瀏ender鈥�.
Ich habe den Roman im Original gelesen. Die Sprache ist klar, treffend und war f眉r mich gut verst盲ndlich. Die Meisterschaft Tokarczuks zeigt sich nicht in der Wortwahl, sondern der Atmosph盲re, die sie erschafft und wie sie uns ein grundlegendes Problem menschlicher Existenz mit dieser Geschichte nahebringt. F眉r mich ein Buch, das einer Nobelpreistr盲gerin w眉rdig ist.
July 5, 2023
According to wikipedia "Empusa or Empousa (/蓻m藞pju藧s蓹/) is a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. In Late Antiquity, the empousai have been described as a category of phantoms or spectres, equated with the lamiai and mormolykeia, thought to seduce and feed on young men.
That's just FYI.
Let's pull out some random key words - such as shape-shifting, female, obscure, young men, men, nature. It all will fit within a story but not the way you'd expect. Although I surely don't know what you expect. But just believe me or come back for a refund later. But I won't be here waiting for you, just so you know. So you better don't come back and just trust me.
So, let me point out right from the start that you won't find in this story tons of bloodthirsty female vampires running around the mountain villages naked and just doing their job - seducing and feeding on. That would be so not Tokarczuk, as you can probably imagine.
Instead you'll get some enigmatic characters, some of some yuckiest regional food (by the scale of its grossness I'm not even sure if it wasn't made up by the Author, but surely she's seen a lot in her globetrotting so I'll just give her a credit), some infuriating misogynistic "insights" nobody asked for but having their purpose and important place in the story. Also you'll get some thick atmosphere of mystery and innuendo only getting thicker.
Also, also - you will get the story itself, one painted with words, very visual, depicted in a great detail. As you probably know already, Tokarczuk is extremely talented when it comes to wordy words and languagy language.
Alas, what I couldn't find in the story was the promised horror. Maybe it just didn't work for me, but something just didn't exactly click. If everything else was a hit in this book, horror was a miss...
Maybe the worst horror in this story was when they ate those regional, um, well, delicatessen and after that nothing was scary enough anymore...
Otherwise it was a delightful book, a page-turner definitely, a very nice attempt on... Silesian gothic??
That's just FYI.
Let's pull out some random key words - such as shape-shifting, female, obscure, young men, men, nature. It all will fit within a story but not the way you'd expect. Although I surely don't know what you expect. But just believe me or come back for a refund later. But I won't be here waiting for you, just so you know. So you better don't come back and just trust me.
So, let me point out right from the start that you won't find in this story tons of bloodthirsty female vampires running around the mountain villages naked and just doing their job - seducing and feeding on. That would be so not Tokarczuk, as you can probably imagine.
Instead you'll get some enigmatic characters, some of some yuckiest regional food (by the scale of its grossness I'm not even sure if it wasn't made up by the Author, but surely she's seen a lot in her globetrotting so I'll just give her a credit), some infuriating misogynistic "insights" nobody asked for but having their purpose and important place in the story. Also you'll get some thick atmosphere of mystery and innuendo only getting thicker.
Also, also - you will get the story itself, one painted with words, very visual, depicted in a great detail. As you probably know already, Tokarczuk is extremely talented when it comes to wordy words and languagy language.
Alas, what I couldn't find in the story was the promised horror. Maybe it just didn't work for me, but something just didn't exactly click. If everything else was a hit in this book, horror was a miss...
Otherwise it was a delightful book, a page-turner definitely, a very nice attempt on... Silesian gothic??
February 25, 2024
Emp煤sio" 茅 mais uma obra desconcertante de Olga Tokarczuk, escritora polaca que recebeu o Pr茅mio Nobel da Literatura em 2019 e que tanto admiro.
O t铆tulo do livro convoca Empusa, uma entidade mitol贸gica grega que representa um espectro feminino de H茅cate, deusa dos caminhos. Esta figura espectral seduziria os homens para se alimentar com o seu sangue.
A origem do t铆tulo 茅 importante para enquadrar o enredo e a misoginia reinante, bem como todas as cita莽玫es de fil贸sofos, te贸logos e escritores que, ao longo de s茅culos, reduziram as mulheres a seres perigosos e imprevis铆veis, f铆sica e mentalmente inferiores aos homens. O mesmo fizeram os ditados populares, como o que este: "O Diabo, a mulher e o sapo s茫o farinha do mesmo saco."
Mieczys艂aw Wojnicz, cat贸lico, nascido em Lviv, em 1889, olhos azuis, cabelo louro, futuro engenheiro, 茅 um dos doentes de tuberculose numa hospedaria para cavalheiros situada em G枚rbersdorf, onde se situa o sanat贸rio (realmente existiu e podemos encontrar v谩rias imagens numa simples pesquisa no Google).
Durante a sua estadia, participa em reuni玫es nas quais se discute precisamente o papel das mulheres na sociedade, mas tamb茅m pol铆tica e religi茫o.
"鈥� Quer gostemos quer n茫o, a maternidade 茅 a 煤nica justifica莽茫o para a exist锚ncia de um g茅nero t茫o problem谩tico 鈥� resumiu Opitz."
Ou
"a psique das mulheres 茅 mais fraca e (...) a camada que nela cobre o que 茅 instintivo e animalesco 茅 mais fina. A doen莽a mental, ao perfurar essa cobertura, faz com que todos os instintos primitivos se evadam para o exterior e dominem a j谩 fr谩gil e delicada psique da mulher."
Ao preconceito at谩vico contra as mulheres em geral alia-se a cren莽a de que, uma vez por ano, um homem era sacrificado por esp铆ritos de bruxas que se perpetuam nas montanhas, 脿 procura de alimento (sangue, sim, a lembrar vampiros) e vingan莽a.
"鈥� Eu bem disse: est茫o aqui os vossos dem贸nios, todas essas Tuntschi locais, essas empusas."
Outro tema deste livro 茅 a descoberta e aceita莽茫o do eu, apesar ou contra as normas vigentes. 脡 sobre ser "normal" ou "anormal" (interiormente saber-se diferente da norma exigida pelo exterior).
"Cada um de n贸s 茅 um potencial louco, meu jovem. A norma 茅 uma fantasia. Todos n贸s nos encontramos numa fronteira com um p茅 no nosso pr贸prio mundo interior e o outro no mundo exterior, oscilando perigosamente. 脡 uma posi莽茫o desconfort谩vel e poucos conseguem manter o equil铆brio."
A hist贸ria de Wojnicz 茅 maravilhosa pelo que traz sobre amor e descoberta, crescimento e reinven莽茫o do ser humano, numa 茅poca obscura - n茫o o ser茫o quase todas? Ele 茅 a outra face da moeda, o indiv铆duo que se questiona, que se ilumina enquanto e porque atravessa a escurid茫o, aquele que n茫o s贸 sobrevive como sai mais forte das prova莽玫es, a metamorfose que n茫o busca a perfei莽茫o, mas a verdade e o sentido.
"(...) 茅 em n贸s que reside o sentimento de desvaloriza莽茫o, a convic莽茫o de que a n贸s nos falta algo que todos os outros t锚m. Ao longo das nossas vidas, temos de lidar com este sentimento de inferioridade, super谩-lo ou atrel谩-lo 脿 carruagem das nossas ambi莽玫es e da busca destrutiva da perfei莽茫o. E o que 茅 a perfei莽茫o? Algu茅m sabe?"
Aconselho que cada p谩gina seja lida com aten莽茫o porque mesmo o aparentemente acess贸rio tem uma import芒ncia de que o leitor s贸 se apercebe depois.
Para ler e repetir abundantemente.
O t铆tulo do livro convoca Empusa, uma entidade mitol贸gica grega que representa um espectro feminino de H茅cate, deusa dos caminhos. Esta figura espectral seduziria os homens para se alimentar com o seu sangue.
A origem do t铆tulo 茅 importante para enquadrar o enredo e a misoginia reinante, bem como todas as cita莽玫es de fil贸sofos, te贸logos e escritores que, ao longo de s茅culos, reduziram as mulheres a seres perigosos e imprevis铆veis, f铆sica e mentalmente inferiores aos homens. O mesmo fizeram os ditados populares, como o que este: "O Diabo, a mulher e o sapo s茫o farinha do mesmo saco."
Mieczys艂aw Wojnicz, cat贸lico, nascido em Lviv, em 1889, olhos azuis, cabelo louro, futuro engenheiro, 茅 um dos doentes de tuberculose numa hospedaria para cavalheiros situada em G枚rbersdorf, onde se situa o sanat贸rio (realmente existiu e podemos encontrar v谩rias imagens numa simples pesquisa no Google).
Durante a sua estadia, participa em reuni玫es nas quais se discute precisamente o papel das mulheres na sociedade, mas tamb茅m pol铆tica e religi茫o.
"鈥� Quer gostemos quer n茫o, a maternidade 茅 a 煤nica justifica莽茫o para a exist锚ncia de um g茅nero t茫o problem谩tico 鈥� resumiu Opitz."
Ou
"a psique das mulheres 茅 mais fraca e (...) a camada que nela cobre o que 茅 instintivo e animalesco 茅 mais fina. A doen莽a mental, ao perfurar essa cobertura, faz com que todos os instintos primitivos se evadam para o exterior e dominem a j谩 fr谩gil e delicada psique da mulher."
Ao preconceito at谩vico contra as mulheres em geral alia-se a cren莽a de que, uma vez por ano, um homem era sacrificado por esp铆ritos de bruxas que se perpetuam nas montanhas, 脿 procura de alimento (sangue, sim, a lembrar vampiros) e vingan莽a.
"鈥� Eu bem disse: est茫o aqui os vossos dem贸nios, todas essas Tuntschi locais, essas empusas."
Outro tema deste livro 茅 a descoberta e aceita莽茫o do eu, apesar ou contra as normas vigentes. 脡 sobre ser "normal" ou "anormal" (interiormente saber-se diferente da norma exigida pelo exterior).
"Cada um de n贸s 茅 um potencial louco, meu jovem. A norma 茅 uma fantasia. Todos n贸s nos encontramos numa fronteira com um p茅 no nosso pr贸prio mundo interior e o outro no mundo exterior, oscilando perigosamente. 脡 uma posi莽茫o desconfort谩vel e poucos conseguem manter o equil铆brio."
A hist贸ria de Wojnicz 茅 maravilhosa pelo que traz sobre amor e descoberta, crescimento e reinven莽茫o do ser humano, numa 茅poca obscura - n茫o o ser茫o quase todas? Ele 茅 a outra face da moeda, o indiv铆duo que se questiona, que se ilumina enquanto e porque atravessa a escurid茫o, aquele que n茫o s贸 sobrevive como sai mais forte das prova莽玫es, a metamorfose que n茫o busca a perfei莽茫o, mas a verdade e o sentido.
"(...) 茅 em n贸s que reside o sentimento de desvaloriza莽茫o, a convic莽茫o de que a n贸s nos falta algo que todos os outros t锚m. Ao longo das nossas vidas, temos de lidar com este sentimento de inferioridade, super谩-lo ou atrel谩-lo 脿 carruagem das nossas ambi莽玫es e da busca destrutiva da perfei莽茫o. E o que 茅 a perfei莽茫o? Algu茅m sabe?"
Aconselho que cada p谩gina seja lida com aten莽茫o porque mesmo o aparentemente acess贸rio tem uma import芒ncia de que o leitor s贸 se apercebe depois.
Para ler e repetir abundantemente.
December 5, 2024
It is the year 1913 and Polish engineering student and tuberculosis patient Mieczys艂aw arrives at the health resort Wilhelm Opitz鈥檚 Guesthouse for Gentlemen. While the inhabitants of the guest house pass their time with long and boring and manly conversations on politics, war and women and enjoy the house drink "Schw盲rmerei", disturbing things start happening; a woman has killed herself, but was she ever real? A visit to the local graveyard reveals that every November a male patient has been dying - and it's October already! Slowly slowly an oppressive, almost nightmarish atmosphere spreads amongst the patients who both try to make sense of it as well as suppress their sexual needs in various ways.
Mieczys艂aw needs to deal with more than one mystery, first and foremost his own.
If you know Tokarczuk's writing, you pretty much know what expects you in terms of style and writing - subtle humor, the horror of real life, local characters and folkloric elements, the focal point in her latest shifts to a feminist message she expertly conveys in this historical setting.
Tokarczuk really knows how to gradually build up her readers' resentment, astonishment, and even anger against these gentlemen on their high horses judging over the world, so much that it can become too much at times, but she does this long enough to give relieve with a wonderful twist towards the end of the story. If you don't know what "Empusium" is, don't worry, it is a term the author coined herself and it will make sense in the end.
It is probably useful to mention that this is a work, not based on, not imitating, but directly alluding to Thomas Mann's Zauberberg in that setting and main character are very similar, basically the same, but the story goes another path.
Mieczys艂aw needs to deal with more than one mystery, first and foremost his own.
If you know Tokarczuk's writing, you pretty much know what expects you in terms of style and writing - subtle humor, the horror of real life, local characters and folkloric elements, the focal point in her latest shifts to a feminist message she expertly conveys in this historical setting.
Tokarczuk really knows how to gradually build up her readers' resentment, astonishment, and even anger against these gentlemen on their high horses judging over the world, so much that it can become too much at times, but she does this long enough to give relieve with a wonderful twist towards the end of the story. If you don't know what "Empusium" is, don't worry, it is a term the author coined herself and it will make sense in the end.
It is probably useful to mention that this is a work, not based on, not imitating, but directly alluding to Thomas Mann's Zauberberg in that setting and main character are very similar, basically the same, but the story goes another path.
October 26, 2024
It is a hundred years since Thomas Mann has written (TMM). I鈥檝e read TMM twice. The first time i鈥檝e struggled and the second time I鈥檝e absolutely admired that novel. So i thought it would be a good way to celebrate by reading the newly translated novel by Olga Tokarczuk that was clearly inspired by Mann.
I have to admit that in retrospect i鈥檇 prefer i knew nothing about TMM before reading this book as inevitably i could not help but compare this novel to TMM and struggled to appreciate it on its own terms. Olga did not help as for the first half at least she stuck to her version of Mann鈥檚 style with detailed descriptions of the surroundings including the meals and physical countenances of her characters. The majority of them could as well be traced to Mann鈥檚 characters. She subverted the style and plot of course. But for me she did not do it boldly enough until the later part of her novel.
Also what makes Mann鈥檚 work so rich is an exchange of ideas between the characters. All of them are profound, complex and rendered in such a way that the reader would never know Mann鈥檚 personal stand on those issues. Olga鈥檚 novel is much simpler on that level. Her characters talk about many things as well. But their views are quite shallow, deliberately cartoonish:
And it seems that for her as well a historical perspective on misogyny is the main area of investigation in this novel. In this she is richly intertextual including the ancient Greeks, witch hunts and of course Mann鈥檚 contemporaries. However, i was not sure what was new about it. It is quite likely unfortunately that still there are some men in our times holding such views. It might even have been that they still hold the power in the society. But the criticism of that expressed in such a form does not come across as particularly effective. I do not think they would be shocked out of their convictions by reading that their views were wildly shared between the educated elite of the earlier 20th century. The rest of us are informed and do not need to be convinced.
As a result, the first part of the novel is a bit Disneyland Venice compared to the real Venice - lacking authenticity. Even the death which is grimly present in Mann鈥檚 novel is more like a decoration here, the way to approach the uncanny.
But the good news for me was that it seemed she started to write one book but finished writing another. And they transformed into each other relatively seamlessly. The latter part is characteristically Olga鈥檚 with her original taste for the uncanny, supernatural and its potential role in human perception. Also the feministic pathos of revenge is played quite nicely.
On its own terms the book was an easy and quick read and quite entertaining. That is as soon as I鈥檝e managed to get out of Mann鈥檚 shadow. She writes effortlessly and manages to use interesting narrative voice - it is plural first person, but this she does manage to subvert from Mann鈥檚 similar tool rather impressively.
Mann was writing his novel with overshadowing of the WW1. I was thinking how did Olga use a century of hindsight for her benefit. There is misogyny theme of course. But also she clarified the idea of perspective, the absence of the binaries in the world, in human nature and even in human body. She did it in quite a categorical way through a monologue of the Doctor: 鈥淚f anyone thinks the world is set of stark opposites, he is sick.鈥� The Doctor also explained to Wojnicz how the real world appeared to be: 鈥渂lurred, out of focus, flickering鈥� depending on one鈥檚 point of view." He might have been enlightened about the very recent contemporary findings of the quantum physics. But more likely he projected Olga鈥檚 more modern knowledge popularised in many books such as .
Read this book for its plot, sense of humour, sense of place and vivid descriptions. Avoid reading Mann before it if you can. As far as the ideas are concerned, I鈥檝e managed to find a paragraph which resonated and felt fresh:
I have to admit that in retrospect i鈥檇 prefer i knew nothing about TMM before reading this book as inevitably i could not help but compare this novel to TMM and struggled to appreciate it on its own terms. Olga did not help as for the first half at least she stuck to her version of Mann鈥檚 style with detailed descriptions of the surroundings including the meals and physical countenances of her characters. The majority of them could as well be traced to Mann鈥檚 characters. She subverted the style and plot of course. But for me she did not do it boldly enough until the later part of her novel.
Also what makes Mann鈥檚 work so rich is an exchange of ideas between the characters. All of them are profound, complex and rendered in such a way that the reader would never know Mann鈥檚 personal stand on those issues. Olga鈥檚 novel is much simpler on that level. Her characters talk about many things as well. But their views are quite shallow, deliberately cartoonish:
鈥淲ojnicz (the main character standing for Hans Castrop in TMM) had noticed that every discussion, whether about democracy, the fifth dimension, the role of religion, socialism, Europe, or modern art, eventually led to women.鈥�
And it seems that for her as well a historical perspective on misogyny is the main area of investigation in this novel. In this she is richly intertextual including the ancient Greeks, witch hunts and of course Mann鈥檚 contemporaries. However, i was not sure what was new about it. It is quite likely unfortunately that still there are some men in our times holding such views. It might even have been that they still hold the power in the society. But the criticism of that expressed in such a form does not come across as particularly effective. I do not think they would be shocked out of their convictions by reading that their views were wildly shared between the educated elite of the earlier 20th century. The rest of us are informed and do not need to be convinced.
As a result, the first part of the novel is a bit Disneyland Venice compared to the real Venice - lacking authenticity. Even the death which is grimly present in Mann鈥檚 novel is more like a decoration here, the way to approach the uncanny.
But the good news for me was that it seemed she started to write one book but finished writing another. And they transformed into each other relatively seamlessly. The latter part is characteristically Olga鈥檚 with her original taste for the uncanny, supernatural and its potential role in human perception. Also the feministic pathos of revenge is played quite nicely.
On its own terms the book was an easy and quick read and quite entertaining. That is as soon as I鈥檝e managed to get out of Mann鈥檚 shadow. She writes effortlessly and manages to use interesting narrative voice - it is plural first person, but this she does manage to subvert from Mann鈥檚 similar tool rather impressively.
Mann was writing his novel with overshadowing of the WW1. I was thinking how did Olga use a century of hindsight for her benefit. There is misogyny theme of course. But also she clarified the idea of perspective, the absence of the binaries in the world, in human nature and even in human body. She did it in quite a categorical way through a monologue of the Doctor: 鈥淚f anyone thinks the world is set of stark opposites, he is sick.鈥� The Doctor also explained to Wojnicz how the real world appeared to be: 鈥渂lurred, out of focus, flickering鈥� depending on one鈥檚 point of view." He might have been enlightened about the very recent contemporary findings of the quantum physics. But more likely he projected Olga鈥檚 more modern knowledge popularised in many books such as .
Read this book for its plot, sense of humour, sense of place and vivid descriptions. Avoid reading Mann before it if you can. As far as the ideas are concerned, I鈥檝e managed to find a paragraph which resonated and felt fresh:
鈥淥ur entire culture has grown out of a feeling of inferiority, out of all those unfulfilled ambitions. And yet it is the other way around: that which is weak in us gives us strength. This constant effort to compensate for weakness governs our entire lives. Demosthenes had a stammer, and that was exactly why he became the greatest speaker of all time. Not in spite of it, but because of it.鈥�
July 8, 2022
薪芯胁懈泄 褉芯屑邪薪 芯谢褜谐懈 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻, 薪邪写懈胁芯胁懈卸褍 泻褉邪褋懈胁懈泄 褨 褌褉芯褕泻懈 屑邪谐褨褔薪懈泄, 薪邪褌懈褋薪褍胁 褍 屑械薪褨 胁褋褨 锌褉邪胁懈谢褜薪褨 泻薪芯锌芯褔泻懈. 写褨褟 胁褨写斜褍胁邪褦褌褜褋褟 薪邪 褋邪屑芯屑褍 锌芯褔邪褌泻褍 褏褏 褋褌芯谢褨褌褌褟 (褔懈 褌芯 锌邪泻 薪邪锌褉懈泻褨薪褑褨 写芯胁谐芯谐芯 褏褨褏) 胁 褋邪薪邪褌芯褉褨褩 写谢褟 褋褍褏芯褌薪懈泻褨胁, 褨, 褟泻 褨 薪邪谢械卸懈褌褜 屑械褕泻邪薪褑褟屑 褉芯屑邪薪褍 锌褉芯 褋褍褏芯褌薪懈泻褨胁, 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸褨 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 芯蟹写芯褉芯胁谢褞褞褌褜褋褟 蟹褨 蟹屑褨薪薪懈屑懈 褍褋锌褨褏邪屑懈, 褋锌芯谐谢褟写邪褞褌褜 锌械泄蟹邪卸褨, 写懈胁褍褞褌褜褋褟 蟹 屑褨褋褑械胁懈褏 蟹胁懈褔邪褩胁 褨 谐芯胁芯褉褟褌褜, 谐芯胁芯褉褟褌褜, 谐芯胁芯褉褟褌褜.
谐芯谢芯胁薪懈泄 谐械褉芯泄, 泻褉褨蟹褜 褟泻芯谐芯 薪邪屑 锌芯泻邪蟹褍褞褌褜 褋胁褨褌, 鈥� 屑械褔懈褋谢邪胁 胁芯泄薪懈褔, 锌芯谢褟泻 蟹褨 谢褜胁芯胁邪, 褟泻懈泄 薪械 写褍卸械 泻芯屑褎芯褉褌薪芯 锌芯褔褍胁邪褦褌褜褋褟 褍 褋胁芯褩泄 薪邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨泄 褨写械薪褌懈褔薪芯褋褌褨 (褨 薪械 褌褨谢褜泻懈 胁 薪褨泄), 褌邪 薪邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪邪 褨写械薪褌懈褔薪褨褋褌褜 鈥� 褨 薪械 芯褋薪芯胁薪械, 锌褉芯 褖芯 褌芯褔邪褌褜褋褟 褉芯蟹屑芯胁懈, 斜芯 褉邪薪芯 褔懈 锌褨蟹薪芯 泻芯卸薪邪 褌械屑邪 褋泻芯褔褍褦褌褜褋褟 胁 芯斜谐芯胁芯褉械薪薪褟 卸褨薪芯泻 褌邪 褩褏薪褨褏 褔懈褋谢械薪薪懈褏 薪械褋锌褉芯屑芯卸薪芯褋褌械泄. 胁谢邪褋薪械, 芯谢褜谐邪 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 薪械 锌褉懈褏芯胁褍褦, 褖芯 褌褍褌 斜鈥櫻斞傃屟佈� 褋械褉褑械 褉芯屑邪薪褍, 褨 薪邪锌褉懈泻褨薪褑褨 褌械泻褋褌褍 锌芯写邪褦 褍屑芯胁薪懈泄 褋锌懈褋芯泻 胁懈泻芯褉懈褋褌邪薪芯褩 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉懈, 写械 胁泻邪蟹邪薪芯, 褖芯 褍褋褨 胁懈褋谢芯胁谢褞胁邪薪薪褟 锌褉芯 卸褨薪芯泻 锌芯褏芯写褟褌褜 褨蟹 褉械邪谢褜薪懈褏 褌械泻褋褌褨胁: 胁褨写 邪胁谐褍褋褌懈薪邪 蟹 褌械褉褌褍谢褨邪薪芯屑 写芯 泻械褉褍邪泻邪 蟹 斜械褉褉芯褍蟹芯屑. 锌褉懈泄芯屑 胁懈褏芯写懈褌褜 褌褉芯褏懈 屑邪薪褨锌褍谢褟褌懈胁薪懈泄 (屑懈-斜芯 薪械 蟹薪邪褦屑芯 锌褉芯锌芯褉褑褨泄 褨 薪械 屑邪褦屑芯 泻芯薪泻褉械褌薪懈褏 邪褌褉懈斜褍褑褨泄), 邪谢械 蟹邪谐邪谢芯屑 薪械锌芯谐邪薪芯 芯谐芯谢褞褦 胁褨褔薪芯蟹械谢械薪褨褋褌褜 屑褨蟹芯谐褨薪薪懈褏 写懈褋泻褍褉褋褨胁.
褨 褖芯写芯 褑懈褏 写懈褋泻褍褉褋褨胁, 褍屑褨褖械薪懈褏 薪邪 锌械褉械褏褉械褋褌褨 褉邪薪薪褨褏 1910-褏, 泻芯谢懈 胁褨写斜褍胁邪褦褌褜褋褟 写褨锟斤拷 褉芯屑邪薪褍 (褨 写芯 褟泻懈褏 斜械褉褉芯褍蟹 褨蟹 泻械褉褍邪泻芯屑 褍褋械-褌邪泻懈 褨 褏褉芯薪芯谢芯谐褨褔薪芯, 泄 褨写械芯谢芯谐褨褔薪芯 斜谢懈卸褔褨), 褨 褉邪薪薪褨褏 2020-褏, 泻芯谢懈 褉芯屑邪薪 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪芯, 屑芯卸褍褌褜 胁懈薪懈泻薪褍褌懈 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟.
锌械褉褕械 鈥� 褖芯写芯 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 褋褍褔邪褋薪邪 屑褨蟹芯谐褨薪褨褟 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜 薪械 褌邪泻. 泄芯谐芯 泻谢邪褋薪芯 泻芯薪褌械泻褋褌褍邪谢褨蟹褍褦 褟褉芯褋谢邪胁邪 褋褌褉褨褏邪, 褟泻邪 写懈胁懈褌褜褋褟 薪邪 芦械屑锌褍蟹泄芯薪禄 褨蟹 褌褉芯褕泻懈 褨薪褕芯谐芯 泻褍谢褜褌褍褉薪芯谐芯 褉邪泻褍褉褋褍, 褨 蟹邪谐邪谢芯屑 褟 屑褍褕褍 锌芯谐芯写懈褌懈褋褟, 邪谢械 蟹 芯写薪懈屑 褍褌芯褔薪械薪薪褟屑: 褋褍褔邪褋薪邪 屑褨蟹芯谐褨薪褨褟 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜 薪械 褌褨谢褜泻懈 褌邪泻. 薪邪 卸邪谢褜, 胁芯薪邪 写芯褋褨 泄 芯褌邪泻 褌械卸 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜. 褨 褑械 褟 薪邪胁褨褌褜 薪械 褏芯写卸褍 胁 泻芯屑械薪褌邪褉褨 写芯 褎械泄褋斜褍褔薪懈褏 写芯锌懈锟斤拷褨胁 锌褉芯 褋褌邪屑斜褍谢褜褋褜泻褍 泻芯薪胁械薪褑褨褞, 斜芯 薪械褉胁懈 写芯褉芯谐褨 屑械薪褨 褟泻 锌邪屑鈥櫻徰傃�; 写芯褋褌邪褌薪褜芯 薪械薪邪写芯胁谐芯 蟹邪胁懈褋薪褍褌懈 胁 泻芯屑械薪褌邪褉褟褏 写芯 泻谢邪褋薪芯谐芯 泻薪懈卸泻芯胁芯谐芯 泻邪薪邪谢褍 胁 褌械谢械谐褉邪屑褨, 写械 薪邪褔械斜褌芯 蟹斜懈褉邪褞褌褜褋褟 谢褞写懈, 褟泻褨 斜邪谐邪褌芯 褔懈褌邪褞褌褜 褨 褖芯褋褜 胁褨写 褑褜芯谐芯 芯褌褉懈屑褍褞褌褜, 鈥� 褨 褌邪屑 斜褍写械 褔懈 锌邪薪, 褟泻懈泄 褖懈褉芯 胁懈蟹薪邪褦, 褖芯 卸褨薪芯泻 薪械 褔懈褌邪褦, 斜芯 写懈褌褟褔褨 泻薪懈卸泻懈 胁 薪懈褏 褨褖械 胁懈褏芯写褟褌褜, 邪 芯褌 褍褋械 褨薪褕械 鈥� 芯泄-胁械泄, 褔懈 褨薪褕懈泄 锌邪薪, 褟泻懈泄 褎褍褉褨褦褞 锌褉懈谢褨褌邪褦 褍 胁褨写谐褍泻 薪邪 屑械屑褍邪褉懈 锌械褉褕芯褩 写褉褍卸懈薪懈 谐械屑褨薪覒胁械褟, 褖芯斜 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨褋褌懈, 褖芯 斜褍泻斜谢芯谐械褉褋褌胁芯 胁斜懈胁邪褦 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉薪褍 泻褉懈褌懈泻褍, 斜芯 褋锌懈褉邪褦褌褜褋褟 薪邪 锌芯褔褍褌褌褟, 邪 薪械 褉邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨褋褌褜, 褌芯屑褍 锌褉芯褋褍胁邪褦 薪械 褋锌褉邪胁卸薪褞 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉褍, 邪 胁褋褨谢褟泻褨 锌鈥櫻徰傂葱笛佈徰傂惭栃囱傃栃叫貉栃� (褨 褟泻褖芯 胁邪屑 蟹写邪褦褌褜褋褟, 褖芯 褑械 薪械 谐械薪写械褉薪芯 蟹邪斜邪褉胁谢械薪邪 褉械邪泻褑褨褟, 锌芯褌褨屑 褑械泄 褋邪屑懈泄 写芯锌懈褋褍胁邪褔 薪邪谐邪写褍褦, 褖芯 屑械屑褍邪褉懈 胁蟹邪谐邪谢褨-褌芯 薪邪锌懈褋邪谢邪 卸褨薪泻邪, 褟泻邪 斜械蟹 谐械屑褨薪覒胁械褟 斜褍谢邪 斜 薪褨泻芯屑褍 薪械 胁褨写芯屑芯褞, 薪褨泻芯屑褍 薪械 褑褨泻邪胁芯褞 泄 薪械 锌懈褋邪谢邪 斜 褍蟹邪谐邪谢褨). 褨, 褔懈褌邪褞褔懈 褑械泄 褔邪褌懈泻, 褟 锌芯褔褍胁邪褞褋褟 屑邪泄卸械 屑械褔懈褋谢邪胁芯屑 胁芯泄薪懈褔械屑, 褟泻懈泄 褋懈写懈褌褜, 褋谢褍褏邪褦,芯褏褍 写懈胁褍褦褌褜褋褟, 邪谢械 胁 褉芯蟹屑芯胁褍 薪械 胁褋褌褉褟谐邪褦, 斜芯 褋锌懈褌邪褌懈 锌械褉褕芯谐芯 锌邪薪邪 锌褉芯 褌械, 褔懈 胁懈蟹薪邪胁 斜懈 胁褨薪 褨蟹 褌邪泻芯褞 褋邪屑芯褞 谐芯褉写褨褋褌褞, 褖芯 薪械 褔懈褌邪褦 薪械斜褨谢懈褏 邪胁褌芯褉褨胁, 邪斜芯 写褉褍谐芯谐芯 锌邪薪邪 鈥� 锌褉芯 褌械, 褔芯屑褍 泄芯屑褍 褌邪泻褨 胁邪卸谢懈胁褨 褨褦褉邪褉褏褨褩, 斜褍谢芯 斜 褑褨泻邪胁芯, 邪谢械 斜械蟹褉械蟹褍谢褜褌邪褌薪芯 (褨 薪械 褎邪泻褌, 褖芯 褑褨 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟 薪械 锌芯褌芯薪褍谢懈 斜 褋械褉械写 褨薪褕懈褏 泻芯屑械薪褌邪褉褨胁, 褌芯褔薪褨褋褨薪褜泻芯 褟泻 褍 胁械褔褨褉薪褨褏 褉芯蟹屑芯胁邪褏 胁 芦械屑锌褍蟹泄芯薪褨禄).
写褉褍谐械 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟 , 褟泻懈泄 锌芯褔懈薪邪褦 蟹 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 胁褨薪, 褍蟹邪谐邪谢褨-褌芯, 褎械屑褨薪褨褋褌, 邪谢械 芯谢褜谐邪 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 薪械写芯褋褌邪褌薪褜芯 谐芯谢芯褋薪芯 泻邪卸械, 褖芯 #notallmen, 邪 褑械 胁 薪邪褕褨 褔邪褋懈, 泻芯谢懈 锌邪褌褉褨邪褉褏邪褌 薪邪褉械褕褌褨 谐懈薪械, 褋褌褉邪褕薪懈泄 褋械泻褋懈蟹屑. 屑芯胁谢褟胁, 薪械胁卸械 邪胁褌芯褉褑褨 褋泻谢邪写薪芯 斜褍谢芯 胁懈胁械褋褌懈 褏芯褔 芯写薪芯谐芯 褔芯谢芯胁褨泻邪, 褟泻懈泄 胁褨写褋褌芯褞胁邪胁 斜懈 锌褉邪胁邪 卸褨薪芯泻? 褍 胁褨写锌芯胁褨写褜 薪邪 褑械 褟 褌懈褏芯 褉芯蟹胁芯写卸褍 褉褍泻邪屑懈, 斜芯 褌邪泻懈泄 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸 薪邪褋锌褉邪胁写褨 褦: 胁邪谢褜褌械褉 褎褉芯屑屑械褉 褋褌邪胁懈褌褜 薪械蟹褉褍褔薪褨 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟 泄 胁懈褋谢芯胁谢褞褦 泻芯薪褌褉芯胁械褉褋褨泄薪褨 锌芯蟹懈褑褨褩, 邪 褖芯 泄芯谐芯 谐芯谢芯褋 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜 褌懈褏芯 鈥� 薪褍, 褑械 薪械 写懈胁薪芯 胁 谐芯屑芯褋芯褑褨邪谢褜薪褨泄 泻芯屑锌邪薪褨褩, 写械 褨褦褉邪褉褏褨褩 胁卸械 胁褋褌邪薪芯胁谢械薪褨 泄 邪谢褜褎邪褋邪屑褑褨 斜鈥櫻幯傃� 褋械斜械 胁 谐褉褍写懈 泄 褉芯蟹锌褍褕褍褞褌褜 锌褨褉鈥櫻�. 邪谢械 褑褨泻邪胁芯 写褍屑邪褌懈, 褖芯 褔懈褦褋褜 芯褋褌邪褌芯褔薪械 胁褉邪卸械薪薪褟 胁褨写 褌械泻褋褌褍 蟹胁芯写懈褌褜褋褟 写芯 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 芯谢褜谐邪 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 薪械写芯褋褌邪褌薪褜芯 薪邪谐芯谢芯褕褍褦 薪邪 褔芯谢芯胁褨褔懈褏 褔械褋褌褨, 谐褨写薪芯褋褌褨 泄 锌芯褉褟写薪芯褋褌褨.
芯褋褌邪薪薪褨屑懈 屑褨褋褟褑褟屑懈 屑械薪褨 锌褉懈薪芯褋褟褌褜 胁械谢懈泻褍 胁褌褨褏褍 revenge fantasies, 褨, 屑邪斜褍褌褜, 斜邪谐邪褌芯 屑芯谐芯 蟹邪褏胁邪褌褍 胁褨写 褑褜芯谐芯 褉芯屑邪薪褍 鈥� 薪邪褋谢褨写芯泻 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 褟 胁 薪褜芯屑褍 锌褉芯褔懈褌邪谢邪 褉芯蟹泻褨褕薪褍, 褋芯谢芯写泻褍 revenge fantasy, 褍 褟泻褨泄 褋邪屑 褋胁褨褌 褨蟹 谢邪谐褨写薪芯褞 褍褋屑褨褕泻芯褞 褉芯蟹斜懈胁邪褦 芯斜谢懈褔褔褟 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸邪屑. 胁懈褟胁谢褟褦褌褜褋褟, 褖芯 锌懈褕邪褌懈褋褟 褋胁芯褩屑 (薪械 械泻褋泻谢褞蟹懈胁薪懈屑) 褉邪褑褨芯 褨 褋锌褉邪胁写褨 屑邪褌懈 蟹写邪褌薪褨褋褌褜 泄芯谐芯 蟹邪褋褌芯褋芯胁褍胁邪褌懈 鈥� 褌褉芯褏懈 褉褨蟹薪褨 褉械褔褨. 胁褨泄薪邪 薪械 锌芯褔薪械褌褜褋褟, 泻邪卸褍褌褜 胁芯薪懈, 褔芯谢芯胁褨褔邪 褉邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨褋褌褜 薪械 写邪褋褌褜 胁褨泄薪褨 锌芯褔邪褌懈褋褟 鈥� 邪谢械 写芯 1914 褉芯泻褍 谢懈褕邪褦褌褜褋褟 褌邪泻 屑邪谢芯, 褖芯 薪邪胁褨褌褜 薪械 褋屑褨褕薪芯. 卸褨薪泻懈 鈥� 褨褉褉邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨 泄 薪械褋锌褉芯屑芯卸薪褨, 泻邪卸褍褌褜 胁芯薪懈, 褔懈褋褌褨褋褨薪褜泻邪 锌邪褋懈胁薪邪 锌褉懈褉芯写邪, 薪邪写 褟泻芯褞 褋褌芯褩褌褜 褔芯谢芯胁褨褔懈泄 褉芯蟹褍屑, 鈥� 邪谢械 锌褉懈褉芯写邪 锌械褉械卸芯胁褍褦 褩褏 褨 胁懈锌谢褜芯胁褍褦. 胁芯薪懈 锌械褉械斜褍胁邪褞褌褜 薪邪 胁械褉褕懈薪褨 褏邪褉褔芯胁芯谐芯 谢邪薪褑褞卸泻邪 泄 谐芯褌芯胁褨 褖芯 蟹邪胁谐芯写薪芯 褋芯斜褨 泄 褨薪褕懈屑 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨褋褌懈, 邪斜懈 褌褨谢褜泻懈 锌褨写褌褉懈屑邪褌懈 褑褞 褨褦褉邪褉褏褨褞, 鈥� 邪谢械 褉械邪谢褜薪褨褋褌褜 蟹褉械褕褌芯褞 胁褨写写邪褦 锌械褉械胁邪谐褍 褨薪褕懈屑 褋褌褉褍泻褌褍褉邪屑 褌邪 褨薪褕懈屑 褨褋褌芯褉褨褟屑. 褌邪泻, 芯 褌邪泻.
谐芯谢芯胁薪懈泄 谐械褉芯泄, 泻褉褨蟹褜 褟泻芯谐芯 薪邪屑 锌芯泻邪蟹褍褞褌褜 褋胁褨褌, 鈥� 屑械褔懈褋谢邪胁 胁芯泄薪懈褔, 锌芯谢褟泻 蟹褨 谢褜胁芯胁邪, 褟泻懈泄 薪械 写褍卸械 泻芯屑褎芯褉褌薪芯 锌芯褔褍胁邪褦褌褜褋褟 褍 褋胁芯褩泄 薪邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨泄 褨写械薪褌懈褔薪芯褋褌褨 (褨 薪械 褌褨谢褜泻懈 胁 薪褨泄), 褌邪 薪邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪邪 褨写械薪褌懈褔薪褨褋褌褜 鈥� 褨 薪械 芯褋薪芯胁薪械, 锌褉芯 褖芯 褌芯褔邪褌褜褋褟 褉芯蟹屑芯胁懈, 斜芯 褉邪薪芯 褔懈 锌褨蟹薪芯 泻芯卸薪邪 褌械屑邪 褋泻芯褔褍褦褌褜褋褟 胁 芯斜谐芯胁芯褉械薪薪褟 卸褨薪芯泻 褌邪 褩褏薪褨褏 褔懈褋谢械薪薪懈褏 薪械褋锌褉芯屑芯卸薪芯褋褌械泄. 胁谢邪褋薪械, 芯谢褜谐邪 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 薪械 锌褉懈褏芯胁褍褦, 褖芯 褌褍褌 斜鈥櫻斞傃屟佈� 褋械褉褑械 褉芯屑邪薪褍, 褨 薪邪锌褉懈泻褨薪褑褨 褌械泻褋褌褍 锌芯写邪褦 褍屑芯胁薪懈泄 褋锌懈褋芯泻 胁懈泻芯褉懈褋褌邪薪芯褩 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉懈, 写械 胁泻邪蟹邪薪芯, 褖芯 褍褋褨 胁懈褋谢芯胁谢褞胁邪薪薪褟 锌褉芯 卸褨薪芯泻 锌芯褏芯写褟褌褜 褨蟹 褉械邪谢褜薪懈褏 褌械泻褋褌褨胁: 胁褨写 邪胁谐褍褋褌懈薪邪 蟹 褌械褉褌褍谢褨邪薪芯屑 写芯 泻械褉褍邪泻邪 蟹 斜械褉褉芯褍蟹芯屑. 锌褉懈泄芯屑 胁懈褏芯写懈褌褜 褌褉芯褏懈 屑邪薪褨锌褍谢褟褌懈胁薪懈泄 (屑懈-斜芯 薪械 蟹薪邪褦屑芯 锌褉芯锌芯褉褑褨泄 褨 薪械 屑邪褦屑芯 泻芯薪泻褉械褌薪懈褏 邪褌褉懈斜褍褑褨泄), 邪谢械 蟹邪谐邪谢芯屑 薪械锌芯谐邪薪芯 芯谐芯谢褞褦 胁褨褔薪芯蟹械谢械薪褨褋褌褜 屑褨蟹芯谐褨薪薪懈褏 写懈褋泻褍褉褋褨胁.
褨 褖芯写芯 褑懈褏 写懈褋泻褍褉褋褨胁, 褍屑褨褖械薪懈褏 薪邪 锌械褉械褏褉械褋褌褨 褉邪薪薪褨褏 1910-褏, 泻芯谢懈 胁褨写斜褍胁邪褦褌褜褋褟 写褨锟斤拷 褉芯屑邪薪褍 (褨 写芯 褟泻懈褏 斜械褉褉芯褍蟹 褨蟹 泻械褉褍邪泻芯屑 褍褋械-褌邪泻懈 褨 褏褉芯薪芯谢芯谐褨褔薪芯, 泄 褨写械芯谢芯谐褨褔薪芯 斜谢懈卸褔褨), 褨 褉邪薪薪褨褏 2020-褏, 泻芯谢懈 褉芯屑邪薪 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪芯, 屑芯卸褍褌褜 胁懈薪懈泻薪褍褌懈 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟.
锌械褉褕械 鈥� 褖芯写芯 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 褋褍褔邪褋薪邪 屑褨蟹芯谐褨薪褨褟 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜 薪械 褌邪泻. 泄芯谐芯 泻谢邪褋薪芯 泻芯薪褌械泻褋褌褍邪谢褨蟹褍褦 褟褉芯褋谢邪胁邪 褋褌褉褨褏邪, 褟泻邪 写懈胁懈褌褜褋褟 薪邪 芦械屑锌褍蟹泄芯薪禄 褨蟹 褌褉芯褕泻懈 褨薪褕芯谐芯 泻褍谢褜褌褍褉薪芯谐芯 褉邪泻褍褉褋褍, 褨 蟹邪谐邪谢芯屑 褟 屑褍褕褍 锌芯谐芯写懈褌懈褋褟, 邪谢械 蟹 芯写薪懈屑 褍褌芯褔薪械薪薪褟屑: 褋褍褔邪褋薪邪 屑褨蟹芯谐褨薪褨褟 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜 薪械 褌褨谢褜泻懈 褌邪泻. 薪邪 卸邪谢褜, 胁芯薪邪 写芯褋褨 泄 芯褌邪泻 褌械卸 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜. 褨 褑械 褟 薪邪胁褨褌褜 薪械 褏芯写卸褍 胁 泻芯屑械薪褌邪褉褨 写芯 褎械泄褋斜褍褔薪懈褏 写芯锌懈锟斤拷褨胁 锌褉芯 褋褌邪屑斜褍谢褜褋褜泻褍 泻芯薪胁械薪褑褨褞, 斜芯 薪械褉胁懈 写芯褉芯谐褨 屑械薪褨 褟泻 锌邪屑鈥櫻徰傃�; 写芯褋褌邪褌薪褜芯 薪械薪邪写芯胁谐芯 蟹邪胁懈褋薪褍褌懈 胁 泻芯屑械薪褌邪褉褟褏 写芯 泻谢邪褋薪芯谐芯 泻薪懈卸泻芯胁芯谐芯 泻邪薪邪谢褍 胁 褌械谢械谐褉邪屑褨, 写械 薪邪褔械斜褌芯 蟹斜懈褉邪褞褌褜褋褟 谢褞写懈, 褟泻褨 斜邪谐邪褌芯 褔懈褌邪褞褌褜 褨 褖芯褋褜 胁褨写 褑褜芯谐芯 芯褌褉懈屑褍褞褌褜, 鈥� 褨 褌邪屑 斜褍写械 褔懈 锌邪薪, 褟泻懈泄 褖懈褉芯 胁懈蟹薪邪褦, 褖芯 卸褨薪芯泻 薪械 褔懈褌邪褦, 斜芯 写懈褌褟褔褨 泻薪懈卸泻懈 胁 薪懈褏 褨褖械 胁懈褏芯写褟褌褜, 邪 芯褌 褍褋械 褨薪褕械 鈥� 芯泄-胁械泄, 褔懈 褨薪褕懈泄 锌邪薪, 褟泻懈泄 褎褍褉褨褦褞 锌褉懈谢褨褌邪褦 褍 胁褨写谐褍泻 薪邪 屑械屑褍邪褉懈 锌械褉褕芯褩 写褉褍卸懈薪懈 谐械屑褨薪覒胁械褟, 褖芯斜 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨褋褌懈, 褖芯 斜褍泻斜谢芯谐械褉褋褌胁芯 胁斜懈胁邪褦 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉薪褍 泻褉懈褌懈泻褍, 斜芯 褋锌懈褉邪褦褌褜褋褟 薪邪 锌芯褔褍褌褌褟, 邪 薪械 褉邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨褋褌褜, 褌芯屑褍 锌褉芯褋褍胁邪褦 薪械 褋锌褉邪胁卸薪褞 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉褍, 邪 胁褋褨谢褟泻褨 锌鈥櫻徰傂葱笛佈徰傂惭栃囱傃栃叫貉栃� (褨 褟泻褖芯 胁邪屑 蟹写邪褦褌褜褋褟, 褖芯 褑械 薪械 谐械薪写械褉薪芯 蟹邪斜邪褉胁谢械薪邪 褉械邪泻褑褨褟, 锌芯褌褨屑 褑械泄 褋邪屑懈泄 写芯锌懈褋褍胁邪褔 薪邪谐邪写褍褦, 褖芯 屑械屑褍邪褉懈 胁蟹邪谐邪谢褨-褌芯 薪邪锌懈褋邪谢邪 卸褨薪泻邪, 褟泻邪 斜械蟹 谐械屑褨薪覒胁械褟 斜褍谢邪 斜 薪褨泻芯屑褍 薪械 胁褨写芯屑芯褞, 薪褨泻芯屑褍 薪械 褑褨泻邪胁芯褞 泄 薪械 锌懈褋邪谢邪 斜 褍蟹邪谐邪谢褨). 褨, 褔懈褌邪褞褔懈 褑械泄 褔邪褌懈泻, 褟 锌芯褔褍胁邪褞褋褟 屑邪泄卸械 屑械褔懈褋谢邪胁芯屑 胁芯泄薪懈褔械屑, 褟泻懈泄 褋懈写懈褌褜, 褋谢褍褏邪褦,
写褉褍谐械 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟 , 褟泻懈泄 锌芯褔懈薪邪褦 蟹 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 胁褨薪, 褍蟹邪谐邪谢褨-褌芯, 褎械屑褨薪褨褋褌, 邪谢械 芯谢褜谐邪 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 薪械写芯褋褌邪褌薪褜芯 谐芯谢芯褋薪芯 泻邪卸械, 褖芯 #notallmen, 邪 褑械 胁 薪邪褕褨 褔邪褋懈, 泻芯谢懈 锌邪褌褉褨邪褉褏邪褌 薪邪褉械褕褌褨 谐懈薪械, 褋褌褉邪褕薪懈泄 褋械泻褋懈蟹屑. 屑芯胁谢褟胁, 薪械胁卸械 邪胁褌芯褉褑褨 褋泻谢邪写薪芯 斜褍谢芯 胁懈胁械褋褌懈 褏芯褔 芯写薪芯谐芯 褔芯谢芯胁褨泻邪, 褟泻懈泄 胁褨写褋褌芯褞胁邪胁 斜懈 锌褉邪胁邪 卸褨薪芯泻? 褍 胁褨写锌芯胁褨写褜 薪邪 褑械 褟 褌懈褏芯 褉芯蟹胁芯写卸褍 褉褍泻邪屑懈, 斜芯 褌邪泻懈泄 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸 薪邪褋锌褉邪胁写褨 褦: 胁邪谢褜褌械褉 褎褉芯屑屑械褉 褋褌邪胁懈褌褜 薪械蟹褉褍褔薪褨 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟 泄 胁懈褋谢芯胁谢褞褦 泻芯薪褌褉芯胁械褉褋褨泄薪褨 锌芯蟹懈褑褨褩, 邪 褖芯 泄芯谐芯 谐芯谢芯褋 蟹胁褍褔懈褌褜 褌懈褏芯 鈥� 薪褍, 褑械 薪械 写懈胁薪芯 胁 谐芯屑芯褋芯褑褨邪谢褜薪褨泄 泻芯屑锌邪薪褨褩, 写械 褨褦褉邪褉褏褨褩 胁卸械 胁褋褌邪薪芯胁谢械薪褨 泄 邪谢褜褎邪褋邪屑褑褨 斜鈥櫻幯傃� 褋械斜械 胁 谐褉褍写懈 泄 褉芯蟹锌褍褕褍褞褌褜 锌褨褉鈥櫻�. 邪谢械 褑褨泻邪胁芯 写褍屑邪褌懈, 褖芯 褔懈褦褋褜 芯褋褌邪褌芯褔薪械 胁褉邪卸械薪薪褟 胁褨写 褌械泻褋褌褍 蟹胁芯写懈褌褜褋褟 写芯 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 芯谢褜谐邪 褌芯泻邪褉褔褍泻 薪械写芯褋褌邪褌薪褜芯 薪邪谐芯谢芯褕褍褦 薪邪 褔芯谢芯胁褨褔懈褏 褔械褋褌褨, 谐褨写薪芯褋褌褨 泄 锌芯褉褟写薪芯褋褌褨.
芯褋褌邪薪薪褨屑懈 屑褨褋褟褑褟屑懈 屑械薪褨 锌褉懈薪芯褋褟褌褜 胁械谢懈泻褍 胁褌褨褏褍 revenge fantasies, 褨, 屑邪斜褍褌褜, 斜邪谐邪褌芯 屑芯谐芯 蟹邪褏胁邪褌褍 胁褨写 褑褜芯谐芯 褉芯屑邪薪褍 鈥� 薪邪褋谢褨写芯泻 褌芯谐芯, 褖芯 褟 胁 薪褜芯屑褍 锌褉芯褔懈褌邪谢邪 褉芯蟹泻褨褕薪褍, 褋芯谢芯写泻褍 revenge fantasy, 褍 褟泻褨泄 褋邪屑 褋胁褨褌 褨蟹 谢邪谐褨写薪芯褞 褍褋屑褨褕泻芯褞 褉芯蟹斜懈胁邪褦 芯斜谢懈褔褔褟 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸邪屑. 胁懈褟胁谢褟褦褌褜褋褟, 褖芯 锌懈褕邪褌懈褋褟 褋胁芯褩屑 (薪械 械泻褋泻谢褞蟹懈胁薪懈屑) 褉邪褑褨芯 褨 褋锌褉邪胁写褨 屑邪褌懈 蟹写邪褌薪褨褋褌褜 泄芯谐芯 蟹邪褋褌芯褋芯胁褍胁邪褌懈 鈥� 褌褉芯褏懈 褉褨蟹薪褨 褉械褔褨. 胁褨泄薪邪 薪械 锌芯褔薪械褌褜褋褟, 泻邪卸褍褌褜 胁芯薪懈, 褔芯谢芯胁褨褔邪 褉邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨褋褌褜 薪械 写邪褋褌褜 胁褨泄薪褨 锌芯褔邪褌懈褋褟 鈥� 邪谢械 写芯 1914 褉芯泻褍 谢懈褕邪褦褌褜褋褟 褌邪泻 屑邪谢芯, 褖芯 薪邪胁褨褌褜 薪械 褋屑褨褕薪芯. 卸褨薪泻懈 鈥� 褨褉褉邪褑褨芯薪邪谢褜薪褨 泄 薪械褋锌褉芯屑芯卸薪褨, 泻邪卸褍褌褜 胁芯薪懈, 褔懈褋褌褨褋褨薪褜泻邪 锌邪褋懈胁薪邪 锌褉懈褉芯写邪, 薪邪写 褟泻芯褞 褋褌芯褩褌褜 褔芯谢芯胁褨褔懈泄 褉芯蟹褍屑, 鈥� 邪谢械 锌褉懈褉芯写邪 锌械褉械卸芯胁褍褦 褩褏 褨 胁懈锌谢褜芯胁褍褦. 胁芯薪懈 锌械褉械斜褍胁邪褞褌褜 薪邪 胁械褉褕懈薪褨 褏邪褉褔芯胁芯谐芯 谢邪薪褑褞卸泻邪 泄 谐芯褌芯胁褨 褖芯 蟹邪胁谐芯写薪芯 褋芯斜褨 泄 褨薪褕懈屑 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨褋褌懈, 邪斜懈 褌褨谢褜泻懈 锌褨写褌褉懈屑邪褌懈 褑褞 褨褦褉邪褉褏褨褞, 鈥� 邪谢械 褉械邪谢褜薪褨褋褌褜 蟹褉械褕褌芯褞 胁褨写写邪褦 锌械褉械胁邪谐褍 褨薪褕懈屑 褋褌褉褍泻褌褍褉邪屑 褌邪 褨薪褕懈屑 褨褋褌芯褉褨褟屑. 褌邪泻, 芯 褌邪泻.
June 4, 2022
Arcydzie艂o? Zapewne, tak. Tokarczuk pisze tak prosto a zarazem tak pi臋knie, 偶e a偶 kapcie spadaj膮.
Ale, to nie znaczy 偶e mo偶e nie wszystkie elementy do mnie przem贸wi艂y, i osobi艣cie daj臋 4, ale na pewno robi wra偶enie i po kilku ostatnich stronach po zamkni臋ciu ksi膮偶ki trzeba by艂o posiedzie膰 i prze艂kn膮膰 co si臋 przeczyta艂o.
Ale, to nie znaczy 偶e mo偶e nie wszystkie elementy do mnie przem贸wi艂y, i osobi艣cie daj臋 4, ale na pewno robi wra偶enie i po kilku ostatnich stronach po zamkni臋ciu ksi膮偶ki trzeba by艂o posiedzie膰 i prze艂kn膮膰 co si臋 przeczyta艂o.
May 19, 2024
This was such a joy to read. For all those people who think Tokarczuk may be difficult and hard work: not at all! It's fun and accessible. The right mix of atmosphere, mystery and entertaining dialogue. I was completely transported to the wet and forested mountains of pre-war Central Europe.
Wojnicz, a young Pole, suffers from lung disease and the story begins when he arrives in the spa town of G枚rbersdorf, today in Southern Poland, back in 1913 then the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Because the official Kurhaus is full, he stays in a Pension for Gentlemen. The 'gentlemen' take themselves very seriously and during their daily meals and outages do little else than endlessly ponder and discuss such important manly matters as politics, history and - above all - the inferior nature of women. Their conversations are so misogynistic that it's hard to believe the novel is set just 100 years ago. And as Tokarczuk nicely points out in her author's note: all of their ridiculous statements are taken from distinguished real life thinkers and writers.
Hidden in the dark however, strange things are going on. The owner's wife suddenly dies. Death is everywhere. And everyone seems increasingly addicted to a herbal concoction that clouds the mind.
I did not read Thomas Mann before, but can imagine I would have enjoyed this even more if I had. But also without it was a clear 5 star reading experience for me (also thanks to a fluid Dutch translation in the fitting language of the time).
Wojnicz, a young Pole, suffers from lung disease and the story begins when he arrives in the spa town of G枚rbersdorf, today in Southern Poland, back in 1913 then the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Because the official Kurhaus is full, he stays in a Pension for Gentlemen. The 'gentlemen' take themselves very seriously and during their daily meals and outages do little else than endlessly ponder and discuss such important manly matters as politics, history and - above all - the inferior nature of women. Their conversations are so misogynistic that it's hard to believe the novel is set just 100 years ago. And as Tokarczuk nicely points out in her author's note: all of their ridiculous statements are taken from distinguished real life thinkers and writers.
Hidden in the dark however, strange things are going on. The owner's wife suddenly dies. Death is everywhere. And everyone seems increasingly addicted to a herbal concoction that clouds the mind.
I did not read Thomas Mann before, but can imagine I would have enjoyed this even more if I had. But also without it was a clear 5 star reading experience for me (also thanks to a fluid Dutch translation in the fitting language of the time).
June 18, 2023
脛u脽erst ideenreicher und unterhaltsamer Roman 眉ber die Gesellschaft kurz vor dem 1. Weltkrieg. Zun盲chst war ich skeptisch wegen der offensichtlichen 脛hnlichkeit zum Zauberberg. Sollte das eine Hommage an den Klassiker, eine Kritik an Thomas Mann oder nur intellektuelles Schaulaufen darstellen? Egal, es spielte f眉r mich f眉r die Beurteilung keine Rolle. Vielmehr hat mich der junge, scheue Protagonist Mieczys艂aw Wojnicz fasziniert, wie er so hilflos zwischen arroganten 脛rzten und selbstverliebten Mitpatienten hin und her geworfen wird. Auch gefiel mir die Idee, aus dem niederschlesischen Kurort langsam einen Ort des Grauens, der Geheimnisse und der Geister zu entwickeln. Nervig fand ich in ihrer Masse lediglich die permanente Frauenfeindlichkeit, die den M盲nnern da in Form von Zitaten aus der Geschichte m盲nnlicher Denker in den Mund gelegt wurden. Da waren auch Pers枚nlichkeiten aus der zweiten und dritten Reihe dabei, deren Stumpfsinn besser in die Analen als in die aktuelle Belletristik geh枚ren. Manchmal trug die Autorin f眉r meinen Geschmack zu dick auf, aber insgesamt habe ich es mit Freude und Interesse gelesen.
June 4, 2022
Z czytaniem Empuzjonu jest jak ze s艂uchaniem pierwszej symfonii Mahlera. Mo偶na si臋 miejscami znudzi膰, miejscami nader si臋 艣mia膰, miejscami zatrzymywa膰 oddech. I tak - po przeczytaniu zarezerwujcie sobie czas na ogarni臋cie my艣li.
November 8, 2022
2.5
Do po艂owy by艂am ca艂kiem zainteresowana, ale p贸藕niej odczuwa艂am jakbym by艂a w p臋tli.
Do po艂owy by艂am ca艂kiem zainteresowana, ale p贸藕niej odczuwa艂am jakbym by艂a w p臋tli.
December 29, 2024
Let me explain this book with a nonsensical metaphor: you buy a microwavable lasagna. The package says to pierce the lid a few times before throwing it in the microwave. So you do. But then, you keep stabbing the lid with a fork. And you keep going. And you keep going. And you keep going. Now there鈥檚 no lid, it's fallen. You've broken it because you didn't know when to stop. You microwave your lasagna: it's edible but soggy, the texture's off. You should've pierced the lid just a few times.
This book is the same. We follow a bunch of European dudes from up there (what I will affectionately call 鈥渨ealthy gentlemen from Germany and the goulash-eating countries鈥�). They talk about women, sit around, eat food, and are pretentious together while philosophizing about mankind and other nonsense. All their conversations are like this:
鈥淏ecause a woman鈥檚 body belongs not only to her, but to mankind,鈥� said Lukas, a little irritated that they had not drunk a second round. 鈥淪ince she gives birth, she鈥檚 public property, this capacity of hers to give birth cannot be treated as her personal quality,鈥� he said, stressing that word, then courteously returned a greeting to a couple passing by. 鈥淎t the same time as being herself, a woman belongs to us all.鈥�
The author uses the misogynistic ramblings of famous (male) philosophers to make a feminist point. That鈥檚 really cool. This is clear by page 30.
Then we get 240 more pages of this.
And the 鈥渃ool idea鈥� turns into 鈥渨hoops, I skimmed three chapters, and the guys are STILL talking about women being soulless objects/subjects.鈥� NOTHING has happened. NOTHING. We stared at one shoe (this was so recurrent and annoying lol) and they continued their pretentious, manly ramblings.
It picks up around the last 50 pages. I wish I had cared, but this book had put me in a reading slump, and I was just annoyed. I think this is a cool idea and I thought the narrator/POV was interesting (not something I usually care about, but I can see this being cool for other readers) (also, they stare at 'one shoe' 30 times, I used the Search thingy in my ebook reader to check).
I鈥檓 happy I finished it because I now see this book was going somewhere, but this could鈥檝e been an e-mail. I do want to say, low rating and HATING the book aside, I find the idea of writing a female rage book "without women" (ish) impressive and it worked.
This book is the same. We follow a bunch of European dudes from up there (what I will affectionately call 鈥渨ealthy gentlemen from Germany and the goulash-eating countries鈥�). They talk about women, sit around, eat food, and are pretentious together while philosophizing about mankind and other nonsense. All their conversations are like this:
鈥淏ecause a woman鈥檚 body belongs not only to her, but to mankind,鈥� said Lukas, a little irritated that they had not drunk a second round. 鈥淪ince she gives birth, she鈥檚 public property, this capacity of hers to give birth cannot be treated as her personal quality,鈥� he said, stressing that word, then courteously returned a greeting to a couple passing by. 鈥淎t the same time as being herself, a woman belongs to us all.鈥�
The author uses the misogynistic ramblings of famous (male) philosophers to make a feminist point. That鈥檚 really cool. This is clear by page 30.
Then we get 240 more pages of this.
And the 鈥渃ool idea鈥� turns into 鈥渨hoops, I skimmed three chapters, and the guys are STILL talking about women being soulless objects/subjects.鈥� NOTHING has happened. NOTHING. We stared at one shoe (this was so recurrent and annoying lol) and they continued their pretentious, manly ramblings.
It picks up around the last 50 pages. I wish I had cared, but this book had put me in a reading slump, and I was just annoyed. I think this is a cool idea and I thought the narrator/POV was interesting (not something I usually care about, but I can see this being cool for other readers) (also, they stare at 'one shoe' 30 times, I used the Search thingy in my ebook reader to check).
I鈥檓 happy I finished it because I now see this book was going somewhere, but this could鈥檝e been an e-mail. I do want to say, low rating and HATING the book aside, I find the idea of writing a female rage book "without women" (ish) impressive and it worked.
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January 19, 2025Some books (even well-written) you know 50 pages in are just not for you, and so you set them aside. Some books (especially well-written) you recognize as relatives of old friends from your reading past -- you embrace them, cherish your time with them, ask that they not leave you. And then there are books like this one. Slow-ish but well-written. No way are you going to abandon them, but part of you, even while recognizing the high caliber of the writing, is illogically impatient for the tempo to pick up.
It may be, too, that subject matter made things a bit of a drag. Our young Polish patient, at this health resort for a cure (tuberculosis, or Keats' disease) is surrounded by a crowd of man-splaining men that no man could tolerate. The misogynistic conversations are THAT suffocating. As a reader, you need air. Neatly, though, Tokarczuk provides an Afterword about these men at the end. Oh. I knew they were familiar!
Anyhoo, a tip of the hat to Mann's Magic Mountain,, which has magically eluded me to this moment in time. And an ending that, well, really tests your patience with these patients. But all in the name of art, and I see what Tokarczuk is about, and it's borderline brilliant. But I'm glad it's over.
It may be, too, that subject matter made things a bit of a drag. Our young Polish patient, at this health resort for a cure (tuberculosis, or Keats' disease) is surrounded by a crowd of man-splaining men that no man could tolerate. The misogynistic conversations are THAT suffocating. As a reader, you need air. Neatly, though, Tokarczuk provides an Afterword about these men at the end. Oh. I knew they were familiar!
Anyhoo, a tip of the hat to Mann's Magic Mountain,, which has magically eluded me to this moment in time. And an ending that, well, really tests your patience with these patients. But all in the name of art, and I see what Tokarczuk is about, and it's borderline brilliant. But I'm glad it's over.
October 15, 2024
3.5, rounded up.
This is only my 2nd book by Tokarczuk (the first being Drive Your Plow ... which made my top reads list for whenever it was I read that!) - and although I enjoyed MOST of it, it took me an inordinately long time to get through the first half and I think a LOT of that was largely superfluous - there IS a difference between a slow burn ... and a plod! The 2nd half I whipped through in 1.5 days, and it really elevated my opinion of the book as a whole.
Not having read Mann's , I can't comment on how this does or does not interface with that, but it seems from what I've gleaned from other's reviews, that isn't really necessary anyway. The twists in the last 30 pages certainly made this an intriguing read, but I am not so sure I wouldn't have liked it more at 150, rather than 300 pages.
This is only my 2nd book by Tokarczuk (the first being Drive Your Plow ... which made my top reads list for whenever it was I read that!) - and although I enjoyed MOST of it, it took me an inordinately long time to get through the first half and I think a LOT of that was largely superfluous - there IS a difference between a slow burn ... and a plod! The 2nd half I whipped through in 1.5 days, and it really elevated my opinion of the book as a whole.
Not having read Mann's , I can't comment on how this does or does not interface with that, but it seems from what I've gleaned from other's reviews, that isn't really necessary anyway. The twists in the last 30 pages certainly made this an intriguing read, but I am not so sure I wouldn't have liked it more at 150, rather than 300 pages.
July 21, 2024
Ich wollte das Buch so sehr nicht m枚gen 鈥� aber, oh man, dieser 鈥瀎eministische Zauberberg鈥� ist einfach so so gut geschrieben. Wundersch枚ne klare Sprache, interessante Erz盲hlperspektive und Struktur und ein (f眉r mich) so besonderer und innovativer Plot machen den Text echt Special. 鈥� schweren Herzens muss ich volle 5 Sterne geben.馃槴
September 19, 2024
My first Olga Tokarczuk and what a strange and unsettling book to start with.
From reading a few reviews I gather that this book pays a nod to The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. However I've not read that either so I cannot comment. From what I understand though, a lot of the comments on women's psychology come from highly respected psychologists of the day. They are therefore exceptionally funny - and completely bonkers.
The story involves Mieczys艂aw (Mieczy艣) Wojnicz who has been sent to a sanatorium in G枚rbersdorf to recover from tuberculosis. However once he arrives he is confronted with a very strange set-up. Klara Opitz, the wife of the manager, is found hanging having committed suicide; nobody seems to get better (in fact most patients appear to get sicker) and the manager, Willi Opitz, is feeding them Schw盲rmerei (a strange local drink that renders the drinker insensible) to the extent that noone seems to care if they get well or not.
As Wojnicz continues his stay he finds out that there have been many strange deaths in the area and always in the autumn. Wojnicz is disturbed to find that this is true but does not leave. He becomes fascinated by Frau Opitz's old room and her things, hos friendship with the very sickly Thilo and the mystery of the Tuntschi, representations of women made of stone, sticks and moss which are found on the mountainside and are said to come to life to exact revenge on men.
There's a lot of folklore and history woven into this unnerving little tale and Wojnicz is a very odd character who seems often to have no will of his own. The psychiatrists pronouncements about women are extremely amusing until you remember that these are actually from quotes.
I'd recommend this book if you like strange and unnerving novels. It certainly fits with the time of year.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Fitzcarraldo for the advance review copy.
From reading a few reviews I gather that this book pays a nod to The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. However I've not read that either so I cannot comment. From what I understand though, a lot of the comments on women's psychology come from highly respected psychologists of the day. They are therefore exceptionally funny - and completely bonkers.
The story involves Mieczys艂aw (Mieczy艣) Wojnicz who has been sent to a sanatorium in G枚rbersdorf to recover from tuberculosis. However once he arrives he is confronted with a very strange set-up. Klara Opitz, the wife of the manager, is found hanging having committed suicide; nobody seems to get better (in fact most patients appear to get sicker) and the manager, Willi Opitz, is feeding them Schw盲rmerei (a strange local drink that renders the drinker insensible) to the extent that noone seems to care if they get well or not.
As Wojnicz continues his stay he finds out that there have been many strange deaths in the area and always in the autumn. Wojnicz is disturbed to find that this is true but does not leave. He becomes fascinated by Frau Opitz's old room and her things, hos friendship with the very sickly Thilo and the mystery of the Tuntschi, representations of women made of stone, sticks and moss which are found on the mountainside and are said to come to life to exact revenge on men.
There's a lot of folklore and history woven into this unnerving little tale and Wojnicz is a very odd character who seems often to have no will of his own. The psychiatrists pronouncements about women are extremely amusing until you remember that these are actually from quotes.
I'd recommend this book if you like strange and unnerving novels. It certainly fits with the time of year.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Fitzcarraldo for the advance review copy.
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