Olga Tokarczuk

The Books of Jacob

Księgi Jakubowe

The Nobel Prize-winner's richest, most sweeping and ambitious novel yet follows the comet-like rise and fall of a mysterious, messianic religious leader as he blazes his way across eighteenth-century Europe. In the mid-eighteenth century, as new ideas--and a new unrest--begin to sweep the Continent, a young Jew of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland. Before long, he has changed not only his name but his persona; visited by what seem to be ecstatic experiences, Jacob Frank casts a charismatic spell that attracts an increasingly fervent following. In the decade to come, Frank will traverse the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires with throngs of disciples in his thrall as he reinvents himself again and again, converts to Islam and then Catholicism, is pilloried as a heretic and revered as the Messiah, and wreaks havoc on the conventional order, Jewish and Christian alike, with scandalous rumors of his sect's secret rituals and the spread of his increasingly iconoclastic beliefs. The story of Frank--a real historical figure around whom mystery and controversy swirl to this day--is the perfect canvas for the genius and unparalleled reach of Olga Tokarczuk. Narrated through the perspectives of his contemporaries--those who revere him, those who revile him, the friend who betrays him, the lone woman who sees him for what he is--The Books of Jacob captures a world on the cusp of precipitous change, searching for certainty and longing for transcendence.

Across Seven Borders, Five Languages, and Three Major Religions, Not Counting the Minor Sects. Told by the Dead, Supplemented by the Author, Drawing from a Range of Books, and Aided by Imagination, the which Being the Greatest Natural Gift of Any Person. That the Wise Might Have it for a Record, that My Compatriots Reflect, Laypersons Gain Some Understanding, and Melancholy Souls Obtain Some Slight Enjoyment

Cindy Lieberman

Rounded up for its Messianic scope and for bringing the Pale of Settlement (+ forays into Turkey) to life. I was especially interested in the author’s take on the source of the crazy (and false) claims of Jews killing Christian children to use their blood to make Matzoh - aside from the “social media” of the day (the grapevine) was the problem of misinterpretation. A Torah without vowels is thus a collection of words that can mean many different things. 
In addition, this idea of another Messiah has strong parallels to recent work about the Mormon faith with its own set of new rules and requirements meant to satisfy the male leaders, such as taking many young wives, sharing women, and suckling as a community. 
From true believers to hangers-on, just how far would the group go to be able to take their place as nobles and landowners in their own or neighboring countries? Could they become Christians, and would they be seen and treated as such? A fascinating and often uncomfortable novel of religious chemistry and leadership.

Fraser Simons

4.5 rounded up.

I forgot to write a review for this but I did do a video review on my channel that is timestamped here: https://youtu.be/N6jLmRTN0p4

Gabe Cortez

Diogo Cabanas

Roo Lampione

The much-anticipated English translation of Olga Tokarczuk’s magnum opus

Catherine Nicolai

The Nobel Prize–winner’s richest, most sweeping and ambitious novel yet follows the comet-like rise and fall of a mysterious, messianic religious leader as he blazes his way across eighteenth-century Europe. In the mid-eighteenth century, as new ideas—and a new unrest—begin to sweep the Continent, a young Jew of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland. Before long, he has changed not only his name but his persona; visited by what seem to be ecstatic experiences, Jacob Frank casts a charismatic spell that attracts an increasingly fervent following. In the decade to come, Frank will traverse the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires with throngs of disciples in his thrall as he reinvents himself again and again, converts to Islam and then Catholicism, is pilloried as a heretic and revered as the Messiah, and wreaks havoc on the conventional order, Jewish and Christian alike, with scandalous rumors of his sect’s secret rituals and the spread of his increasingly iconoclastic beliefs. The story of Frank—a real historical figure around whom mystery and controversy swirl to this day—is the perfect canvas for the genius and unparalleled reach of Olga Tokarczuk. Narrated through the perspectives of his contemporaries—those who revere him, those who revile him, the friend who betrays him, the lone woman who sees him for what he is—The Books of Jacob captures a world on the cusp of precipitous change, searching for certainty and longing for transcendence. In a nod to books written in Hebrew, The Books of Jacob is paginated in reverse, beginning on p. 955 and ending on p. 1 – but read traditionally, front cover to back.

The Books of Jacob

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