Olga Tokarczuk

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE
A visionary work of fiction by "A writer on the level of W. G. Sebald" (Annie Proulx)
"A magnificent writer." — Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize-winning author of Secondhand Time
"A beautifully fragmented look at man's longing for permanence.......

"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...

"Olʹga Tokarchuk obladaet udivitelʹnym darom stiratʹ granit︠s︡y - mezhdu stranami i i︠a︡zykami, mezhdu realʹnostʹi︠u︡ i vymyslom. Geroi "Poslednikh istoriĭ" stirai︠u︡t granit︠s︡y mezhdu bytiem i nebytiem. Oni postigai︠u︡t smertʹ, pytai︠a︡sʹ podgotovitʹ sebi︠a︡ k neĭ, primiritʹsi︠a︡ s ee sushchestvovaniem v finale kazhdoĭ zhizni. I, postigai︠a︡ smertʹ, oni luchshe ponimai︠u︡t zhiznʹ, potomu...