Wikipedia

Flights(novel)

Flights(Polish:Bieguni,lit. 'runners') is a 2007fragmentary novelby the Polish authorOlga Tokarczuk.The book was translated into English byJennifer Croft.[1]The original Polish title refers to runaways (runners,bieguni), a sect ofOld Believers,who believe that being in constant motion is a trick to avoidevil.[2]

Flights
First English edition
AuthorOlga Tokarczuk
Original titleBieguni
TranslatorJennifer Croft
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
Set in17th–21st century
Published
Publisher
Media typePrint, digital
Pages416
Awards
ISBN1910695432(Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Set between the 17th and 21st centuries, the novel is a "philosophical rumination on modern-day travel".[3]It is structured as a series of vignettes, some fictional, and some based on fact – among them that of theDutchanatomistPhilip Verheyen's study of theachilles tendon,and the story ofLudwika Jędrzejewicz,the sister of the Polish composerFrédéric Chopin,transporting his heart back toWarsaw.[4][5]

The novel won theMan Booker International Prizein 2018, marking the first time a Polish author received the award.[3][6]The chair of the judging panel,Lisa Appignanesi,described Tokarczuk as a "writer of wonderful wit, imagination, and literary panache".[7]Tokarczuk and Croft shared the £50,000 prize.[8]

Structure

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The novel is split into 116 short pieces,[9]some only one sentence long, others as long as 31 pages.[10]These vignettes are all narrated by the same "nameless female traveller".[9][11][12]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Thereview aggregatorwebsiteBook Marksreported a "rave" consensus, based on 19 critic reviews: 10 "rave" and 9 "positive".[13]On the November/December 2018 issue ofBookmarks,the book received a(4.0 out of 5) with the critical summary saying, "Those willing to make the effort will find a nonlinear" novel of intuitions as much as ideas, a cacophony of voices and stories... which meander between the profound and the facetious, the mysterious and the ordinary, and whose true register remains one of glorious ambiguity "(Guardian)".[14]

Kirkus Reviewsstated that the book was "a welcome introduction to a major author and a pleasure for fans of contemporaryEuropean literature."[15]The Guardiandescribed it as "extraordinary" and "a passionate and enchantingly discursive plea for meaningful connectedness".[16]Tokarczuk's writing inFlightshas been compared to that ofW. G. Sebald,[16]Milan Kundera,[16]andLászló Krasznahorkai,among others.[17]Parul SehgalofThe New York Timessaid of Tokarczuk's narrator that she is "coolly evasive in the way ofRachel Cusk’s heroine in theOutlinetrilogy ".

Awards and accolades

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In 2008, the Polish version of the book won theNike Award,Poland's highest literary award.[18]

In 2018, the English translation of the book won theMan Booker International Prize.Summarising the decision of the judges' panel, its chair,Lisa Appignanesi,said "we loved the voice of the narrative – it's one that moves from wit and gleeful mischief to real emotional texture and has the ability to create character very quickly, with interesting digression and speculation."[4][19]

References

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  1. ^Tokarczuk, Olga (2017-05-17).Flights.Translated by Croft, Jennifer. Fitzcarraldo Editions.ISBN9781910695432.
  2. ^"Bieguni".Booklips(in Polish). 30 August 2011.
  3. ^ab"Olga Tokarczuk of Poland Wins Man Booker International Prize".The New York Times.2018-05-22.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2018-05-28.
  4. ^abFlood, Alison (2018-05-22)."Olga Tokarczuk's 'extraordinary' Flights wins Man Booker International prize".the Guardian.Retrieved2018-05-23.
  5. ^Tokarczuk, Olga (2018).Flights(Expected release: 8/2018 ed.). Penguin Publishing Group.ISBN9780525534198.
  6. ^Flood, Alison (2018-05-22)."Olga Tokarczuk's 'extraordinary' Flights wins Man Booker International prize".The Guardian.Retrieved2018-05-28.
  7. ^"First Polish writer wins global Booker".BBC News.2018-05-22.Retrieved2018-05-28.
  8. ^"Olga Tokarczuk becomes first Polish winner of International Man Booker Prize".BT.Retrieved2018-05-23.
  9. ^abGrey, Tobias (August 9, 2018)."Olga Tokarczuk's Book 'Flights' Is Taking Off".The New York Times.Retrieved2018-08-15.
  10. ^"Flights | Olga Tokarczuck's theory of knowledge".Hypercritic.Retrieved2023-03-12.
  11. ^"Flights - Asymptote".asymptotejournal.Retrieved2018-05-24.
  12. ^"Flights:An extract from Polish author Olga Tokarczuk's mythical new book".calvertjournal.Retrieved2018-07-11.
  13. ^"Flights".Book Marks.RetrievedOctober 30,2018.
  14. ^"Flights".Bookmarks Magazine.Retrieved14 January2023.
  15. ^FLIGHTS by Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft | Kirkus Reviews.
  16. ^abcKassabova, Kapka (2017-06-03)."Flights by Olga Tokarczuk review – the ways of wanderers".The Guardian.Retrieved2018-05-28.
  17. ^Battersby, Eileen (2018-04-11)."Complex Harmonies: On Olga Tokarczuk's" Flights "- Los Angeles Review of Books".Los Angeles Review of Books.Retrieved2018-05-28.
  18. ^"Olga Tokarczuk of Poland Wins Man Booker International Prize".The New York Times.2018-05-22.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2018-05-25.
  19. ^"Olga Tokarczuk becomes first Polish winner of International Man Booker Prize".Oxford Mail.22 May 2018.Retrieved2018-05-29.
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