OLGA TOKARCZUK: The Books of Jacob, Flights, & Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Like what I do? Feel free to buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/leafbyleaf
The Books of Jacob - amzn.to/3N8symL
Hardcover, 992 pages
Published 2022 by Riverhead Books (first published 2014)
Original Title: Księgi Jakubowe
ISBN: 9780593087480
Flights - amzn.to/37wZkPq
Hardcover, 403 pages
Published 2018 by Riverhead Books (first published 2007)
Original Title: Bieguni
ISBN: 9780525534198
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - amzn.to/3ywZH7J
Hardcover, 274 pages
Published 2019 by Riverhead Books (first published 2009)
Original Title: Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych
ISBN13: 9780525541332
The Lost Soul - amzn.to/3kUsUBE
Hardcover, 48 pages
Published 2021 by Seven Stories Press (first published 2017)
Original Title: Zgubiona dusza
ISBN13: 9781644210345
#leafbyleaf #bookreview #olgatokarczuk

[@michaelmasiello6752]

Yay! I’m an old literature professor who wrote you months ago, after your wonderful Gravity’s Rainbow video, first to plump for Against the Day, but also to ask about Olga Tolarczuk-anticipating the then-impending publication of Croft’s translation of The Books of Jacob. I have loved the intervening videos, but this is, for me, the most cogent and beautiful (and touchimg) of all your videos so far. What an enormous treat this was-and your use of Scholem made it even more thrilling. You have outdone yourself. I wanted to applaud when you were finished. Bravo. Let me only add: don’t miss out on Tokarczuk’s brilliant Primeval-or Scholem’s own amazing biography of Sabbatai Sevi. You will love them, as I loved this. Thank you for what you put into the world, here at this moment when the understanding of literature and art, and their place in the psychic life of our species, seem so attenuated. By doing what you love, you are also fighting the good fight for the better angels of our nature. Yours with admiration and shared love of λόγοι and the Λόγος.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

As it happens, I have the following written on the wooden beam above my library doorway (under the paint): εν αρχή εν ο λόγος . (Forgive the omitted diacritics, etc.) I cannot thank you enough for your kind and encouraging comment. The reading life can be lonely at times, especially when you’re after deeper pleasures than our cultural conditioning of laziness prepares us to chase down. But then I get a comment like this and it reaffirms the usefulness of simply sharing my joy with others. I’ve got Primeval on the way-and the Scholem! All my very next to you!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

First let me say, what a great Henry David Thoreau shirt! 💙 Even though I read and hugely appreciated 'Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead' reading 'Books of Jacob' has felt like a daunting prospect because of the length and complexity of this giant. Your video will be an invaluable resource to help me understand it better when I finally get to it so thank you. And the passages you've read and discussed make me want to get to it all the sooner.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! I can tell you that BoJ is written in a very concise manner. It is a complex story but OT apparently made the right choice in not adding any complexity to the language. Normally I prefer style over story, but in this case the story is so compelling!

[@ThePsycoDolphin]

Drive Your Plough was a book club pick. Id never heard of her at all and knew nothing of her work. Fair to say its one of the best things I've read this year and an absolute phenomenal book. So glad she's getting new attention!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙌🙌🙌

[@berthirsch6379]

Fabulous. The magic of reading. Those magical moments that break through.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yes, indeed. I live for them. 😁

[@LazyVenusSyndrome]

I somehow picked up Drive the Plow and imagine my surprise when Olga gave words to my condition. I was never expecting to be so seen 💫

[@LeafbyLeaf]

This is highly exemplary of one of the true pleasures of literature.

[@J0zB]

Thank you for all you did for Mr. Silverblatt. He is a national treasure.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

He really is! It really took a toll on him, but he’s back at home, reading in his own bed again. More rehabilitation for a while, but on the mend.

[@J0zB]

@@LeafbyLeaf Please send him best wishes from a devoted listener from Iowa. Reading in is own bed! Paradise!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I will do just that! 🙌

[@martasgreatlibrary]

the only olga tokarczuk i've read is the books of jacob and i was already excited to read the rest but now i'm even more! so happy you finally read and discussed her works!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Muchos gracias Marta !

[@va35bn]

Compelling review - thank you. Will now dislodge The Books of Jacob from my "to be read" pile.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks! Enjoy the dislodging!

[@TheVimarys1]

Omg this is the most beautiful review of a book I’ve seen in a while. Great work.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Very, very kind of you to say--thank you so much!

[@JuanReads]

I read Drive Your Plow and Flights very soo after Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize for literature. I haven't thought much about her writing since but, after watching this, I might read The Books of Jacob. Great video, Chris!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much, Juan!

[@bjwnashe5589]

Great stuff. Really appreciated hearing your thoughts on Olga's work. I agree, Flights is an astonishing, brilliant text. I have yet to get to Books of Jacob. Looking forward to it.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! Huge compliment coming from you. Happy reading!

[@humanfirst11]

WOW!!..Finally you decided to cover Olga! I have the book, yet to start "The Books of Jacob".

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙌🙌🙌

[@BlackHoleBrew42]

Damn, that's a badass library, my guy.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

🙏🙌👊🤟

[@Booksandchess]

What a great video. Well worth the wait!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! Happy reading!

[@susanburgess820]

So happy I found your channel. Having my first cataract surgery tommorrow, and two weeks later, my other eye. Scared of surgery, but can't wait to read my now huge tbr stack of books when I've healed. Thank you for your channel, cause can't wait to read more of your suggested findings, including these books in this video. Plus it will be so nice to just see everything non fuzzy😄👏❤️🐈‍⬛

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Wishing you all the best and a swift recovery!

[@sherryfyman7066]

What an incredible discussion, Chris. Needless to say, I’m going to get a copy of The Books of Jacob and set aside whatever time it takes to go through it slowly and read as much as I can of the “rabbit hole” literature, like the Gershom Scholem.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much, Sherry! Your kind words mean a great deal to me. I've studied Israeli and Judaic history and culture a great deal. Been to Israel 3x (last time was back in March). Such a rich culture!

[@danishiqbal09]

I read Flights and Drive…dead only last month! what a pleasant churning your videos have been lately to join in and find common readership! thank you

[@tanyalobach2962]

Splendid review! Thank you!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@sherryfyman7066]

Hi Chris - checking back in because I have now read The Books of Jacob. At your (and Tokarczuk's) suggestion I read the Gershom Sholem as background and preparation. What a rich book. It was a deeply engaging read for me mainly because of the subject. I kept asking myself throughout the book why she would pick so odd a figure - little known, odious, cruel and manipulative. You mentioned at one point in your discussion that you thought she's Jewish but I'm quite sure you're wrong, which puzzled me even more. Obvioiusly, it's totally legitimate for a 21st century atheist Pole to become fascinated by a 18th centurty religious figure but I think she was drawn to Frank because of what light he can shed on modern issues. I think one of the important issues for her were the people who surrounded Frank - the upheavels they experience, the sacrifices and price they paid. Why would they do it? Why would they risk being ostracized, jailed and beaten? "These are the freeman and vagabonds Nahman told Moliwda about, many of whom have come to join the true believers. But Moliwda can see that these untethered people aren’t only Jews, as he thought until now - as a matter of fact, Jews are in the minority here. Moliwda also sees that this is a kind of nation onto itself, different from anything that can be found in cities or towns or rural areas. These are people who do not belong to any Lord or to any municipality or other forms of government. These are wanderers, frolicsome bandits, fugitives of every sort you can imagine. It seems clear that they all share the same distaste for the peaceful, Settled life, that they suffer from wanderlust and could not bear to be enclosed by four walls. Also a person might think at first glance - that they like it this way, that they live like this out of choice, but from the height of his horses back, Moliwda looks upon them with sympathy and thinks majority of these people are in fact the kind to do dream of having their own bed, their own bowl to eat from, and the regular, settled life, but that just isn’t how the courts have played out for them. So instead they’ve had to roam. He knows because his fate has been the same." The compassion in this paragraph takes my breath away. I loved Flights and look forward to reading Drive Your Plow. Thanks so much for your always thoughtful discussions of way off the beaten path books. Thanks especially for raising up literature in translation.

[@fishheart131]

Superb. Maybe your strongest review to date. I, too, avoided Tokarczuk's pages due to the hype. After your review, I ordered Flights and The Books of Jacob. Thank you. Also, please send my best wishes to Michael Silverblatt. I hope he's okay.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much, David! I will pass your well wishes along to Michael.

[@Steve-lt1op]

Primeval and other times is well worth a read as well.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It’s on the way!

[@northern_soul]

Yes and House of Day, House of Night is also great. Empuzjon - her latest book is amazing, with references to Thomas Mann, Fernando Pessoa… my favourite one!

[@jontalbot1]

I picked up Flights from New From Nowhere in Liverpool a few years ago whilst killing time. I have read them all since. I don’t know any Poles so no one l know reads her. Always surprises me how little Nobel prize winners are read. Recommend this years winner, Abdulrazak Gurnah. I had never heard of him prior to him winning but he’s great too.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I, too, hadn't heard of Gurnah before the announcement. Thanks for recommending!

[@warrenmaynes463]

As a devout follower of Amalfitano, I went straight for The Books of Jacob, but clearly shorter is not always lesser. Thanks for this, I'll have to look into her earlier works now.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hope you enjoy. Happy reading!

[@joanna75]

My favourite is Primeval...but I am all in for her latest novel Empuzjon. Great you have joined Tokarczuk's club 😂

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I am a proud, card-carrying member!

[@joanna75]

There will be a game based on one of Tokarczuk's novels. It is looking good.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😁

[@firestarter7680]

Great review. My next book is gonna be hers. Thank you

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@pablito545]

Wow, love that new intro!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! 🙏

[@AuburnAfterglow]

very cool, next stop Bolesław Prus's The Doll, a Polish classic :DDD

[@KDbooks]

^^^ This

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks for the rec!

[@KDbooks]

BOJ

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Fun fact: Around my neck of the woods (North Carolina) BoJ is shorthand for Bojangles, a fast food establishment that specializes in chicken and biscuits.

[@KDbooks]

@@LeafbyLeaf please don’t think I WASN’T referring to that 😂

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😆😆😆

[@ThreeOranges]

It's possible that the only Polish novel I've ever read is Ignacy Krasicki's "The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom" (i.e., the first Polish novel). Thanks for the section on bibliophagia, which gave me context for, of all things, a scene in one of the later (and terrible) Hellraiser sequels. And thanks also for admitting to being someone who tends to avoid popular essentials for no valid reason ... I do that too.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Always nice to meet a kindred spirit. Happy reading!

[@reecemcdermott]

Incredible video as always. Continually encourgaing me to get my grippers on these (hopefully life-altering) tomes, but could I ask what that tetralogy in the background is? It's three cubbies below your William H. Gass collection, and looks like something I urgently need to spend part of an upcoming paycheck on lol

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Hahaha! That last line of your comment cracked me up! That's the great Anthony Powell's 12-book (in 4 volumes) English novel A Dance to the Music of Time. Some call it the English equivalent to Proust's Recherche!

[@reecemcdermott]

@@LeafbyLeaf Considering I'm 2/7 through Proust's masterpiece, I can't imagine it will find itself in unfamiliar surroundings on my shelf; thanks for the info!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

😁😁

[@chris-hj2qd]

I just finished "Drive your plow..." I thought it was pretty cool, little heavy handed on the activism for my taste, but her style is breathtaking.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I get that. The others don’t have such a heavy activist dimension. Happy reading!

[@chris-hj2qd]

Spoiler alert! The part about animal trials through history still makes me giggle.

[@thegenesis0]

Great video! Where are you getting these tshirts?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Merci! I’m getting them at www.outofprint.com.

[@astro368]

Thank you for this amazing video. So sorry to hear that Michael Silverblatt‘s been unwell, I hope he recovers soon. As you mentioned visiting Israel, I was wondering if you could recommend some writers/poets/books from Israel or related to Israel (or just wider Jewish culture). I‘m planning on moving there in October and would like to immerse myself in the literature, but it‘s a bit hard to find what is of the most value. Was thinking of Michael’s own recommendation, Rebecca Sacks’ City of A Thousand Gates, as well as Robert Alter’s Hebrew Bible. Any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks once again.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much! What a thrilling adventure you're about to take. Robert Alter's Hebrew Bible is outstanding for his commentary and footnotes alone. I've not read the whole text through, but I've read all his introductions and notes (Of the actual text, I've read the wisdom books). This past March I read the following to prepare for my trip: A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz (one of the most beloved novelists there); Israel: Voices from Within (poetry anthology); Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn by Daniel Gordis. I also recommend: Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore; Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion by Abraham Joshua Heschel; God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism by Abraham Joshua Heschel; and The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories edited by Ilan Stavans. Since I, too, didn't know many specific contemporary authors (other than Oz), the poetry and prose anthologies were paramount. All my best to you!

[@astro368]

@@LeafbyLeaf Wow, what a fantastic list, thank you for the effort! I will work my way through those, thank you and all the best!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@MaximTendu]

Three reviews for the price of one, so I'm going to thank you thrice. I think I'll start with Driving My Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead because I like both Blake and animals- not necessarily in this order. Did you watch Spoor-Pokot? I heard it's pretty good.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

You’re welcome. You’re welcome. You’re welcome. No, I haven’t seen that film-I’ll add it to the list!

[@severianconciliator1862]

Chris: I recommend reading Marc Baer’s book about the Donmeh. Zevi’s followers continued to exist as a community that was excepted neither by Jews or Muslims, and subject of many a conspiracy theory.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Thanks so much for this recommendation! Getting it right away.

[@bronzedisease]

I m just starting this book. May i ask what page is the psaage you read km the beginning of the video?

[@marinellamaccagni6951]

hi, Chris! i have an ambivalent love and hate relationship with olga. when i started drive your plow over the bones of the dead, i was literally captivated by her story-telling. but then my enthusiasm faded away and i couldn't finish the book. the same thing happened with flights. now there is only one left, the books of jacob. will you recommend it to me? thanks. your reviews are astonishing.

[@northern_soul]

Olga wrote many other books. Unfortunately only 3 older books are known in other countries. I believe there is an older translation in English of House of Day, House of Night which is great and different to her 3 books available in English. Her first book written after receiving Nobel Prize was Empuzjon which was published in Polish a few weeks ago and it became my favourite book of hers. Hopefully you will have Empuzjon available in English in a few years time and many of her other work to choose from.

[@marinellamaccagni6951]

@@northern_soul ,thanks for your advice!

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yes, thanks for that, @Northern Soul! I do know that Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Jennifer Croft are now collaborating on a few forthcoming OT titles !

[@LeafbyLeaf]

@Marinella - the thing I’ve found with OT is that she is fairly different from book to book, and Books of Jacob is no exception from the others I’ve read. Like I say in the video, BoJ reads like a documentary. There is much more focus on story than style (which is not my typical fare), but the story is so compelling that this is a case where you almost need the sentences not to draw attention to themselves. She is relating an unbelievable-yet-true history and making connections that could only be made by the mind of a great novelist. Still-at 900pp it is a time commitment. I can tell you that, over the years, I’ve started and abandoned books and then come back to them years later and loved them!

[@PeterPetto]

And there is one other book in English that I haven't seen mentioned here yet: Primeval. (I liked it, but also liked all her others and was entranced and read on until the end of all of them.)

[@Paromita_M]

Beautiful discussion and analysis. I was defeated by the Books of Jacob but this video has motivated me to try again. Do you like historical fiction by Umberto Eco?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

I adore Eco! My favorite is Foucault‘s Pendulum.

[@Paromita_M]

@@LeafbyLeaf I really enjoyed The Name of the Rose but was overwhelmed by the maze of cultural and historical references woven into the text in Foucalts Pendulum. I've shied away from his other works since despite being curious. Would you recommend The Prague Cemetery as being more accessible?

[@LeafbyLeaf]

PG is definitely more accessible than FP. FP kept me in an encyclopedia! But PC is nowhere near as good as TNOTR. I also cherish Eco’s essays collections, perhaps more than the novels.

[@Paromita_M]

@@LeafbyLeaf Thank you so much for your reply. I've read only one of his essays, the well-known one against fascism, and I agree with your assessment. His erudition is in a league of its own. I'll be restarting The Books of Jacob today itself, courtesy of your video. Thank you once again. 🙂

[@LeafbyLeaf]

My pleasure!

[@ankitabose8386]

Read a book review of Flights by Olga Tokarczuk, published in The Antonym: www.theantonymmag.com/on-flights-a-book-review-by-arya-chatterjee/

[@KingMinosxxvi]

Huh I actually read flights a couple of years ago when it was new paperback I guess. I enjoyed it but...1. Im not shure how it's a novel? 2. Nobel Prize?What the what

[@zygmuntlllwaza5773]

For her political views..

[@xvarzka33]

Its funny, cuz here in Poland, most people ( at least the ones Ive met and read opinions of ) dont like her, think her writing is shit and got Noble for political views.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

It’s a common story in the history of literature. Edgar Allen Poe was the laughingstock of America, but revered in France.

[@xvarzka33]

@@LeafbyLeaf She also recently said that only intelligent people can and should read literature as to only they can appreciate it, especially hers. Stupid people shouldn't touch her book. (meaning the onse who read fantasy, crime and so on) true story

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Yowza! Yeah, that’s not so cool. I’ve always been more interested in the books than the writer. If I decided not to read anything by someone who said or did something off-putting, I’d have hardly anything to read. 😜

[@xvarzka33]

@@LeafbyLeaf Yeah, I was wondering for a long time if it's possible to disconnect(? idk if thats the right word) an artist from his art and Ive been going back n forth

[@LeafbyLeaf]

There’s a long line of writers that practically begged us to only focus on their work. William Gaddis is a prime example. “Disconnect “ is a perfect term.

[@KingMinosxxvi]

Okay I have started The Books of Jacob...delivered in hardcover to my island home by my parents...I love the experience of how the book is laid out. I took the sleeve of after reading about 20 pages and I have to say I was very distracted by the Writers photo which I wasn't expecting to see given the novel ...I was even more surprised by the tone of the photo. I didn't know what OT looked like and had no interest in doing so. The question is Why in a the post Barthes world would any author include their photo on the sleeve of a serious work of fiction? I think that if you genuinely respect your reader that this is a huge no no.