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Books in the Media: The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk is the pick of the bunch
This week in fiction, The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk (Fitzcarraldo) continued to be covered in the newspapers, picking up mentions in the Telegraph and New Statesman.
The Telegraph’s Tim Smith-Laing gave the novel four out of five starts saying: “This is a novel with ambitions far beyond the range of the normal; if it does not always satisfy, it is still remarkable.”
The New Statesman’s Johanna Thomas-Corr described the novel as having “spellbinding scenes”.
Declan O'Driscoll writing for the Irish Times said: “What matters is the internal coherence of the world [Tokarczuk] creates through language and her ability to guide us through examinations of limitless faith and human failings.”
Anthony Cummins for the Guardian described the book as: “A panorama of early Enlightenment Europe that doubles as an open-minded study in the mysteries of charisma”.
The Financial Times’ Bryan Karetnyk applauded the novel “for all its forbidding weight, the writing remains fluid and engaging, often poetic”.
The Times’ Antonia Senior described what made the book great: “Tokarczuk, unafraid and ambitious, creates a very fallible messiah, yet makes it seem reasonable and human to believe in his divinity. That is a kind of literary miracle.” The Book of Jacob also featured in the Times’ “15 best historical fiction books 2021”.
Tokarczuk latest novel also featured in the Economist’s “best books of 2021” article.
In non-fiction Allegorizings by Jan Morris (Faber) was this week’s most reviewed non-fiction book featuring in the Telegraph, Times, Guardian, New Statesman, New York Times and Irish Times.
The Guardian’s Alex Clark said: “Allegorizings might be an addendum to a life that brought us so much of this kind of significant work, but it’s a welcome and delightful one.”
Paul Clements writing for the Irish Times, Clements admitted: “While the book may not contain much new material, it encapsulates Morris’ chief delights.”
The New Statesman’s Michael Prodger reviewed the book in short, reflecting on how Jan Morris’ death impacted the collection: “For all her profundity it is Morris’s joyousness that remains most tangible, and a subversiveness of spirit."
The Times’ Libby Purves said: “I emerge from Jan Morris’ glorious imagination refreshed and happy. As she would have wished.”
Sarah Moss writing for the New York Times said ““Allegorizings” offers charming discoveries — in the middle of nowhere, south of Oslo, the artist Vebjorn Sand built a bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci — but it is the reflections on ageing and mortality that stay in the mind.
The Telegraph’s Lynn Barber gave the collection a five-star rating applauding it for reminding her of Morris' “peerless strength as a travel writer".
