Benutzer:Nibthetbodki/Flights (novel) Flüge
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Flights (Vorlage:Langx) is a 2007 fragmentary novel by the Polish author Olga Tokarczuk. The book was translated into English by Jennifer Croft.[1] The original Polish title refers to runaways (runners, bieguni), a sect of Old Believers, who believe that being in constant motion is a trick to avoid evil.[2]
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 the Dutch anatomist Philip Verheyen's study of the achilles tendon, and the story of Ludwika Jędrzejewicz, the sister of the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, transporting his heart back to Warsaw.[4][5]
The novel won the Man Booker International Prize in 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
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
Critical reception
The review aggregator website Book Marks reported a "rave" consensus, based on 19 critic reviews: 10 "rave" and 9 "positive".[13] On the November/December 2018 issue of Bookmarks, 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 Reviews stated that the book was "a welcome introduction to a major author and a pleasure for fans of contemporary European literature."[15] The Guardian described it as "extraordinary" and "a passionate and enchantingly discursive plea for meaningful connectedness".[16] Tokarczuk's writing in Flights has been compared to that of W. G. Sebald,[16] Milan Kundera,[16] and László Krasznahorkai, among others.[17] Parul Sehgal of The New York Times said of Tokarczuk's narrator that she is "coolly evasive in the way of Rachel Cusk’s heroine in the Outline trilogy".
Awards and accolades
In 2008, the Polish version of the book won the Nike Award, Poland's highest literary award.[18]
In 2018, the English translation of the book won the Man 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
Vorlage:Olga Tokarczuk Vorlage:International Booker Prize
- ↑ Olga Tokarczuk: Flights. Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2017, ISBN 978-1-910695-43-2 (englisch, google.com).
- ↑ Bieguni. In: Booklips. 30. August 2011 (polnisch).
- ↑ a b Olga Tokarczuk of Poland Wins Man Booker International Prize In: The New York Times, 22. Mai 2018. Abgerufen am 28. Mai 2018 (amerikanisches Englisch).
- ↑ a b Alison Flood: Olga Tokarczuk's 'extraordinary' Flights wins Man Booker International prize. In: the Guardian. 22. Mai 2018, abgerufen am 23. Mai 2018 (englisch).
- ↑ Olga Tokarczuk: Flights. Expected release: 8/2018 Auflage. Penguin Publishing Group, 2018, ISBN 978-0-525-53419-8 (bibliocommons.com).
- ↑ Alison Flood: Olga Tokarczuk's 'extraordinary' Flights wins Man Booker International prize. In: The Guardian. 22. Mai 2018, abgerufen am 28. Mai 2018 (englisch).
- ↑ First Polish writer wins global Booker In: BBC News, 22. Mai 2018. Abgerufen am 28. Mai 2018 (britisches Englisch).
- ↑ Olga Tokarczuk becomes first Polish winner of International Man Booker Prize In: BT.com. Abgerufen am 23. Mai 2018 (englisch).
- ↑ a b Tobias Grey: Olga Tokarczuk's Book 'Flights' Is Taking Off In: The New York Times, August 9, 2018. Abgerufen am 15. August 2018 (englisch).
- ↑ Flights | Olga Tokarczuck's theory of knowledge. In: Hypercritic. Abgerufen am 12. März 2023 (amerikanisches Englisch).
- ↑ Flights - Asymptote. In: www.asymptotejournal.com. Abgerufen am 24. Mai 2018 (englisch).
- ↑ Flights:An extract from Polish author Olga Tokarczuk's mythical new book. In: www.calvertjournal.com. Abgerufen am 11. Juli 2018 (englisch).
- ↑ Flights. In: Book Marks. Abgerufen am 30. Oktober 2018.
- ↑ Flights. In: Bookmarks Magazine. Abgerufen am 14. Januar 2023.
- ↑ FLIGHTS by Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft | Kirkus Reviews. (amerikanisches Englisch, kirkusreviews.com).
- ↑ a b c Kapka Kassabova: Flights by Olga Tokarczuk review – the ways of wanderers. In: The Guardian. 3. Juni 2017, abgerufen am 28. Mai 2018 (englisch).
- ↑ Eileen Battersby: Complex Harmonies: On Olga Tokarczuk's "Flights" - Los Angeles Review of Books In: Los Angeles Review of Books, 11. April 2018. Abgerufen am 28. Mai 2018 (amerikanisches Englisch).
- ↑ Olga Tokarczuk of Poland Wins Man Booker International Prize In: The New York Times, 22. Mai 2018. Abgerufen am 25. Mai 2018 (amerikanisches Englisch).
- ↑ Olga Tokarczuk becomes first Polish winner of International Man Booker Prize. In: Oxford Mail. 22. Mai 2018, abgerufen am 29. Mai 2018 (englisch).