''Flights'' is a 2007

fragmentary novel A fragmentary novel is a novel made of fragments, vignettes, segments, documents or chapters that can be read in isolation and/or as part of the greater whole of the book. These novels typically lack a traditional plot or set of characters and o ...

by the Polish author

Olga Tokarczuk Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland; in 2019, she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize ...

. It was originally published in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

as ''Bieguni''. The book was translated into English by

Jennifer Croft Jennifer Croft is an American author, critic and Translation, translator who works from Polish language, Polish, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and Rioplatense Spanish, Argentine Spanish. With the author Olga Tokarczuk, she was awarded the 2018 Man ...

. The original Polish title refers to runaways (runners, ''bieguni''), a sect of

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

, who believe that being in constant motion is a trick to avoid

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

. Set between the 17th and 21st centuries, the novel is a "philosophical rumination on modern-day travel". It is structured as a series of vignettes, some fictional, and some based on fact – among them that of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

Philip Verheyen Philip Verheyen (Verrebroek, April 23, 1648 – Leuven, January 28, 1710) was a Flemish surgeon, anatomist and author. As the third child of seven, Verheyen was born in Verrebroek, in modern Belgium (most likely in his parents' house, standing ...

's discovery of the

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

, and the story of

Ludwika Jędrzejewicz Ludwika Jędrzejewicz (; Chopin; 6 April 1807 – 29 October 1855) was the elder sister of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. She was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1807, the daughter of Nicolas Chopin and his wife Justyna. She was named after her ...

, the sister of the Polish composer

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

, transporting his heart back to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The novel won the

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

in 2018, marking the first time a Polish author received the award. The chair of the judging panel,

Lisa Appignanesi Lisa Appignanesi (born Elżbieta Borensztejn; 4 January 1946) is a British-Canadian writer, novelist, and campaigner for free expression. Until 2021, she was the Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, and is a former President of English PEN ...

, described Tokarczuk as a "writer of wonderful wit, imagination, and literary panache". Tokarczuk and Croft shared the £50,000 prize.

Structure

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

Vignettes

Reception

Critical reception

The

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website

Book Marks Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Conten ...

reported that 53% of critics gave the book a "rave" review, whilst the other 47% of the critics expressed "positive" impressions, based on a sample of 19 reviews. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' stated that the book was "a welcome introduction to a major author and a pleasure for fans of contemporary

European literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, and ...

." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described it as "extraordinary" and "a passionate and enchantingly discursive plea for meaningful connectedness". Tokarczuk's writing in ''Flights'' has been compared to that of W. G. Sebald,

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...

, and

László Krasznahorkai László Krasznahorkai (; born 5 January 1954) is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter known for difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, with dystopian and melancholic themes. Several of his works, including his novels '' ...

, among others.

Parul Sehgal Parul Sehgal is an American literary critic based in New York, who publishes primarily in American venues. She is a former senior editor and columnist at ''The New York Times Book Review'', and was one of the team of book critics at ''The New Y ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said of Tokarczuk's narrator that she is "coolly evasive in the way of

Rachel Cusk Rachel Cusk (born 8 February 1967) is a British novelist and writer. Childhood and education Cusk was born in Saskatoon to British parents in 1967, the second of four children with an older sister and two younger brothers, and spent much of h ...

’s heroine in the ''Outline'' trilogy".

Awards and accolades

In 2008, the Polish version of the book won the

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka „Nike") is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for ...

, Poland's highest literary award. In 2018, the English translation of the book won the

. Summarising the decision of the judges' panel, its chair,

, 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."

References

{{Authority control 2007 novels Novels by Olga Tokarczuk International Booker Prize-winning works Polish novels Wydawnictwo Literackie books Nike Award-winning works