Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC! My relationship with Tokarczuk is a rocky one - I couldn’t finish Book of Jacob, but I think Drive Your Plow is a masterpiece. I’m planning on reading Flights for Women in Translation month. I’m really unsure how I feel about The Empusium. The atmosphere and writing were glorious. It’s set in a remote mountain village where men go to cure their tuberculosis - the same way women were sent to the seaside to convalesce. There’s a strange plural narration at times that reminded me of When I Sing Mountains Dance, used to great effect to curate a sense of mystery and unease. There are mysterious deaths. But (and I had the same issue with Valérie Perrin’s Three) it always sits uncomfortably with me when authors use gender and/or biological sex as a plot device. It doesn’t sit right with me using these things a plot twist. I don’t necessarily think Tokarczuk exploits her characters, they’re treated with respect, but I dunno, just something about it.

It’s also a bit difficult to read at times since these convalescing men just sit around and talk about how inferior women are - but then in the author’s note, Tokarczuk reveals that all the misogynistic things said by the men in the book were a conglomeration of actual misogynistic things said by some of the most respected male authors in the literary canon. Honestly iconic shade from Tokarczuk.

Fantastic atmosphere and writing, a bit opaque in terms of resolution. Looking forward to Flights!