Among the best books of 2024 according to the NYT is the work of an author with Ukrainian roots
American edition of The New York Times published a list of the 100 outstanding books of 2024, which includes both fiction and nonfiction. Among the authors who received recognition was Polish writer of Ukrainian origin, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Olga Tokarchuk.
“These are the outstanding fiction and non-fiction books of the year, selected by our team”, – noted in the NYT Book Review.
Olga Tokarchuk’s novel “The Empusium” was praised by The New York Times journalists, who called it a work that “places nature in opposition to the state and society, paying special attention to gender issues.” In the center of the plot are the events of 1913, unfolding at a Polish resort. The main character is a shy Lviv student suffering from tuberculosis. He arrives at a sanatorium in Silesia, where he confronts a chilling mystery surrounding a series of mysterious deaths in the region.
The original Polish version of the novel was published in 2022, and the Ukrainian translation by Ostap Slyvinsky appeared in 2023. In her interviews, Olga Tokarchuk noted that she was inspired by the idea of researching the extent to which misogyny permeates cultural texts and affects literature and society.
“Empusion” became another confirmation of Tokarchuk’s unique talent in the combination of philosophical questions, historical context and subtle psychology of the characters. The novel aroused considerable interest among critics and readers, cementing the status of the writer as one of the most influential literary figures of our time.
