Fiction

Flights

Flights

  • Downloads：8059
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-12-06 09:51:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Olga Tokarczuk
  • ISBN：0525534202
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Summary

From the incomparably original Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk， Flights interweaves reflections on travel with an in-depth exploration of the human body， broaching life， death， motion， and migration。 Chopin's heart is carried back to Warsaw in secret by his adoring sister。 A woman must return to her native Poland in order to poison her terminally ill high school sweetheart， and a young man slowly descends into madness when his wife and child mysteriously vanish during a vacation and just as suddenly reappear。 Through these brilliantly imagined characters and stories， interwoven with haunting， playful， and revelatory meditations， Flights explores what it means to be a traveler， a wanderer， a body in motion not only through space but through time。 Where are you from？ Where are you coming in from？ Where are you going？ we call to the traveler。 Enchanting， unsettling， and wholly original， Flights is a master storyteller's answer。

Olga Tokarczuk is a Nobel Laureate。

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Reviews

Shawn Ng ，

This gorgeous Polish novel by the Nobel laureate was first published in 2007 and only translated into English by Jennifer Croft in 2017。 It is a fragmentary novel， which is a format that I haven't read that many， if any at all。 The closest things I could relate to would be No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood， and to a much， much lesser extent， Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor。 The entire novel is made of hundreds of segments， vignettes， chapters – all of which fall under a central This gorgeous Polish novel by the Nobel laureate was first published in 2007 and only translated into English by Jennifer Croft in 2017。 It is a fragmentary novel， which is a format that I haven't read that many， if any at all。 The closest things I could relate to would be No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood， and to a much， much lesser extent， Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor。 The entire novel is made of hundreds of segments， vignettes， chapters – all of which fall under a central umbrella theme of human motions and anatomy。 While dispersed and fragmented， it contains an overarching interconnected story of past， presence， and future。Out of the 116 fragments/vignettes， there are a number of pieces with more substantial weight， up to 50+ pages， at times split into a few parts。 Placements of these what I'd call short stories are incredibly clever， it's like an academic syllabus， doused out to the readers so we only know what we need to know at every specific moment， and we like water， flows along with the preconceived arrangement of the brilliantly orchestrated stories about the meaning of our motions in life。 Even more interesting is how the short stories can be related to one another in some bizarre ways。 A Dutch anatomist who dissected and drew detailed anatomical diagrams of his own amputated leg becomes an inspiration to the plasticination of human body， which the samples are now visited by the unnamed narrator of the book， who tells a story of a North African-born slave turned Austrian courtier stuffed and put on display after his death， and more， and more。 The stories are a mix of fictional and fact-based tales， but I'll urge you to take those facts with a pinch of salt。 A quick google search you will find these "facts" are wrong or incomplete。 But they do make a good novel when used to the author's intentions。This is a novel celebrating the life within movements and changes through times， spaces， and places。 More importantly， this is a novel celebrating the marriage of fiction， science， pilgrimages， consciousness， and all things that flow， move， stream， and take flight。 。。。more

Sherry Fyman ，

Probably one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read。 Most of the 116 individual unrelated vignettes that comprise the book are told by a narrator who simply recounts events that she has seen or things she notices in the world。 From time to time， I read a book and think， “I would love to have this author for a friend。” Tokarczuk writes of the world as she sees it with compassion and a joy even when describing sad events。 There’s an almost Russian melancholy that runs through the book。 I am very Probably one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read。 Most of the 116 individual unrelated vignettes that comprise the book are told by a narrator who simply recounts events that she has seen or things she notices in the world。 From time to time， I read a book and think， “I would love to have this author for a friend。” Tokarczuk writes of the world as she sees it with compassion and a joy even when describing sad events。 There’s an almost Russian melancholy that runs through the book。 I am very eager to read more of her work。 。。。more

Le ，

星群式的小说让知识、小说、随笔甚至是一瞬间的念想都成为了一个个独立但又彼此关联的灵魂，你可以选择从任何一页开始阅读的旅行，看到了你不感兴趣的部分可以跳过，钟爱的章节又可以反复品尝，甚至在阅读中，你的思绪完全可以随着文本神游——云游四方。

Merve S。 ，

You need full concentration while reading， but I do not have much。

Di Vagando ，

http://divagandodivagando。blogspot。co。。。 http://divagandodivagando。blogspot。co。。。 。。。more

Elisa-Johanna Liiv ，

"Pole tähtis， kus ma olen"， ükskõik， kus ma olen。 Ma olen。*See raamat pani mind mõtlema lugemise olemuse üle - kuidas me loeme， mida ja kuidas vastu võtame ja kuidas raamatuid hindame。 Kas see， et minu jaoks raamat vaeva nõudis teeb ta heaks？ Suurepäraseks？ Või oleks juba ammu pidanud pooleli jätma？ Ma vahepeal jätsin ka。 Ikka selleks， et naasta， teadmata miks。Seda raamatut polnud võimalik vastu võtta väsinud peaga。 Ei kõnetanud ja oli seega täiesti kasutu lugemine。 Lasta silme eest läbi sõnu， m "Pole tähtis， kus ma olen"， ükskõik， kus ma olen。 Ma olen。*See raamat pani mind mõtlema lugemise olemuse üle - kuidas me loeme， mida ja kuidas vastu võtame ja kuidas raamatuid hindame。 Kas see， et minu jaoks raamat vaeva nõudis teeb ta heaks？ Suurepäraseks？ Või oleks juba ammu pidanud pooleli jätma？ Ma vahepeal jätsin ka。 Ikka selleks， et naasta， teadmata miks。Seda raamatut polnud võimalik vastu võtta väsinud peaga。 Ei kõnetanud ja oli seega täiesti kasutu lugemine。 Lasta silme eest läbi sõnu， mis ei jäta jälgi， ei poe naha vahele， ei jää hinge kraapima， ei midagi。 Ja kui jätta see paus ja vastuvõtliku vaimuga peale minna， siis avanesid maailmad。 Just mitmuses， sest Tokarczuk on kirjutanud fragmenteeritud romaani， kus on ühise näitajana figureerib liikumine， ränd （ka hingeline）， ent tegelaskujude assortii on rikkalik。 。。。more

Safa ，

Flights is about travel， anatomy， life， death， movement and migration - to me above all it spoke about the frailties and peculiarities of the human condition。 Was looking for something that made me feel deeply and relate to humanity in an abstract way and this hit just the spot。I loved the variety of narrators， kept me thinking about the beliefs and biases that drive each voice， the difference in perspective from different eyes。 Our world is made up of unreliable narrators， and I love each one。I Flights is about travel， anatomy， life， death， movement and migration - to me above all it spoke about the frailties and peculiarities of the human condition。 Was looking for something that made me feel deeply and relate to humanity in an abstract way and this hit just the spot。I loved the variety of narrators， kept me thinking about the beliefs and biases that drive each voice， the difference in perspective from different eyes。 Our world is made up of unreliable narrators， and I love each one。I read this with a lot of excitement， like a child discovering treasures - this is the first book I've ever annotated so heavily - I sat with pencil and book for days， underlining and writing my thoughts on the margins。 I look forward to reading this again years from now and meeting me in this way。This is a great read for anyone who likes slightly heavy fiction。 。。。more

Aine Palmer ，

utterly obsessed with the beauty and intelligence of this book

DoGoryKsiazkami ，

Odnoszę wrażenie， że nie byłam gotowa na tę lekturę。 To literatura ciężkiego kalibru， która zdecydowanie mnie przerosła， trudno było mi ją ocenić。 Jej fragmentaryczność， po raz kolejny utwierdziła mnie w przekonaniu， że taka forma， nie jest dla mnie。 Moim zdaniem bardzo nierówna。 Najlepiej wypadł początek i zakończenie， a sam środek trochę mnie wynudził。 Choć pełna wspaniałych prawd życiowych， to jednak nie była tym， czego oczekiwałam。 Z pewnością jest to dla mnie coś innowacyjnego， bo nigdy wcz Odnoszę wrażenie， że nie byłam gotowa na tę lekturę。 To literatura ciężkiego kalibru， która zdecydowanie mnie przerosła， trudno było mi ją ocenić。 Jej fragmentaryczność， po raz kolejny utwierdziła mnie w przekonaniu， że taka forma， nie jest dla mnie。 Moim zdaniem bardzo nierówna。 Najlepiej wypadł początek i zakończenie， a sam środek trochę mnie wynudził。 Choć pełna wspaniałych prawd życiowych， to jednak nie była tym， czego oczekiwałam。 Z pewnością jest to dla mnie coś innowacyjnego， bo nigdy wcześniej， czegoś takiego nie czytałam。 Tokarczuk okazuje się być bardzo dobrą obserwatorką społeczeństwa， ale mimo wszystko， na tym etapie zakończymy tę znajomość。 Może kiedyś， gdy dojrzeję jako czytelnik， to jeszcze do twórczości Pani Olgi powrócę。 。。。more

Chiara Bergonzini ，

Non so。 A tratti l'ho adorato， ma principalmente ero confusa。 Non colpevolizzo il susseguirsi di storie e personaggi poco chiaro， anzi ne capisco la bellezza。 Però passavo davvero più tempo a cercare di capire se quel personaggio fosse già stato menzionato oppure no， a capire chi stesse parlando e dove si trovasse。 Non pretendo un "ora torno a parlare di X， che avevamo lasciato mentre faceva la Y cosa"， però ho perso il filo così tante volte che dopo un po' ci ho rinunciato。 Non metto meno di 3 Non so。 A tratti l'ho adorato， ma principalmente ero confusa。 Non colpevolizzo il susseguirsi di storie e personaggi poco chiaro， anzi ne capisco la bellezza。 Però passavo davvero più tempo a cercare di capire se quel personaggio fosse già stato menzionato oppure no， a capire chi stesse parlando e dove si trovasse。 Non pretendo un "ora torno a parlare di X， che avevamo lasciato mentre faceva la Y cosa"， però ho perso il filo così tante volte che dopo un po' ci ho rinunciato。 Non metto meno di 3 perché comunque certi punti mi hanno molto emozionata。 Resto solo mezza soddisfatta dal mio approccio a un'autrice polacca dettato dalla voglia di leggere un libro della nazione che ho visitato questo mese。 Magari riproverò con altri titoli。 。。。more

Olena Golubiatnikova ，

Низка історій маленьких і довгих， кожна не прямо пов‘язана з попередньою。 Мені так сподобалась ця ідея， що я для своєї команди на роботі провела таку гру на основі структури цієї книги， де кожен учасник розповідав історію якимось чином пов‘язану з історією попередника。 «Бігуни» це історії про рух。 Подорож до іншої країни， подорож в інше життя， подорож до себе і подорож тіла після смерті。

Hannah F ，

boring pretentious gbbbley gook 。 thinking its "oh so deep thoughts " noble prize "winner heh！ well some politicians who win the noble in politics and cant stand them either 。not everyone who wins deserves it。。not in my opinion。 not nuff time in life to waste on bad writing 。soi quit often。 and quick boring pretentious gbbbley gook 。 thinking its "oh so deep thoughts " noble prize "winner heh！ well some politicians who win the noble in politics and cant stand them either 。not everyone who wins deserves it。。not in my opinion。 not nuff time in life to waste on bad writing 。soi quit often。 and quick 。。。more

Marta Mokhnatska ，

Почавши читати "Бігунів"， зрозуміла， як же я скучила за письмом Токарчук， яке воно характерне й впізнаване。 Її мова позачасова， позажиттєва， позалюдська。 Однак， на жаль， філософія цієї книжки не співзвучна мені。 Точніше， мої погляди якраз протилежні， та не буду в них вдаватися， адже цей текст про інше。Ще одним дисонансом， який не дозволяє мені поставити цій книжці п'ятірку， є наскрізна тема пластинації。 Ольґа водночас відмежована， об'єктивна оповідачка та пристрасна дослідниця， навіть — наважуся Почавши читати "Бігунів"， зрозуміла， як же я скучила за письмом Токарчук， яке воно характерне й впізнаване。 Її мова позачасова， позажиттєва， позалюдська。 Однак， на жаль， філософія цієї книжки не співзвучна мені。 Точніше， мої погляди якраз протилежні， та не буду в них вдаватися， адже цей текст про інше。Ще одним дисонансом， який не дозволяє мені поставити цій книжці п'ятірку， є наскрізна тема пластинації。 Ольґа водночас відмежована， об'єктивна оповідачка та пристрасна дослідниця， навіть — наважуся висновкувати так гучно — прихильниця пластинації。 Мої відчуття як читачки були мені дещо огидні: цікавість， яка спонукає читати залпом та яка нічим не винагороджується （винагорода за читання у моєму розумінні означає відкриття якогось знання/почуття）。 Наче читати сексуальні сцени — опиняєшся опісля ні з чим， навіть трохи присоромлений перед самим собою， що так легко пішов на повідку。 А може， Ольґа саме це й хотіла нам в собі показати？ Не можу знати， та вірю， що в її текстах багато шарів。Дуже б хотілося， щоб авторка так само глибоко могла мислити про дім。Все ж таки зупинюся на висновку， що мені треба ще Токарчук。 。。。more

Becky ，

It took me a while to get used to the style of this story， the book is a collection of fragmented， inter-locking stories about travel and the science of the human body， broken up by musings on the same subjects。 Once I understood how the book was going to work I was able to appreciate the quite beautiful prose which is a testament to both the author and the translator。

Maria Catarina ，

Lindo lindo lindo！！！

areyounuts ，

entropia potrafi paradoksalnie zaprowadzić porządek

Stefan Trifunovic ，

Some of the stories are quite interesting， however what I really liked about this book is the concept itself。 Even though it seems as there is no clear connection between the characters and motives over the time they do blend in one cohesive unit。

Andrew ，

An unpolished， loosely connected collection of…stories？ Journal entries？ Literary sketches？ （Shrug。） Oh yes， one with an odd and kind of tedious fixation on anatomical plastination。 The whole book felt too haphazard to hold my attention or capture my heart。 With a couple exceptions among the chapters， no memorable character development。 Maybe it was just the translation， but I found most of the prose to be stilted and pretentious， without much behind it substantively。 Could have used a better ed An unpolished， loosely connected collection of…stories？ Journal entries？ Literary sketches？ （Shrug。） Oh yes， one with an odd and kind of tedious fixation on anatomical plastination。 The whole book felt too haphazard to hold my attention or capture my heart。 With a couple exceptions among the chapters， no memorable character development。 Maybe it was just the translation， but I found most of the prose to be stilted and pretentious， without much behind it substantively。 Could have used a better editor。 I was left thinking at the end， what was the point of this book？ 。。。more

Tiina ，

Esimene Tokarczuk。 Reisimine ja anatoomia on märksõnad，miks selle lugemisnimekirja lisasin。 Polnud päris see，mida ootasin， aga halb ka mitte。 Mõni lugu jääb kindlasti tükiks ajaks meelde。

Matterhörnli ，

Brilliant short stories

Jesse Field ，

My edition of this book describes Olga Tokarczuk as "one of her country's most beloved authors，" and in a New York Times piece， there's an inspiring note about how the English translation came to be thanks to the great persistence of the translator， Jennifer Croft。 Ms。 Croft must certainly feel happy about investing in the right work， as Flights went on to win a Booker International Prize。 I feel like whereas I often have a greater taste for literary and experimental work than many of my America My edition of this book describes Olga Tokarczuk as "one of her country's most beloved authors，" and in a New York Times piece， there's an inspiring note about how the English translation came to be thanks to the great persistence of the translator， Jennifer Croft。 Ms。 Croft must certainly feel happy about investing in the right work， as Flights went on to win a Booker International Prize。 I feel like whereas I often have a greater taste for literary and experimental work than many of my American peers， so the Polish audience that loves Tokarczuk must have tastes still more literary than my own。 For Flights is a work for people who just really love to read， almost for its own sake， including magazines， encyclopedias， and obscure anecdotes。 Where most novels rely on narrative tension to propel us through the dramatic sequence， Flights only ever attempts this sort of work fragmentarily， at best。 There are the longer narratives， as in the slow-burning suspense of Kunicki， whose wife and child go missing while they are traveling。 There's also a more puzzling sub-plot about a certain Josefine Soliman， who writes to the founders of the Hapsburg dynasty requesting the return of the embalmed remains of her husband， an ex-slave who became a courtier。 Oh， and there's a bit about a certain Dr。 Blau， who photographs vaginas and reflects on beauty and reality。 Just how these things go together is a kind of puzzle， or perhaps a tasting， like a cheese plate， or a beer flight。 Travel is the major theme linking most of the pieces。 Which of course makes great sense， and the book is perhaps best appreciated as a sort of enigmatic travelogue。 I would say the second most important theme is something about bodies and preservation， which I kept trying to connect to travel。 Fear of death， pursuit of suspension？ "Flight" as preservation？ However， no single set of discursive statements seems likely to cover all the contents here。 Some of the most intriguing， yet aggravating， portions of the book are fleeting pieces less than a page long， strung together as if to drop through our mind， one replacing the other from before。 I took some notes at one point: Medieval rhetoric is on display when she remembers encountering public lectures on travel psychology。 Tiny notes on synchronicity and instructions lead us to “Ash Wednesday Feast，” the story of Eryk， who felt tortured to serve as a ferry boat captain， back and forth in straight lines every day。 Very funny passage on learning English from Moby Dick。More tiny notes on North Pole expeditions， island psychology， and knowledge that places don’t exist come up， before a piece on watching television at night。 There are fragmented， amusing facts， a note on relics one could once see， and a scene of a belly dance， “holy” despite happening in a restaurant。 Tiny notes again， first on a woman trying to travel along a meridian， which doesn’t really exist。 A poet working in the travel industry became a teller of tales。 One is of the king of a tiny Islamic kingdom， lost in his own harem。 Then， a flurry of bits in two minutes: another story， of a tribe of refugees who carries both Muslim and Christian panniers。 Cleopatras drink from straws。 A wait feels long。 A donkey dislikes heavy American travelers。 Traces of a terrorist attack。 Ataturk’s island of dogs。 Cosmological darkness grows。 Observations of wax anatomy models。 I tried for a bit to make some sense of all this， but it started to give me a headache。 Surely， not what the author intended？ There was another very interesting image in the New York Times article， of the author peering with a bird's-eye view over her manuscript: When Ms。 Tokarczuk finished writing “Flights” she gathered all her pages and spent a week studying them spread out on the floor of her living room。 “It was funny because I had to climb onto a table to see how they looked from a high vantage point，” she said。 “I trusted my intuition to find the book’s order， and I wouldn’t change anything now。” A-ha！ Where I looked for logical connection， I really only experienced another mind's intuition。 Which is a fair enough claim to representational art。 The book is most obviously masterly in its ability to evoke atmosphere。 （"Atmosphere，" I can remember Robert McKee sneering， in his seminar on writing plot-driven stories。 "European film is all about atmosphere。 But they miss character， and they miss conflict。"。） Well， McKee notwithstanding， this is a lovely thing to experience on almost every page。 For example， near the end， we have a story about how， right after the death of Fryderyc Chopin， his sister and friends organized themselves to follow the superstar's instructions for two funerals， one in Paris， and one in Poland。 While waiting for the funeral， Fryderyk’s close friends came every evening to his sister’s or to George Sand’s to remember him。 They would dine together and exchange the latest society gossip。 Those days were strangely peaceful， as though not belonging to the ordinary calendar。 That really captures something about this book。 We might say its a very calculated repeated gesture to produce "strangely peaceful" segments of time， days and moments quite off the "ordinary calendar。" Such sense of time is perhaps connected to the motif of "Kairos，" the word Kunicki reads on a ticket in his wife's purse， in his great distress over the moments when she dropped away from everything， with her son。 Later， the old professor lectures on Kairos， the minor god， one of those "who didn't make into the pages of the famous， popular books， those not mentioned by Homer， then ignored by Ovid。" Kairos， says the professor， operates at the intersection of linnear， human time and divine time -- circular time。 And at the intersection between place and time， at that moment that opens up for just a little while， to situate that single， right， unrepeatable possibility。 So， there you go。 Tocarczuk similarly operates at margins of times， giving us something that is all special moments， dialogic language fired through apertures， pulled by the needle through the gaps in the warp。 This was not an easy book， by any means -- it demands attention， and reflection。 And at times a morbid sense of humor。 But perhaps its another mark of its greatness that， as I finish writing these sentences， I feel like my entire critical approach is renewed， and refreshed。 。。。more

Ieva ，

The fact that I do not know how many stars to give to this book puzzles me。 It’s good， but it’s bad。I related to so many things in it， yet I didn’t enjoy reading it。 I kept on getting disappointed that the author only allowed me to read fragments of her stories; but then again， every journey， every person is just a fragment too， right？ Ok， 5*。

Lindsay Zombek ，

Audiobook。 Very disjointed book with many short stories woven together on topics such as anatomy/physiology， travel， Chopin， relationships， and curiousities。 I like all those things， but meshing these all together small pieces at a time in one book and looking for the overriding themes and connection led to much more of a “thinker” than for what I was prepared from reading the description。 The short stories are introduced and often revisited a quarter of the book later。 May have been better to r Audiobook。 Very disjointed book with many short stories woven together on topics such as anatomy/physiology， travel， Chopin， relationships， and curiousities。 I like all those things， but meshing these all together small pieces at a time in one book and looking for the overriding themes and connection led to much more of a “thinker” than for what I was prepared from reading the description。 The short stories are introduced and often revisited a quarter of the book later。 May have been better to read than to listen…？ 。。。more

Michal Čejka ，

Oceněná kniha， Nobelova cena， uf。 Ještě asi nikdy nebyl můj pocit z knihy v tak přímém protikladu s renomé knihy。 Nedrželo to pohromadě jako celek， pár zajímavých myšlenek tam bylo， ale。。。 je tohle ještě literatura？ Nebo pár příběhů a poznámek jako z facebookových statusů？ Dočíst to pro mě bylo utrpení。 A upřímně， nevím， jestli jsem， kromě knih Paola Coelha četl něco horšího。

Heather McNamara ，

Amazing。 Everything Tokarczuk touches turns to gold。

Weronika Banaszewska ，

DNF 50%

Rebecca ，

dnf

Μιχάλης Παπαχατζάκης ，

Μια συλλογή διηγημάτων με ένα κεντρικό θέμα， αυτό που λέει ο τίτλος。 Πολλές ιστορίες ξαναγυρίζουν。 Μια μεταμοντέρνα εκδοχή της περιπλάνησης

Josh Caldwell ，

This book was filled with some of the most compelling， creative， and sometimes disturbing short stories I've read。 However， much of the book is essentially traveling notes， and other stories are just not gripping to me （for example， I sincerely just could not get into the Travel Psychology thing）。I think this would have worked better for me as a book of short stories rather than the concept novel （？） that it is。 Discarding most of the interstitial pieces and focusing on the few fleshed-out stori This book was filled with some of the most compelling， creative， and sometimes disturbing short stories I've read。 However， much of the book is essentially traveling notes， and other stories are just not gripping to me （for example， I sincerely just could not get into the Travel Psychology thing）。I think this would have worked better for me as a book of short stories rather than the concept novel （？） that it is。 Discarding most of the interstitial pieces and focusing on the few fleshed-out stories would have made it much more enjoyable for me。 。。。more

Jolita Kri ，

Kelionės。 Kūno preparavimas。 Amžinas judėjimas。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Flights

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Flights&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Flights&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0