Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Prize-winning author, has released her latest book, The Empusium, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. Tokarczuk, who has received numerous accolades including the Man Booker International Prize, has published a variety of works including fiction, essays, and a children's book, all translated into fifty languages.
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In a recent conversation, Antonia Lloyd-Jones asked Tokarczuk about her choice to invoke the horror genre in The Empusium, subtitled A Health Resort Horror Story. Tokarczuk explained that she does not subscribe to strict genre classifications, viewing them as tools for organization rather than as limitations. The horror element in her book reveals patriarchal themes rooted in historical culture, including rivalry and misogyny, which she magnifies to absurdity through a mix of horror and humor.
Tokarczuk noted that The Empusium includes references to classic literature from the late 19th and 20th centuries, whose ideas continue to influence contemporary thought, despite often seeming outdated. She aims to re-examine these ideas to reveal their more shocking or ridiculous aspects, interspersing humor amid the horror.
The narrative, set before World War I at a health resort for tuberculosis patients, draws inspiration from Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. When asked by Lloyd-Jones if her novel serves as an homage or critique of Mann’s work, Tokarczuk emphasized that no book emerges in isolation; rather, they are influenced by previous literature. She admires Mann’s ability to expose how culture shapes our understanding of the world, asserting the importance of reinterpreting classics to extract new meanings.
Our discussion turned to the novel's portrayal of men discussing politics and philosophy while diminishing women’s roles. Tokarczuk expressed her interest in the complexities and ambiguities between rigid categories. She aims to highlight and explore the in-between spaces that are often overlooked in traditional narratives.
The sensory-rich environment of The Empusium plays a significant role in the story. Tokarczuk elaborated on the theme of sensory perception and its limitations, citing a passage from Fernando Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet as an epigraph for her novel. She suggests that our understanding of the world is restricted by our senses, leaving much of existence forever out of reach.
The Empusium, now available from Riverhead Books, reflects Tokarczuk's ongoing engagement with classic texts while pushing the boundaries of genre and narrative.