MixedThe Jewish ChronicleReaders expecting a Russian version of Remembrance of Things Past will be disappointed. Proust, as capable of looking outward as inside, draws his readers in with what Nabokov termed “the transmutation of sensation into sentiment”, whereas Felsen’s preoccupations with the inner workings of his psyche can be more alienating than inviting and his characters often little more than vehicles for philosophising. Yet his tortuous style paradoxically beguiles, and, in the detailing of his inner world Felsen frequently elicits profound truths about human nature and its motivations.
Olga Tokarczuk, Tr. Jennifer Croft
PanThe Jewish ChronicleThere are books of similar length whose pace and flow make them feel much shorter. Tokarczuk’s seems double its length. Countless characters pass the reader by, underdeveloped and unrealised, their inner lives unexplored. Frank himself remains an enigma, which might be appropriate, but Tokarczuk is too dependent upon her considerable research to have the courage to explore him from within and realise a character that may or may not approximate to the historical figure, but might at least have engaged the reader ... Cults and their leaders are fictional subjects with potential, but Tokarczuk has left us with little more than undigested historical research and a suspicion that we might have been better off reading the primary source on the subject ... At a time when Poland’s right-wing government is keen to suppress recognition of the country’s involvement in the Holocaust, it is refreshing to see a major Polish author display such liberal, philosemitic tendencies.
Norman Lebrecht
PositiveThe Times Literary Supplement (UK)He guides us through his chosen period (1847–1947) in a breathless present continuous, with an enthusiasm that holds the reader’s attention ... If the characteristics Lebrecht discerns are not uniquely Jewish, there is no denying that Jews in his chosen period have been responsible for a disproportionate number of groundbreaking discoveries and innovations. Whether they have been hard-wired into a Jewish genetic make-up after centuries of the singular Jewish experience it’s impossible to prove, but Lebrecht’s passion is persuasive, while the depth and variety of his reading and the sweep of his writing consistently engage.
