#45 Flights, by Olga Tokarczuk
Booker Prize : WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOKER 2018 Plot Time and Place : 17th-century Netherlands, 18th-century Austria, 19th-century Paris and Warsaw, Present-day Croatia Opening sentence : "I'm a few years old. I'm sitting on the window sill, surrounded by strewn toys and toppled-over block towers and dolls with bulging eyes." Plot summary : From the 17th century, we have the story of the Dutch anatomist Philip Verheyen, who dissected and drew pictures of his own amputated leg. From the 18th century, we have the story of an African-born slave turned Austrian courtier stuffed and put on display after his death. In the 19th century, we follow Chopin's heart as it makes the covert journey from Paris to Warsaw. In the present, we have the story of a young husband whose wife and child mysteriously vanish on a holiday on a Croatian island. (from the cover of Fitzcarraldo Editions) Review : I liked Tokarczuk's other book, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the D...