ABOUT THE BOOK
The Nobel Prize-winner Olga Tokarczuk’s richest and most ambitious novel yet follows the comet-like rise and fall of a messianic religious leader as he blazes his way across eighteenth-century Europe.
As new ideas—and a new unrest—begin to sweep the Continent, a young Jew of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland. Visited by what seem to be ecstatic experiences, Jacob Frank casts a spell that attracts a fervent following. He reinvents himself again and again, converts to Islam, then Catholicism, is pilloried as a heretic, revered as the Messiah, and wreaks havoc on the conventional order, Jewish and Christian alike, with scandalous rumours of his sect’s secret rituals and the spread of his iconoclastic beliefs.
The story of Frank—a real historical figure, a divisive yet charismatic man—is the perfect canvas for the genius and unparalleled reach of Olga Tokarczuk. Narrated through the perspectives of his contemporaries—those who revere him, those who revile him, the friend who betrays him, the lone woman who sees him for what he is—The Books of Jacob captures a world on the cusp of precipitous change, searching for certainty and longing for transcendence.
For my parents
Cover Page
About the Book
Title Page
Dedication
Map
Prologue
I. THE BOOK OF FOG
1.
1752, Rohatyn
2.
Of calamitous leaf springs and Katarzyna Kossakowska’s feminine complaint
Of bloodstained silks
The white end of the table at Starosta Łabęcki’s
3.
Of Asher Rubin and his gloomy thoughts
The beehive, or: The home of the Shorr family in Rohatyn
In the beth midrash
Yente, or: Not a good time to die
What we read in the Zohar
Of the swallowed amulet
4.
Pharo and Mariage
Polonia est paradisus Judaeorum
Of the presbytery in Firlejów and the sinful pastor living in it
Father Chmielowski tries to write a letter to Mrs. Drużbacka
Elżbieta Drużbacka writes to Father Chmielowski
Bishop Kajetan Sołtyk writes a letter to the papal nuncio
Zelik
II. THE BOOK OF SAND
5.
Of how the world was born of God’s exhaustion
Scraps, or: A story born of travel’s exhaustion, by Nahman Samuel ben Levi, Rabbi of Busk. Where I come from My youth
Of the caravan, and how I met Reb Mordke
My return to Podolia, and a strange vision
On an expedition with Mordechai to Smyrna, due to a dream of goat droppings
6.
Of a strange wedding guest in white stockings and sandals
Nahman’s Tale: Jacob’s first mention
Isohar’s School, and who God really is: The next installment in the story of Nahman ben Levi of Busk
Of Jacob the simpleton and taxes
Of Nahman’s appearance to Nahman, or: The pit of darkness and the seed of light
Of stones and the runaway with the horrible face
Of how Nahman winds up with Yente and falls asleep on the floor by her bed
Of Yente’s onward wanderings through time
Of the terrible consequences of the amulet’s disappearance
What the Zohar says
Pesel’s tale of the Podhajce goat and the strange grass
Father Chmielowski writes a letter to Mrs. Drużbacka, whom he holds in such high esteem, in January 1753, from Firlejów
7.
Yente’s story
8.
Honey, and not eating too much of it, or: Isohar’s school in Smyrna, in the Turkish land
Scraps: What we were doing in Smyrna in the Jewish year 5511 and how we met Moliwda, and also, how the spirit is like a needle that pokes a hole in the world
9.
Of the wedding in Nikopol, the mystery under the huppah, and the advantages of being foreign
In Craiova: Of trade on holy days and of Hershel, faced with the dilemma of the cherries
Of a pearl and Hana
10.
Who the person is who gathers herbs on Mount Athos
11.
How in the town of Craiova Moliwda-Kossakowski runs into Jacob
The story of His Lordship Moliwda, or Antoni Kossakowski, of the Ślepowron coat of arms, which is also known as Korwin
Of what draws persons together, and certain clarifications regarding the transmigration of souls
Jacob’s story about the ring
Scraps: What we saw among Moliwda’s Bogomils
12.
Of Jacob’s expedition to the grave of Nathan of Gaza
Of how Nahman follows in Jacob’s footsteps
Of how Jacob faces off with the Antichrist
The appearance of ruah haKodesh, when the spirit descends into man
Of why Salonika does not care for Jacob
Scraps: Of the curse of Salonika and Jacob’s molting
Scraps: Of triangles and crosses
Scraps: Of meeting Jacob’s father in Roman, and also of the starosta and the thief
Of Jacob’s dance
III. THE BOOK OF THE ROAD
13.
Of the warm December of 1755, otherwise known as the month of Tevet 5516, of the country of Polin, and pestilence in Mielnica
What is gleaned by the sharp gaze of every variety of spy
“Three things are too wondrous for me; the fourth I can’t understand.” —Book of Proverbs 30:18
The Lord’s female guardians
Scraps by Nahman of Busk kept secret from Jacob
Of secret acts in Lanckoroń and an unfavorable eye
How Gershon caught the heretics
Of the Polish princess Gitla Pinkasówna
Of Pinkas and his shameful despair
14.
Of the Bishop of Kamieniec Mikołaj Dembowski, who doesn’t realize he is merely passing through this whole affair
Of Father Chmielowski’s defense of his good name before the bishop
What Elżbieta Drużbacka writes to Father Chmielowski in February of 1756 from Rzemień on the Wisłoka
Father Chmielowski to Elżbieta Drużbacka
What Pinkas records, and what goes unrecorded
Of the Seder HaHerem, or the order of the curse
Of Yente, who is always present and sees all
The Bishop of Kamieniec Mikołaj Dembowski writes a letter to the papal nuncio Serra, while his secretary adds a little something from himself
Bishop Dembowski writes to Bishop Sołtyk
Meanwhile
How Gitla’s stepmother’s pessimistic predictions come true
15.
How the old minaret in Kamieniec turns into a column with the Holy Mother on top
What Bishop Dembowski ponders as his face is being shaved
Of Hayah’s two natures
The shapes of the new letters
Of Krysa and his plans for the future
16.
Of the year 1757 and of the establishment of certain age-old truths over the summer at the Kamieniec Podolski disputation
Of burning books
Of Father Pikulski’s explanation to the nobles of the rules of gematria
Of newly appointed Archbishop Dembowski, who is preparing for a journey
Of the life of dead Yente in the winter of 1757, also known as the year the Talmud was burned, followed by the books of those who burned the Talmud
Of Asher Rubin’s adventures with light, and his grandfather’s with a wolf
Of the Polish princess in Asher Rubin�
��s house
Of the reversal of circumstances: Katarzyna Kossakowska writes to Bishop Kajetan Sołtyk
Pompa funebris: January 29, 1758
Of spilled blood and hungry leeches
Mrs. Elżbieta Drużbacka to Father Chmielowski, or: Of the perfection of imprecise forms
The Vicar Forane Benedykt Chmielowski writes to Elżbieta Drużbacka
Of the unexpected guest who comes in the night to Father Chmielowski
Of the cave in the shape of the alef
17.
Scraps: My heart’s quandary
How in Giurgiu we talked Jacob into returning to Poland
Father Benedykt weeds the oregano
The runaway
The runaway’s tale: Jewish purgatory
Cousins putting up a unified front and launching their campaign
Moliwda sets out and beholds the kingdom of the vagabonds
How Moliwda is made messenger in the service of a difficult cause
Of useful truths and useless truths, and the mortar post as a means of communication
Mrs. Kossakowska, wife of the castellan of Kamieniec, writes to Senator Łubieński, Bishop of Lwów
Father Pikulski writes to Senator Łubieński, Bishop of Lwów
From Antoni Moliwda-Kossakowski to His Excellency Bishop Łubieński
Knives and forks
18.
Of how Ivanie, a little village on the Dniester, becomes a republic
Of the sleeves of Sabbatai Tzvi’s holy shirt
Of the working of Jacob’s touch
Of the women’s talk while plucking chickens
Of which of the women will be chosen
Hana’s gloomy gaze notes these details of Ivanie
Of Moliwda’s visit to Ivanie
Divine grace, which calls out from the darkness into the light
The supplication to Archbishop Łubieński
Of the everlasting interconnectedness between divinity and sinfulness
Of God
“The miller grinds the flower”
IV. THE BOOK OF THE COMET
19.
Of Yankiel of Glinno and the terrible smell of silt
Of Strange Deeds, holy silence, and other Ivanie diversions
A tale of two tablets
Scraps, or: Eight months in the Lord’s community of Ivanie
Of doubles, trinities, and foursomes
Of candles put out
A man who does not have a piece of land is not a man
Of stablehands and the study of the Polish language
Of new name
Of Pinkas, who descends into hell in search of his daughter
Antoni Moliwda-Kossakowski writes to Katarzyna Kossakowska
Katarzyna Kossakowska to Antoni Moliwda-Kossakowski
Of the cross and dancing in the abyss
20.
What Yente sees from the vault of Lwów cathedral on July 17, 1759
Of Asher’s familial bliss
The seventh point of the disputation
Of secret hand and eye signals and hints
Katarzyna Kossakowska writes to Bishop Kajetan Sołtyk
Of the troubles of Father Chmielowski
Of Pinkas, who cannot understand what sin he has committed
Of the human deluge that overwhelms the streets of Lwów
The Mayorkowiczes
Nahman and his raiment of good deeds
Father Mikulski’s bills and the market of Christian names
Of what happens to Father Chmielowski in Lwów
At the printing press of Paweł Józef Golczewski, His Majesty the King’s preferred typographer
Of proper proportions
The baptism
Of Jacob Frank’s shaved beard, and the new face that emerges from underneath it
21.
Of the plague that descends upon Lwów in the autumn of 1759
What Moliwda writes to his cousin Katarzyna Kossakowska
In which Katarzyna Kossakowska dares to disturb the powerful of this world
Of the trampling of coins and using a knife to make a V formation of cranes make a U-turn
Scraps: At Radziwiłł’s
Of sad turns in Lublin
22.
The inn on the right bank of the Vistula
Of events in Warsaw and the papal nuncio
Of Katarzyna and her dominion over Warsaw
Katarzyna Kossakowska writes to her cousin
What is served for Christmas Eve dinner at Mrs. Kossakowska’s
Avacha and her two dolls
A doll for Salusia Łabęcka, and Father Chmielowski’s tales of a library and a ceremonious baptism
Father Gaudenty Pikulski, a Bernardine, interrogates the naive
Father Gaudenty Pikulski writes to Primate Łubieński
The cornflower-blue żupan and the red kontusz
What was going on in Warsaw when Jacob disappeared
Spit on this fire
An ocean of questions that will sink even the strongest battleship
23.
What hunting is like at Hieronim Florian Radziwiłł’s
Scraps: Of the three paths of the story and how telling a tale can be its own deed
Hana, consider in your heart
V. THE BOOK OF METAL AND SULFUR
24.
The messianic machine, how it works
Of Jacob’s arrival, on a February night in 1760, in Częstochowa
What Jacob’s prison is like
The flagellants
The holy picture that conceals without revealing
A letter in Polish
A visit to the monastery
Upupa dicit
Of Jacob’s learning to read and where the Poles come from
Of Jan Wołowski and Mateusz Matuszewski, who are the next to come to Częstochowa, in November of 1760
Elżbieta Drużbacka to Father Benedykt Chmielowski, Vicar Forane of Rohatyn, Tarnów, Christmas, 1760
Elżbieta Drużbacka’s heavy golden heart offered to the Black Madonna
25.
Yente sleeping under stork wings
Of Yente’s measurement of graves
A letter from Nahman Jakubowski to the Lord in Częstochowa
Gifts from the Besht
The larch manor in Wojsławice and Zwierzchowski’s teeth
Of torture and curses
Edom is shaken to its foundations
Of how the interregnum translates into the traffic patterns of the carriages on Krakowskie Przedmieście
Pinkas edits the Documenta Judaeos
Who Pinkas runs into at the market in Lwów
A mirror and ordinary glass
Daily life in prison and of keeping children in a box
The hole that leads to the abyss, or a visit from Tovah and his son Hayim Turk in 1765
Elżbieta Drużbacka writes from the Bernardine monastery in Tarnów a last letter to the canon Benedykt Chmielowski in Firlejów
Of bringing Moliwda back to life
Of wandering caves
Of failed legations and history laying siege to the monastery walls
Of the passing of Lady Hana in February of 1770 and of her final resting place
Scraps: Being under siege
VI. THE BOOK OF THE DISTANT COUNTRY
26.
Yente reads passports
Of the Dobrushka family in Prossnitz
Of new life in Brünn and the ticking of clocks
Of Moshe Dobrushka and the feast of the Leviathan
Of the house by the cathedral and the delivery of maiden
Scraps: How to catch a fish in muddied water
The Lord’s words
The bird that hops out of a snuffbox
A thousand compliments, or: Of the wedding of Moshe Dobrushka, or Thomas von Schönfeld
Of t
he emperor and people from everywhere and nowhere
Of the bear from Avacha Frank’s dream
Of the high life
A machine that plays chess
27.
How Nahman Piotr Jakubowski is appointed an ambassador
The return of Bishop Sołtyk
What’s happening among the Lord’s Warsaw machna
Eine Anzeige, or: A denunciation
Coffee with milk: The effects of consumption
A hernia, and the Lord’s words
Of a proclivity for secret experiments on substances
Every variety of ash, or: Recipes for homemade gold
How the Lord’s dreams see the world
Of the lovemaking of Franciszek Wołowski
Of Samuel Ascherbach, son of Gitla and Asher
28.
Asher in a Viennese café, or: Was ist Aufklärung? 1784
Of the healthful aspects of prophesying
Of figurines made out of bread
The rejected proposal of Franciszek Wołowski the younger
A final audience with the emperor
Thomas von Schönfeld and his games
Scraps: Jacob Frank’s sons, and Moliwda
Last days in Brünn
Moliwda in search of his life’s center
The next chapter in the history of His Lordship Antoni Kossakowski, also known as Moliwda
29.
Of the little insect-like people who inhabit Offenbach am Main
Of Isenburger Schloss and its freezing residents
Of boiled eggs and Prince Lubomirski
How Zwierzchowska the She-Wolf maintains order in the castle
The knife set with turquoise
Of the dollhouse
The dangerous smell of the raspberry bush and muscate
Of Thomas von Schönfeld’s big plans
Who the Lord is when he is no longer who he is
Of Roch Frank’s sins
Of neshika, God’s kiss
Gossip, letters, denunciations, decrees, and reports
30.
The death of a Polish princess, step by step
A Warsaw table for thirty people
Of ordinary life
Heiliger Weg nach Offenbach
Of women soaking their legs
Scraps: Of the light
VII. THE BOOK OF NAMES
31.