The latest in Marlon James’ Dark Star trilogy, Olga Tokarczuk’s magnum opus, and more books to read in February

Plus: Sheila Heti’s Pure Colour, Mónica Ojeda’s deliciously macabre English-language debut, and a pinpoint dissection of reality television

By Laura Adamczyk, Bradley Babendir, Adam Morgan | January 25, 2022 | 6:00am

Books News Olga Tokarczuk

The latest in Marlon James’ Dark Star trilogy, Olga Tokarczuk’s magnum opus, and more books to read in February

Cover images: Jawbone (Coffee House), True Story and Pure Colour (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), Moon Witch, Spider King and The Books Of Jacob (Riverhead) Graphic: Natalie Peeples

Every month, a deluge of new books comes flooding out from big publishers, indie houses, and self-publishing platforms. So every month, The A.V. Club narrows down the endless options to five of the books we’re most excited about.

The Books Of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk

(trans. by Jennifer Croft; February 1, Riverhead):Olga Tokarczuk is one of our greatest living fiction writers, Jennifer Croft’s translations are always magnificent, and this epic thousand-page novel is said to be their magnum opus. Paginated in reverse as a nod to Hebrew bookbinding, The Books Of Jacob is the story of Jacob Frank—a real-life Jewish mystic who claimed to be a reincarnated messiah in 18th-century Poland and amassed tens of thousands of followers. First published in Poland in 2014, the Nobel Committee specifically cited The Books Of Jacob when they awarded Tokarczuk the 2018 prize in literature. This could well be a decade-defining book akin to Bolaño’s 2666.

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