Nobel Prize Laureate: Olga Tokarczuk

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Olga Tokarczuk is the recipient of the 2018-2019 Nobel Prize for Literature. Although this prize is awarded to Olga Tokarczuk in 2019, she is actually the 2018 nomination. The prize was held over because of sexual abuse and financial scandals which led to a series of resignations in the Swedish Academy.  She is the fifteenth and second Polish writer to win this prestigious prize.

Flights

 

Ms. Tokarczuk is no stranger to receiving prizes for her literary works. In 2008 her novel Flights won the Nike award, Poland’s top literary award. In 2018 Flights took the Man Booker Prize for its translation into English by Jennifer Croft. 

Tokarczuk’s work focuses on peace, democracy and activism. In an interview with Claire Armitstead in The Guardian, Tokarczuk had this to say about a two-year book deal on detective stories:

But just writing a book to know who is the killer is wasting paper and time, so I decided to put into it animal rights and a story of dissenting citizens who realise that the law is immoral and see how far can they can go with saying no to it.”

In a fascinating interview with Adam Smith – Chief Scientific Officer of Nobel Media – Olga Tokarczuk speaks of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature as a symbol of hope for those worried about the ‘Crisis in democracy’ she sees facing central Europe.

For more on Female Nobel Laureates for Literature please visit my series. 

 

22 thoughts on “Nobel Prize Laureate: Olga Tokarczuk”

  1. This is really interesting, Carol! I do like to know a little background on authors; I think it helps in understanding their perspectives. Thanks for sharing.

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    • Margot, I find that those who win the nobel prizes are committed, in the totality of their works, to bettering society and are outspoken about injustices. I find them to be very honorable world citizens. I am eager to read her detective books when they come out. Thanks for your comment and for reading my blog. 🙂

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    • I have found that the women who have won the Nobel Prize for Literature are both humble and caring people who have a deep and sincere sense of social justice. They are admirable writers and I am happy that after the sexual and financial scandal at the Swedish Academy that it is back on track. The world needs to recognize and honor these writers who provide hope and insightful thought to all who are willing to read them. Thanks, Anna for your comment and for reading my blog. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

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      • Carol, I wholeheartedly agree that the world needs this recognition these writers and it felt very strange last year when it was stopped. What a thoughtful comment about the female winners of the award … both inspiring and heartening.

        Liked by 2 people

  7. Thank you for sharing this. Her work sounds intriguing, especially with her quote about one of her novels, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (?). I’m a fan of detective stories, and I agree with her that “just writing a book to know who is the killer is wasting paper and time.”

    Liked by 3 people

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