Just Read: “House of day, house of night” (Tokarczuk) 

The inner cover reads “a novel about the rich stories of small places.” Huh? I mean it does include rich stories from a small place but it barely seems like the point (although I’m sure the marketing is easier). But this is a rich, expansive novel that feels much longer than it’s ~300 pages, in a good way. 

To me, this is a novel about coming to terms with the world.  

A main theme is the realization of estrangement from ourselves and the natural world. This is manifested in: 

1. Dreams/dreamstate, which we can’t control and can barely comprehend (including symbols in nature, clouds, zodiac) but unveils our impressions of the world
2. Our physical bodies, which function in strange and horrifying ways until they don’t (and only feel present in the presence of others). 
3. The complexity of the natural world which we can’t barely begin to understand because we focus on ourselves and try to prevent any realizations from getting through (contrasted with the pressure of market-driven work culture) 

We turn to religion, mysticism, or some occupying drudgery to either try to make sense of the world or drown it out. 

This is a rich, complex novel that I feel barely capable of truly understanding. It feels Nobel-caliber. It makes me want to read “The Books of Jacob” and “Flights.”