Most follow the people of the region, with some characters constantly reappearing and others just given one moment in the sun. The story begins in 1914 and runs through to the ‘modern era’ (possibly the 1980s), and life in Primeval is related through a series of short sections, each entitled ‘The Time of X’, with X being the focus of that section. It’s a small area consisting of a hill, some fields, a couple of villages and a small town, and as well as being the location for the whole of the novel, it acts as a microcosm of the world, focusing the upheavals of most of a century into one small location. Primeval and Other Times (once again translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, published by Twisted Spoon Press) has a familiar setting in rural Poland, with the first pages introducing us to the region known as Primeval. It’s another excellent, perhaps slightly neglected, novel, with all of the quirks and obsessions the Polish author’s fans have come to expect from her work – and it’s out there available for anyone that likes the sound of it □ My most recent post was on one of Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s earlier books, and today’s review continues the celebration with a look at another of those pre- Flights translations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |