The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk

In September 1913, a young Pole suffering from tuberculosis arrives at Wilhelm Opitz’s Guesthouse for Gentlemen, a health resort in the Silesian mountains. Every evening the residents gather to imbibe the hallucinogenic local liqueur and debate the great issues of the day: monarchy or democracy? Do devils exist? Are women born inferior? War or peace? Meanwhile, disturbing things are happening in the guesthouse and the surrounding hills. Someone – or something – seems to be watching, attempting to infiltrate this cloistered world. Little does the newcomer realize, as he tries to unravel both the truths within himself and the mystery of the sinister forces beyond, that they have already chosen their next target. A century after the publication of The Magic Mountain, Olga Tokarczuk revisits Thomas Mann territory and lays claim to it, blending horror story, comedy, folklore and feminist parable with brilliant storytelling.

REVIEWS

"Tokarczuk is a writer of definite views, many of which I disagree with, but this is clever, intelligent stuff, touched with genius."― David Mills, The Times
"
The Nobel Prize-winning novelist is exceptionally adept at blending the high-minded sanctimoniousness of the sanatorium with the ever-present threat and legacy of violence…. Tokarczuk’s outstanding novel is a striking reaffirmation of literature’s genius for nuance in a world darkened by murderous polarities." ― Michael Cronin, Irish Times

"A magnificent writer.’
― Svetlana Alexievich, 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate

PRODUCT DETAILS
Paperback with French flaps
Publisher: Riverhead Books
ISBN: 978-0593712948
Pages: 320