The Bear and the Hare and the Fair

by Em Lynas & Matt Hunt
The Bear and the Hare and the Fair cover
Good Books rating 4.5
Children's Fiction
Technical
  • ID: 336
  • Added: 2025-09-10
  • Updated: 2025-09-10
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
yumpu.com · Unknown · 2025-09-18
disturbing 4.50

The novel 'The Empusium' by Olga Tokarczuk is a deft and disturbing folk horror story set in a health resort in 1913. The narrative explores themes of misogyny and the dark forces lurking beneath the surface of masculine civilization, with a naïve protagonist drawn into a sinister ritual.

Olga Tokarczuk's 'The Empusium' is a compelling and unsettling novel that blends folk horror with a critique of early 20th-century misogyny. Set in a health resort in 1913, the story follows Mieczyslaw Wojnicz, a shy student seeking treatment for tuberculosis. The resort's guests, including a taciturn Swiss manager and a group of men with varying political views, harbor extreme misogynistic beliefs. The narrative takes a dark turn when Wojnicz discovers a series of mysterious deaths in the nearby forest, linked to a sinister ritual. As Wojnicz becomes more involved with the resort's inhabitants and their rituals, he is drawn into a world of horror and unreason. The novel's deceptively light tone contrasts with its disturbing themes, making it a thought-provoking and chilling read.

Quick quotes

    The extreme misogyny of the guesthouse gentlemen runs like a vein of poison through 'The Empusium

    Something is not right in Görbersdorf. Wojnicz makes a friend at the guesthouse, a seriously ill young aesthete who confides in him the terrible secret of the place. Every year around the first full moon in November, a man, sometimes two, is torn to pieces in the forest: 'The landscape takes its sacrifice and kills a man.

    He becomes a low-status member of a pack, taken to eat luridly unpleasant local delicacies such as a noodle dish made with parasitic ribbon worms and made to listen to his companions pontificating endlessly about male superiority.

yumpu.com · Unknown · 2025-05-26
entertaining 4.50

The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk is a highly entertaining novel that blends wit and horror, drawing parallels to Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. The story, set in a mountain sanatorium, features dark occurrences and unsettling narrators, making it a captivating read with a mix of humor and eerie elements.

Olga Tokarczuk's The Empusium is a delightful and entertaining novel that sparkles with wit and never dulls. Set in a mountain sanatorium in 1913, the story follows Mieczysław Wojnicz as he uncovers dark and uncanny events. The novel draws clear parallels to Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, with a similar setting and themes, but adds Tokarczuk's unique touch of horror and dark humor. The story is filled with unsettling narrators and disturbing local customs, making it a captivating read. The translation by Antonia Lloyd-Jones is faultless, bringing Tokarczuk's voice into English with elegance and humor. While the plot may seem slow-moving at times, it builds to a satisfying conclusion with a few twists. The novel also pokes fun at chauvinistic and misogynistic views, making it a thought-provoking read.

Quick quotes

    In general one should recognise that with regard to therapy, a sojourn in places including Merano in the Tyrol, Görbersdorf in Silesia, or Davos in Switzerland (modeled on Görbersdorf) is considered the most effective cure to date.

    Once awake, Wojnicz immediately set about writing a message to his father to reassure him. It was a matter of a few simple words, yet he didn’t find it easy; his forearm felt numb and weak. So he focused all his attention on his hand, as it ran the pencil tip across a sheet of cream-colored paper in a leather-bound notebook. We find this movement fascinating, we like it. It reminds us of the winding lines and spiral flourishes that earthworms bore underground, and that weevils carve into tree trunks.

    I can console you, gentlemen. Scientific research has demonstrated that the female brain functions entirely differently, and even has a different structure,” said Walter Frommer. “Above all it is a question of size. and also the convexity of different spheres. Where the will is located in men, in women we have desire. Where men have an understanding of numbers and structures in general, in women there is motherhood —

nosycrow.com · Unknown · 2025-04-10
intriguing 4.50

The review discusses Olga Tokarczuk's novel 'The Empusium,' a reimagining of Thomas Mann's 'The Magic Mountain.' The reviewer highlights Tokarczuk's skill in blending fact and fiction, her critique of misogyny, and the novel's eerie, logical conclusion. The setting in Görbersdorf adds a unique historical context.

Olga Tokarczuk's 'The Empusium' is a bold reimagining of Thomas Mann's 'The Magic Mountain,' set in Görbersdorf, a village in Lower Silesia. The reviewer praises Tokarczuk's ability to seamlessly interweave fact and fiction, creating a rich historical backdrop. The novel's protagonist, Mieczyslaw Wojnicz, navigates a world filled with misogyny and supernatural threats, culminating in a logical yet shattering conclusion. The reviewer notes the novel's eerie atmosphere and the intense, often incoherent discussions among the characters, fueled by a local liqueur. The setting and themes add a unique perspective to the classic tale.

Quick quotes

    It is vanishingly rare for Nobel literature laureates from different centuries to be subject to such long-term interactions.

    The world around him feels like stage scenery painted on a paper screen.

    Everything but language is bestial and indiscriminate.

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