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The Empusium

A Health Resort Horror Story

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About this listen

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.

©2024 Olga Tokarczuk (P)2024 Penguin Random House LLC Genre Fiction Horror Literary Fiction World Literature

Critic reviews

‘A magnificent writer.’ — Svetlana Alexievich, 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate ‘One among a very few signal European novelists of the past quarter-century.’ — The Economist ‘Olga Tokarczuk’s The Empusium is a richly entertaining, captivating and thought-provoking novel. Despite its acute engagement with The Magic Mountain it’s more Hoffmann than Mann, which works in its favour.’ — David Hayden, author of Darker With the Lights On
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'Run your plough' was rich, surprising and authentic feeling, the Empusium is not. The intriguing setting is underexplored, the characters are flat, their interactions repetitive and the twist is obvious and tired. It's not awful, but it feels like someone trying to copy Olga's style and not quite nailing it.

The choice of narrator was very odd. They do their best, but it's totally at odds with the setting and characters and ends up sounding almost parodic.

Does not live up to her high standards

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