The Empusium – a strange sort of novel set in a sanitorium, health resort town in the early 20th century with a mysterious, plural-voiced ghost-like narration – is a tricky book to describe. I like Tokarczuk’s work quite a lot – the weird, unnerving-ness of it, the way she plays with language, the creepy fairy tale aspects she draws on, and the Eastern European cultures that she splits open. The Empusium fits in with all of this and though I wouldn’t say it was my favourite of hers, I think it’s overall very effective. It lacks the more clearcut structure and mystery of Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead and the intense historical, cultural knowledge of The Books of Jacob and so in comparison, I did find myself slightly disappointed here. At the same time, if I read this book from almost any other author, I know I’d be impressed.
Mieczyslaw Wojnicz is a young engineering student ( specializing in sanitation) who has arrived in the village of Gorbersdorf to stay at a famed sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. He is staying at the Guesthouse for Gentlemen, slightly removed from the main kurhaus, along with a motley crew of other patients, all in varying stages of illness. Wojnicz is an awkward, uncertain young man, one we quickly learn has been raised by a domineering father, and who is very sensitive to the atmosphere around him. When Wojnicz witnesses something startling on his first day at the Guesthouse, we quickly learn that this place may not be as it seems and the sense of unease steadily grows.
Wojnicz’s days at sanatorium quickly follow a pattern. He visits the doctor, he and the other patients go for walks in the woods, he rests. In the evenings, they gather together at the Guesthouse and drink a liquer made from hallucinogenic mushrooms and discuss their great ideas. These ideas range from fairly standard (for the time) views on communism and language, to extremely repugnant views on women. There are very few women about, both in the story itself and apparently in this village. While Wojnicz sees a few women here and there, the separation of the patients and the villagers means he is almost entirely surrounded by men.
Truthfully, the novel sags for a while in the middle. Tokarczuk does an excellent job at setting the scene, establishing the sense of time, tone, and location. She steadily draws the characters so that they were easy to picture and to know their various attitudes and ideas, without feeling like the exposition was being laid on too thick. There is a growing sense of the ominous as Wojnicz ventures out into the forest and begins to witness more and more unusual things. Yet once this is all established, it felt like this part went on a little too long. There are a lot of really repugnant, misogynistic views expressed by some of the characters – enough that I began to feel like I was reading a book written by a misogynist. (Interestingly, Tokarczuk includes an author’s note at the end to state specifically which famous figures and writers she drew these ideas from.)
It was at this point that I headed to Goodreads to scan some reviews and see if I should stick with The Empusium. I really wanted to but also felt like I needed a push to say, This will be worth it. I read there that there was a twist in the final third that provided the payoff for this sagging section. So I kept reading and I’m glad I did. I’ll be honest, the twist was not shocking to me. Almost as soon as I read that there was a twist, it was clear to me what that twist would be. I don’t think this took anything from the story though. Instead, it opened up the story and the situation that I thought I was witnessing was not what was really going on.
I’m not sure if this review will convince you to read The Empusium or even if that’s what I’m trying to do. If you are new to Tokarczuk’s work, this isn’t the spot I’d recommend starting. (I’d go with Drive Your Plough.) If you’ve read and enjoyed her work before, then I think The Empusium has enough here that her readers will appreciate. I’ll certainly keep reading any future work from her.
(Note: This novel apparently draws a lot of inspiration from and refers to The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. I haven’t read this book so I can’t speak to that but it’s definitely possible I’ve missed out on an important part of the novel because of that. I do think even in a referential novel like The Empusium, you should be able to read the novel without the reference material but I expect that are greater angles that I could have gotten from this if I knew Mann’s work.)
Karissa Reads Books 
Gotta read Drive Your Plow. I’ve never read any Tokarczuk and it’s a massive oversight.
It’s very good! It’s a tricky one to fit in any one genre but that’s part of the appeal.
I enjoyed your review, and it is so good to hear that this is another good one from Tokarczuk, though I agree with you that few things can beat Drive Your Plough. I know you mention it as a minor detail, but characters who drink drinks made from hallucinogenic mushroom sound appealing to me because I love something unusual like that in plot. Though, unfortunately, as you put in your note, it is very likely that The Empusium will annoy me just because there are so many similarities between it and The Magic Mountain, which I consider one of the greatest books ever. It is also funny how most book blurb state that such and such a book is “for the fans of”…I think such “book-inspirations” are precisely what true fans of these classics fear the most in this life.
Drive Your Plough is so excellent that it’s hard for Tokarczuk to live up to her own work. Hopefully this story is only enhanced for a reader who knows The Magic Mountain. I felt like there was a bit I was missing out on by not having read that one yet but I do know what you mean. It can be dangerous to have readers comparing your book to a great classic!
I’ve always meant to read Drive Your Plow and just never gotten around to it, I think I would like the whole uneasy atmosphere she sets up. The premise of this book interests me too, but it sounds like I need to start elsewhere!
Do you think you would have approached the whole book differently if the note about the author drawing on personality traits of famous misogynistic men was at the beginning instead of the end?
For this book, no, but that’s a good question. I’ve read Tokarczuk before and felt like I could trust her. To be completely honest, it made a difference that she is a woman writing these things from the mouth of a male character. I’m not sure I would have extended as much benefit of the doubt to a male author. As well, some of the most ridiculous opinions expressed were ones I’d read before, like the idea of hysteria in a woman being because her uterus is floating around inside of her. So I knew Tokarczuk wasn’t just making stuff up to be awful but was drawing on real misogynistic ideas in history.
Can you imagine saying, “Ugh, my uterus is in my boob today”? lol
Peter and I joke about this a lot actually. If I’m complaining about pain somewhere, he’ll ask if my uterus has floated over there!
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I enjoyed this one but didn’t love it. I will try some of her others because she can really write – her prose at times is incredible. I picked it up because of the connection with Magic Mountain (one of my favorite books). I guess you could say Empusium is ‘in conversation with’ MM, but reading MM is definitely not required. In fact, I’m not quite sure if my love of MM actually lessened my enjoyment Empusium, if that makes sense. On the flip side, MM laid so much foundation for the setting and general vibe, I wonder if the novel would seem thin to those who hadn’t read MM.
I’ve yet to read Magic Mountain and I do think there are layers to this book I missed by not knowing MM. But it’s always tricky when an author draws you to make a comparison between their book and a classic work.
I only read a book of hers (well, almost). It was a book of short stories, very enjoyable–but then I started other books and didn’t finish the Tokarczuk one. This Empusium sounds very intriguing to me. I’ll order it online soon. Thanks for a great review!
I don’t think I’ve read any of her short stories. I like her work a lot but I tried reading her book Flights and couldn’t finish it. I hope you enjoy this one if you end up reading it!
It was fine but didn’t live up to its subtitle or her previous work. It’s more of a polemic than a novel.
Yeah, it wasn’t my favourite of her work. That title probably belongs to the Book of Jacob.