Flights

FLIGHTS,anovelabouttravelinthetwenty-firstcenturyandhumananatomy,isOlgaTokarczuk'smostambitioustodate.Itinterweavestravelnarrativesandreflectionsontravelwithanin-depthexplorationofthehumanbody,broachinglife,death,motion,andmigration.Fromtheseventeenthcentury,wehavethestoryoftheDutchanatomistPhilipVerheyen,whodissectedanddrewpicturesofhisownamputatedleg.Fromtheeighteenthcentury,wehavethestoryofaNorthAfrican-bornslaveturnedAustriancourtierstuffedandputondisplayafterhisdeath.Inthenineteenthcentury,wefollowChopin'sheartasitmakesthecovertjourneyfromParistoWarsaw.InthepresentwehavethetrialsofawifeaccompanyinghermucholderhusbandasheteachesacourseonacruiseshipintheGreekislands,andtheharrowingstoryofayounghusbandwhosewifeandchildmysteriouslyvanishonaholidayonaCroatianisland.Withhersignaturegraceandinsight,OlgaTokarczukguidesthereaderbeyondthesurfacelayerofmodernityandtowardsthecoreoftheverynatureofhumankind.