The Devil's Workshop by Jchym Topol
A surreal, comic and disturbing novel about the horrors of history, the commodification of the past, and dark edges of the present.
Jáchym Topol cuts through the blur of brutal tragedy and horrific memory with an acerbic sharp edge and the literary know-how of a novelist who more than understands the power of languageStartling, darkly comic, and deeply, deeply moving -- Lee Rourke, author * The Canal *
This is a funny, fabulous, bleak and speedy novel. Anyone who has read W. G. Sebald's Austerlitz would surely find The Devil's Workshop an intriguing counterpart -- Rebecca Gowers, author * The Twisted Heart *
A miracle of compression, its scope greater than ought to be possible for a book of its length. Topol [is] one of the most original and compelling European voices at work today -- Daniel Medin * TLS *
Blending fact and fiction, Topol's darkly comic novel, lucidly translated by Alex Zucker, is a hard-hitting exploration of two nations bedevilled by past horrors -- Lucy Popescu * Independent *
Humour so treacly black it almost chokes you -- Jane Housham * Guardian *
Tautly written and provocative... An intriguing and often disturbing examination of the multifaceted nature of evil... An accomplished and highly assured novel from a writer going from strength to strength and fully deserving of his growing reputation * New Internationalist *
Horrible, repelling, unusual, and very very good... Topol doesn't put a foot wrong... [He] has created something very original, whilst also managing to make the horrors of history relevant to the present day... Brilliant * Bookmunch *
Alex Zucker does a remarkably fine job of conveying Topol's idiosyncratic slang and suggestions of dialect without resorting to affectation... Zucker has brought both sides of Topol, his irony and his sincerity, to us intact -- Madeleine LaRue * Quarterly Conversation *
A blackly comic novel about the Holocaust industry -- John Dugdale * Guardian *
Topol deserves your attention... he conveys verve, intellect, and, beneath the trot of his clipped or galloping prose, tenderness * Pop Matters *
Entertaining and extremely beautiful... An outstanding translation... [Topol is] a master writer * Three Percent *
Full of Gothic horror that frighten[s] you to your senses and make[s] you pay attention to history and its very real scars -- Póló Muirí * Irish Times *
This is a funny, fabulous, bleak and speedy novel. Anyone who has read W. G. Sebald's Austerlitz would surely find The Devil's Workshop an intriguing counterpart -- Rebecca Gowers, author * The Twisted Heart *
A miracle of compression, its scope greater than ought to be possible for a book of its length. Topol [is] one of the most original and compelling European voices at work today -- Daniel Medin * TLS *
Blending fact and fiction, Topol's darkly comic novel, lucidly translated by Alex Zucker, is a hard-hitting exploration of two nations bedevilled by past horrors -- Lucy Popescu * Independent *
Humour so treacly black it almost chokes you -- Jane Housham * Guardian *
Tautly written and provocative... An intriguing and often disturbing examination of the multifaceted nature of evil... An accomplished and highly assured novel from a writer going from strength to strength and fully deserving of his growing reputation * New Internationalist *
Horrible, repelling, unusual, and very very good... Topol doesn't put a foot wrong... [He] has created something very original, whilst also managing to make the horrors of history relevant to the present day... Brilliant * Bookmunch *
Alex Zucker does a remarkably fine job of conveying Topol's idiosyncratic slang and suggestions of dialect without resorting to affectation... Zucker has brought both sides of Topol, his irony and his sincerity, to us intact -- Madeleine LaRue * Quarterly Conversation *
A blackly comic novel about the Holocaust industry -- John Dugdale * Guardian *
Topol deserves your attention... he conveys verve, intellect, and, beneath the trot of his clipped or galloping prose, tenderness * Pop Matters *
Entertaining and extremely beautiful... An outstanding translation... [Topol is] a master writer * Three Percent *
Full of Gothic horror that frighten[s] you to your senses and make[s] you pay attention to history and its very real scars -- Póló Muirí * Irish Times *
JACHYM TOPOL is an award-winning writer who was famous in his youth as an underground poet, songwriter and journalist, and now for writing books that have most successfully and imaginatively captured the dislocation brought about by the fall of Communism. His novels include Gargling with Tar (Portobello, 2010), and Nightworks (forthcoming). The Devil's Workshop won the 2013 English PEN Award for Writing in Translation.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781846274176 |
| ISBN 10 | 1846274176 |
| Title | The Devil's Workshop |
| Author | Jáchym Topol |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Granta Books |
| Year published | 2013-06-06 |
| Number of pages | 160 |
| Prizes | Winner of English PEN Award 2012 (UK) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |