Her latest work, 'The Books of Jacob,' was published in her native Poland eight years ago.
Assembling a timeline of for Olga Tokarczuk’s fiction requires some diligence. Her “new” book — released in the States last November — is “The Books of Jacob.” But Tokarczuk published the book in her native Poland eight years ago.
She started translating small swaths of the book. But because of the way the industry works, Croft’s work wasn’t simply getting the book into English. Translators often must also serve as a book’s advocate. The process for Croft included applying for grants to do her work. She also served as its representative, trying to get publishers in the U.K. and U.S. interested in the work.
“Intricate things can change everything, and little details add up,” Croft says. “They can reshape the way the reader thinks about the book.” Another native Houstonian, Frances Riddle, spent years studying Spanish in Argentina. She has now translated a pair of novels by Isabel Allende, including the new “Violeta.”
Croft calls “The Books of Jacob” “by far her most ambitious work.” It has much on its mind, working thematically with topics like faith, borders and language. The book is also teeming with illness. “I appreciate that she never tries to get inside his head,” Croft says. “You see this multiplicity of points of view. I think it speaks to our current era, with these charismatic people on the political stage. It’s an example of these types of characters existing hundreds of years ago.”