77 pages 2 hours read

Olga Tokarczuk

The Books of Jacob

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Part 3, Chapters 13-15

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “The Book of the Road”

Part 3, Chapter 13 Summary

The travelers are smuggled into Poland by a Turkish man named Saakadze. Crossing from Turkey into Poland is prohibited “due to the plague” (654) and the nearby village is largely deserted. When purchasing food for the group, Nahman exaggerates his stories. He has a “propensity for exaggeration” (652). Spies track Jacob’s journey. He visits his sick and bedridden grandmother, Yente. The local people are worried about his insistence that “breaking the old laws is necessary” (649). He preaches about assembling a new religion from parts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jacob’s preaching is not always understood or appreciated but his following grows as he moves from village to village. His male followers show their appreciation by offering up their wives, sisters, or daughters to share Jacob’s bed. Jacob calls his religion “the faith of the Holy Trinity” (645) and he preaches about the end of the world, but the rich and comfortable listeners are less inclined to believe him.

Jacob recruits two female guardians: A girl from Busk and a self-proclaimed descendent of a “Polish princess” (643) named Gitla accompany him everywhere. Jacob and Gitla become particularly close, though she annoys many people.

Related Titles

By Olga Tokarczuk

Study Guide

logo

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Olga Tokarczuk

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Olga Tokarczuk

Study Guide

logo

Flights

Olga Tokarczuk, Transl. Jennifer Croft

Flights

Olga Tokarczuk, Transl. Jennifer Croft