Critical reception
The review aggregator website Book Marks reported that 53% of critics gave the book a "rave" review, whilst the other 47% of the critics expressed "positive" impressions, based on a sample of 19 reviews.[13]
Kirkus Reviews stated that the book was "a welcome introduction to a major author and a pleasure for fans of contemporary European literature."[14] The Guardian described it as "extraordinary" and "a passionate and enchantingly discursive plea for meaningful connectedness".[15] Tokarczuk's writing in Flights has been compared to that of W. G. Sebald,[15] Milan Kundera,[15] and László Krasznahorkai, among others.[16] Parul Sehgal of The New York Times said of Tokarczuk's narrator that she is "coolly evasive in the way of Rachel Cusk’s heroine in the Outline trilogy".
Awards and accolades
In 2008, the Polish version of the book won the Nike Award, Poland's highest literary award.[17]
In 2018, the English translation of the book won the Man Booker International Prize. Summarising the decision of the judges' panel, its chair, Lisa Appignanesi, said "we loved the voice of the narrative – it’s one that moves from wit and gleeful mischief to real emotional texture and has the ability to create character very quickly, with interesting digression and speculation."[4][18]
