House of Day, House of Night
2004 Shortlist

House of Day, House of Night

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

The town of Nowa Ruda and its surrounding countryside is a place of shifting identities. Polish now, it has been German, Czech and Austro-Hungarian among other nationalities in the past. Here, at the heart of Europe, where borders move and languages and their speakers come and go, ordinary lives are not as simple as they appear. When the narrator and her husband settle in the area, she soon discovers that the locals all have their secrets. With the help of Marta, her enigmatic elderly neighbour, she gathers their stories, moving back and forth in time and between truth and myth, disentangling the events of their days from the dreams of their nights.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Olga
Tokarczuk

Olga Tokarczuk is the author of nine novels, three short story collections and has been translated into more than fifty languages. Her novel Flights won the 2018 International Booker Prize, in Jennifer Croft’s translation. She is the recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. House of Day, House of Night is her fifth novel to appear in English with Fitzcarraldo Editions.

Olga Tokarczuk is the author of nine novels, three short story collections and has been translated into more than fifty languages. Her novel Flights won the 2018 International Booker Prize, in Jennifer Croft’s translation. She is the recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. House of Day, House of Night is her fifth novel to appear in English with Fitzcarraldo Editions.

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Antonia
Lloyd-Jones

Antonia Lloyd-Jones has translated works by many of Poland’s leading contemporary novelists and reportage authors, as well as crime fiction, poetry and children’s books. Her translation of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk was shortlisted for the 2019 International Booker Prize.

Antonia Lloyd-Jones has translated works by many of Poland’s leading contemporary novelists and reportage authors, as well as crime fiction, poetry and children’s books. Her translation of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk was shortlisted for the 2019 International Booker Prize.

RELATED FEATURES

News November 19 2025

2026 Nominations Revealed

69 titles have been nominated by 80 libraries from 36 countries for the 2026 Award
News November 19 2025

2026 Dublin Literary Award Judges Announced

Meet our judging panel for 2026 Dublin Literary Award
Video May 26 2025

2025 Dublin Literary Award Winner in Conversation

Winning author Michael Crummey in conversation with Madeleine Keane at the International Literature Festival Dublin.
News May 23 2025

2025 Dublin Literary Award Winner Revealed

Discover this year's winner!

STAY CONNECTED

Stay in touch and sign up to our newsletter to receive all the latest news and updates on the Dublin Literary Award.