The Soul of the Book

Does the book have a soul? Have you ever wondered what the process of creating a book looks like? Have you ever been curious about how a book gets created? An odd and unexpected tale that starts in the the woods and concludes in New York. The narrator of this story, a Fir wishes to be special. But in a tree-filled wilderness, how can one stand out? After being delivered to the factory one day, the tree is chopped into smaller pieces and fed through a chipper where it is further cut into even smaller bits and combined with sawdust from other trees. After that, the mixture is added to a tank of water to soak it. For Fir, this procedure proves to be highly enjoyable as it allows it to take on the shape that best fits it. But eventually, the pulp is compressed and impregnated when the water is drained. What follows then? How will it become a number one bestseller?

Written by an 11-year-old author, winner of Olga Tokarczuk Foundation short story competition.