In "Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead" by Olga Tokarczuk, the story revolves around Janina Duszejko, an elderly woman living in a rural Polish village near the Czech border. The novel combines elements of a murder mystery with philosophical musings, astrology, and a deep connection to nature. Janina, an eccentric and opinionated character, becomes convinced that the deaths of hunters in her town are the result of animals seeking revenge, leading to a unique exploration of justice, grief, and the human condition. The writing style is described as quirky, reflective, and lyrical, with a touch of dark humor and elements of magical realism woven into the narrative.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include animal cruelty, murder, and themes of death and existentialism.
From The Publisher:
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
"A brilliant literary murder mystery." -Chicago Tribune
"Extraordinary. Tokarczuk's novel is funny, vivid, dangerous, and disturbing, and it raises some fierce questions about human behavior. My sincere admiration for her brilliant work." -Annie Proulx
In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind . . .
A deeply satisfying thriller cum fairy tale, Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead is a provocative exploration of the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, autonomy and fate. Whom do we deem sane? it asks. Who is worthy of a voice?
Ratings (45)
Incredible (8) | |
Loved It (15) | |
Liked It (11) | |
It Was OK (6) | |
Did Not Like (4) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (94):
Read It (44) | |
Currently Reading (3) | |
Want To Read (40) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (6) |
1 comment(s)
This book has one of the best protagonists I've ever read the thoughts of. The layers of "crazy old lady" going on in here to make you so unsure if she is or is not actually "crazy" is intense and interesting, and at times hilarious.
Plot is slow but they mystery is so covert and misleading that I didn't have an inkling on who the culprit was until the last minute and the ending was so chaotically good and subversive to genre stereotypes. I loved it.
And just for the audiobook. Beata as a narrator is DIVINE. Highly suggest listening to it as it adds a great element of immersion to it.
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Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead?
About the Author:
Olga Tokarczuk has won the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Man Book International Prize, among many other honors. She is the author of a dozen works of fiction, two collections of essays, and a children's book; her work has…
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