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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Beautiful and slow-paced but too meandering for my taste
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
The August choice for one of my oniine book clubs is "Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead" -- a somewhat quirky/offbeat noir-ish mystery/thriller by Olga Tokarczuk (translated from the original Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones), first published in 2009.
Janina Duszejko leads a reclusive life in a remote corner of Poland near the Czech border, eking out a living by taking care of the summer cottages in the area during the winter months for their wealthy owners in the city, and teaching English one day a week to the local students. She also studies astrology and plots out horoscopes for the people around her, and is helping a former student translate the works of William Blake into Polish. And she's a passionate advocate for vegetarianism, animals and nature. The locals regard her as a bit of a crank, and she's a thorn in the side of the local hunting community.
Then one of Janina's neighbours dies under mysterious circumstances -- and then another, and another. Janina has her own theories about who (or rather what) dunnit -- but can she get anyone to listen to her?
I'll be honest, I didn't quite know what to make of this book or how to rate it -- although there was a lot I liked about it. The writing/translation was vivid and evocative. The setting seemed oddly familiar to me (as a Ukrainian-Canadian who grew up in isolated rural areas with seasonal cottages and harsh winters, often near the U.S.-Canada border -- minus the mountains, lol). And I liked that Janina is a strong, independent, older female character -- although she's rather prickly and might be "difficult" to have around as a neighbour...! (Even so, it was maddening to see the patronizing way she was treated by the local authorities.) People address her as "Mrs. Duszejko" but there's no mention of a a husband. She does talk about her "Little Girls" throughout the book -- and it took me a while to realize she was referring to her dogs, not children.
As an English major at university, I took a course on the Romantic poets, where I remember studying some William Blake -- although I remember very little about it. I did find Janina's random capitalization of certain words (somewhat like a certain U.S. President, unfortunately...!) rather annoying. And while I respect Janina's concern for animal rights and her revulsion for hunters and hunting, and share some of those feelings -- to a point -- I did find her views on the extreme side.
3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 4 stars (after some internal debate...!) on Goodreads.
Janina Duszejko leads a reclusive life in a remote corner of Poland near the Czech border, eking out a living by taking care of the summer cottages in the area during the winter months for their wealthy owners in the city, and teaching English one day a week to the local students. She also studies astrology and plots out horoscopes for the people around her, and is helping a former student translate the works of William Blake into Polish. And she's a passionate advocate for vegetarianism, animals and nature. The locals regard her as a bit of a crank, and she's a thorn in the side of the local hunting community.
Then one of Janina's neighbours dies under mysterious circumstances -- and then another, and another. Janina has her own theories about who (or rather what) dunnit -- but can she get anyone to listen to her?
I'll be honest, I didn't quite know what to make of this book or how to rate it -- although there was a lot I liked about it. The writing/translation was vivid and evocative. The setting seemed oddly familiar to me (as a Ukrainian-Canadian who grew up in isolated rural areas with seasonal cottages and harsh winters, often near the U.S.-Canada border -- minus the mountains, lol). And I liked that Janina is a strong, independent, older female character -- although she's rather prickly and might be "difficult" to have around as a neighbour...! (Even so, it was maddening to see the patronizing way she was treated by the local authorities.) People address her as "Mrs. Duszejko" but there's no mention of a a husband. She does talk about her "Little Girls" throughout the book -- and it took me a while to realize she was referring to her dogs, not children.
As an English major at university, I took a course on the Romantic poets, where I remember studying some William Blake -- although I remember very little about it. I did find Janina's random capitalization of certain words (somewhat like a certain U.S. President, unfortunately...!) rather annoying. And while I respect Janina's concern for animal rights and her revulsion for hunters and hunting, and share some of those feelings -- to a point -- I did find her views on the extreme side.
3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 4 stars (after some internal debate...!) on Goodreads.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading a translated book is always a treat. The voice is so interesting every time. That being said, it wasn't my fave, objectively (read: subjectively) speaking. Goodreads tells me that if I really liked a book, I can give it four stars. I just kind of liked it, but I'm generous, so we can do four.
I really don't like "testosterone autism." I thought literally every other theory in the book was hilarious and/or fascinating but not that one, for which I am removing half a star.
This puts this book at 3.5 stars, which I will round down, because math is fake and 3 stars feels right.
Total score: 3/5 stars
I really don't like "testosterone autism." I thought literally every other theory in the book was hilarious and/or fascinating but not that one, for which I am removing half a star.
This puts this book at 3.5 stars, which I will round down, because math is fake and 3 stars feels right.
Total score: 3/5 stars
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A profoundly evocative and complex novel, which leans comfortably on ancient ideas and raises questions of the tensions between them and modern faith and politics, all within a brilliantly twisting and thrilling narrative.
DNF at 25%… because the title > the actual book. Sadly, the more I read the less interested I am.
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
good for her!!!
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes