Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

i have never read anything quite like this book. it is a story that will question your perception of madness, animals, astrology and religion—and you will probably finish it with a very different view of the world.

the plot follows the story of the sickly, elderly woman janina duszejko and her life in a lonely polish village on the border of the czech republic. the book drags you along on her investigation into the strange, unsettling murders of several members of the town’s hunting society, filling you with intrigue, awe—and perhaps horror, depending on your attitude towards animals. do you treat them like they have souls, or not? are you willing to face their wrath?

drive your plow over the bones of the dead is everything i could ever ask for in a book. the weather is strange, the animals are vengeful, the stars are sentient. it is a beautifully dark exploration into feminism, animal rights and murder, and although at first it may just seem like the story of a lonely old women, the prose grips you by the throat and really doesn’t let you go. you will come away from the book wondering if your horoscope could show you how you will die, and if you should really continue eating meat.

drive your plow over the bones of the dead is a deliciously dark read. so go on—take the plunge. 🤭

Content Warnings

ramreadsagain's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A great work of literary mystery eco-fiction. I was intimidated by this book at first as it’s won so many prizes but once you get used to the narration and flow it was really easy to read.

I enjoyed the plot, and the main character was written so vividly. Really liked the mystery too, and how it developed.

Also super recommend for vegans and/or people into astrology.

My only complaint is that, while the plot was engrossing, it never really evoked any emotions from me.

Content Warnings

basonok's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I lost track of the plot of the book midway through. I wanted to like this book but ableist and fatphobic commentaries ruined the book for me. I could see the author’s background in psychology possibly seeping into the writing, but it was in such an ignorant and irresponsible way towards neurodivergence and mental illnesses. While attempting to make a social commentary on the value of certain age groups, people with chronic illnesses and other groups in society, it was written poorly in my opinion and had at times the opposite effect in devaluing the appearance, mannerisms, and capabilities of other characters in the story (especially those not in the main character’s friend group).

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horizonous's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Great sense of place, interesting main character, but I just didn't care about the horoscope passages or William Blake's poetry and to me it was also very obvious where the story is going. However, this won't be my last book by Olga Tokarczuk.

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cecim17's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

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nabila99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

there aren't enough audacious, passionate, idiosyncratic, philosophical, and simply unhinged older ladies in literature! it was such a delight being in our protagonist's world, despite the astrological jargon completely flying over my head. what a gorgeously written, poignant, atmospheric, story (def would classify this as a character study rather than a thriller, although it was truly a kick when

the final few chapters of the book finally furthered the plot and the unreliable narration!

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clarabooksit's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

While this isn’t a go-to genre for me, I liked the many threads to this story and how Tokarczuk wove them together. There’s a lot of good story and character crafting here. However, the ending ruined it for me:

not only was it predictable, but the lengthy, detailed description of exactly how and why the murderer killed the people they did was unnecessary and annoying. There are enough layers to the story that just a brief reveal of why they did it would’ve brought the threads together nicely, no need to spoon-feed the reader.

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bookish_wanderer's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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