Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

18 reviews

chloeam3103's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, and Blood

jstilts's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn't know what genre this book was, and I really highly recommend going into this thoughtful, funny, slightly unhinged book without even reading the back cover - nor in fact any more of my review!

The book follows Duszejko - an elderly Polish lady - living remotely enough that in winter she only has two neighbours, and makes an income from keeping watch on and maintaining the houses of those that can't stand to live there in the colder seasons. She spends her time looking after the local wildlife, railing against hunters and poachers, translating Blake into Polish, and researching the horoscope in all sorts of unusual ways.

One morning one of her two neighbours discovers the other dead, and as they tend to the corpse Duszejko becomes convinced he was murdered by the very animals he hunted.

This surprising book reads almost as a stream-of-conciousness from a narrator that is not so much unreliable as mildly out of touch with reality. 

Her worldview is disarmingly cosy and endearing, sometimes heartbreaking, and it's so wonderful to follow her unusual trains of thought - not just of her life but the very mechanics of existence itself - that it's easy to forget that Duszejko's state of mind is probably unhealthy, especially as she rarely if ever seems to be in anything approaching peril.

At once both relaxing and compelling, I honestly didn't want this book to end - but the terrible truths being laid out were done so with such verve it had me laughing in glee at the audaciousness of the author.
Highly recommended!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Animal death, and Death

egle_va's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“…I realized that sorrow is an important word for defining the world. It lies at the foundations of everything, it is the fifth element, the quintessence.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Animal cruelty, and Grief

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

dark funny slow-paced

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

4.0

As the main character and narrator of this darkly funny novel, Mrs. Duszejko steals the show.  A fierce old woman who lives alone in a house on a remote Polish plateau, she has a big personality as an eccentric astrologer, vegetarian, non-Catholic, and translator of William Blake.  She patrols the area surrounding her home daily and has a few, select friends.  After her neighbor, “Bigfoot,” is found dead, a series of deaths unfolds, but no one will hear her theories about stags and stars.  Ultimately, this is a story of a woman in a significant amount of grief.  Beata Poźniak’s narration is exemplary—just perfect.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, and Death

Minor: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Medical content

rusina's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Sexism, Chronic illness, and Death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, and Blood

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Grief, Confinement, and Gore

Minor: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Medical content, and Vomit

thebechdelbitch's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow. I absolutely loved this book. I was completely taken in by the main character, who I found extremely lovable despite the

y'know, murder

and I found imagery of animals and animal death to be tragically beautiful. 

It reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived In the Castle (another favourite of mine) in the rituals and idiosyncrasies of its narrators, both of whom believe that outside forces (astrology, magic) will save them. Both narratives never fully decide whether they are right or wrong. 

I'd recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quirky and fun narrator/narrative style, with something extremely dark under the surface.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, and Gore

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Misogyny

Minor: Medical content

tjwolf's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

bedtimesnack's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Animal death

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Ableism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Child death, Fatphobia, Confinement, and Sexism

noahfence's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

yeah, so. prepare to enter the world of janina duszejko. like, really prepare. its not for the faint of heart.

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. 🤭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Chronic illness, Medical content, Sexism, Cursing, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny