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A review by ulanur
Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Set in a remote Polish village, an old eccentric woman lives in relative isolation. The tone is perfectly encapsulated in the first line: “I am already at an age and additionally in a state where I must always wash my feet thoroughly before bed, in the event of having to be removed by an ambulance in the Night.”
She is reclusive, spending her time observing the stars to making horoscopes, and reading Blake. She loves the company of Animlas more than humans and abhorres the hunting that her neighbours practice. One day, her neighbour Oddball (she names people to suit their true selves instead of using the meaningless names they carry) comes over to tell her another one of their neighbours is dead, so naturally they go over and change him into a suit before calling the police. As more people start dying, she gets caught in a series of investigations. But this is not a conventional crime/murder mystery story. It's described as an existential thriller in the synopsis, which is such a perfect descriptor, but I would amend that to existential feminist vegetarian dark comedy noir.
Janina (who hates her name because it doesn't suit her) is often melancholic, suffers from chronic illness (her Ailments), and is very preoccupied with the Practical and the Sentimental. Tokarczuk discusses themes like injustice, morality, animal rights, hypocrisy, and traditional religious beliefs. Every page was thought provoking and exquisitely written and translated.
One of the best books I've ever read 🌬️
She is reclusive, spending her time observing the stars to making horoscopes, and reading Blake. She loves the company of Animlas more than humans and abhorres the hunting that her neighbours practice. One day, her neighbour Oddball (she names people to suit their true selves instead of using the meaningless names they carry) comes over to tell her another one of their neighbours is dead, so naturally they go over and change him into a suit before calling the police. As more people start dying, she gets caught in a series of investigations. But this is not a conventional crime/murder mystery story. It's described as an existential thriller in the synopsis, which is such a perfect descriptor, but I would amend that to existential feminist vegetarian dark comedy noir.
Janina (who hates her name because it doesn't suit her) is often melancholic, suffers from chronic illness (her Ailments), and is very preoccupied with the Practical and the Sentimental. Tokarczuk discusses themes like injustice, morality, animal rights, hypocrisy, and traditional religious beliefs. Every page was thought provoking and exquisitely written and translated.
One of the best books I've ever read 🌬️