Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

A Novel

De: Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones - translator

Narrado por: Beata Pozniak

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

"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?

Fantastic murder mystery

The author’s obvious brilliance and depth shines in her novel. The plot is excellent and keeps you engaged throughout. The final presentation brings all the elements back together in a final twist that leaves you juxtaposed between justice, admiration, and the darker side of our psyche.
Her specific ties to Blake offer a level of existential consideration. The elements of modern struggles political right wing views, the fight for rights of women and animals and the constant push and pull of natural order and religion are all presented beautifully woven together in the story leaving you pondering long after you’ve put it down.
I will re-read it again very soon- fully excited to glean more and more each time.
Brilliant!

Did I miss the point?

I discovered something with this book - when I struggle with a book I tend to set up my reviews as pros and cons rather than a reflection on the writing and it's impact on me.
Pros:
Characters were well conceived and unique individuals.
Setting had a lovely atmospheric quality.
Engaging title which offers opportunity for reflection on how it ties into the story.
Interesting bits about borders and limits and edges.
Cons:
No real character development in the story although there are revelations about characters.
Book's main character has an obsession with astrology which takes up a considerable portion of the book. Many times I learn something from books when they are steeped in something I am unfamiliar with, but I learned nothing from this discourse. Maybe that was the point?
I felt like I was probably missing context by not having any familiarity with either astrology or Blake, but neither did I feel motivated enough to do any research on either subject.
The book blurb implies that this is a murder mystery, but I don't feel it was successful on that count. There was little doubt about who the killer was and little doubt about the reason behind the murders.

The book feels more like a character study than a murder mystery. If I look at it in that vein, then the book becomes a bit more intriguing, but ultimately I just felt no connection with the main character. I got to the end and thought - what was that? There are some main takeaway themes which the reader is hit over the head with - no subtlety there, but I am left feeling that this was a quirky read where I may have entirely missed the point.

Different, delightful performance

I love the main character and the voice of the performer. This is one of my favorite audio books because it is so different and thought provoking.

Unique voice and plot

Initially I must admit I didn’t care for the pace of the narration, but I ran it at 1.3x speed and that worked well for me. It is a very character driven piece, with enough mystery to keep one involved. If you like mysteries with unique settings, this is well worth the read.

Excellent!

I have to say that there is nothing I didn't like about this book. The reader was perfect for the work and the story was riveting from the beginning for me. While I had a sneaking suspicion about the ending, I was surprised nonetheless. I would recommend this wholeheartedly.