Name: DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD.
ISBN: 9781913097059

OLGA. TOKARCZUK

DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD.

This is the first time I’ve read a book that mixes a murder mystery with such an existential and moral crisis, while also weaving in animal rights, environmentalism, and this sharp, quiet kind of rage.

I really liked the main character. She's eccentric, unshakable in her principles, and with a way of observing the world that’s both sharp and oddly tender. She notices the smallest quirks in people, yet also takes a deeply personal view of nature and animals.

The mystery itself feels so obvious, but what makes this book remarkable is the motive.  The moral weight and quiet fury behind the crime, and what it says about justice, compassion, and the world we choose to see or ignore.

This is the first time I’ve read a book that mixes a murder mystery with such an existential and moral crisis, while also weaving in animal rights, environmentalism, and this sharp, quiet kind of rage.

I really liked the main character. She's eccentric, unshakable in her principles, and with a way of observing the world that’s both sharp and oddly tender. She notices the smallest quirks in people, yet also takes a deeply personal view of nature and animals.

The mystery itself feels so obvious, but what makes this book remarkable is the motive.  The moral weight and quiet fury behind the crime, and what it says about justice, compassion, and the world we choose to see or ignore.

so it turns out that it's not genre-fiction that I dislike, it's genre-fiction written by writers who have no care for language—Tocarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is the most satisfying, clever, hilarious whodunnit I have ever read. Tocarczuk's voice is persuasive and playful; I love a novel that does an unreliable narrator and a plot twist deliciously, bonus points if they can get me to care about subjects I typically can't be bothered with. this text was snappy and wise and so intentional. not a single careless moment here; somehow still a political, eco-feminist novel, despite essentially wearing the skin of a murder mystery. all that remains to be said is: I love you janina and I too would have done the same 

biddy

This was just an absolutely stunning read. Despite being labelled as a mystery fiction book, I'd say this is actually more literary fiction with mystery sprinkled in, but either way it was very gripping and it held me the whole way through. 

This novel is quite serious, it explores subjects relating to disability, conservatism, age and specifically the treatment of older generations, religion and general discrimination of those who do not have traditional ideals. Despite these serious elements, it was at times a rather humorous read and it was a lovely break from the harsher nature of the writing and in my opinion, very well timed within it. 

Mrs. Duszejko was such a forceful character in all the best ways, pulling you into her view and forcing your head in the direction of seeing her exact worldview which was utterly brilliant when it comes to gripping a readers interest. She was also interesting in the sense of portraying what life is like to live with a chronic illness, and how her vegetarianism impacts her life and how she sees the world and the people living within it - even how the way these people interact with the nature around them forms her opinions of them. 

This book is absolutely riddled with humanity and even without great in depth monologues of Mrs Juszejko's emotions, it was easy to find yourself empathising and feeling all her love, sorrow, joy and anger alongside her. Her fascination with the cosmos and how astrology maps out a persons life was such an interesting component of her life, and as someone who does not believe in astrology, it was so riveting to read and understanding her justifications for these beliefs was rather compelling, too.

The writing itself was absolutely stunning, Tokarczuk has such an amazing mind and understanding of the world around us, and Lloyd-Jones has done such a beautiful job with her translation I cannot help but be incredibly grateful for her doing this so an entirely new audience can enjoy this also.

I think my only gripes with the book is that it was first person, and she uses apostrophes instead of quotation marks for speech. This gave me a slower start than I would have liked, but once I had managed to get over these little problems - which are entirely personal preferences when it comes to the literature I read - it was just one of the best books I think I have ever read.

iris may

This was just an absolutely stunning read. Despite being labelled as a mystery fiction book, I'd say this is actually more literary fiction with mystery sprinkled in, but either way it was very gripping and it held me the whole way through. 

This novel is quite serious, it explores subjects relating to disability, conservatism, age and specifically the treatment of older generations, religion and general discrimination of those who do not have traditional ideals. Despite these serious elements, it was at times a rather humorous read and it was a lovely break from the harsher nature of the writing and in my opinion, very well timed within it. 

Mrs. Duszejko was such a forceful character in all the best ways, pulling you into her view and forcing your head in the direction of seeing her exact worldview which was utterly brilliant when it comes to gripping a readers interest. She was also interesting in the sense of portraying what life is like to live with a chronic illness, and how her vegetarianism impacts her life and how she sees the world and the people living within it - even how the way these people interact with the nature around them forms her opinions of them. 

This book is absolutely riddled with humanity and even without great in depth monologues of Mrs Juszejko's emotions, it was easy to find yourself empathising and feeling all her love, sorrow, joy and anger alongside her. Her fascination with the cosmos and how astrology maps out a persons life was such an interesting component of her life, and as someone who does not believe in astrology, it was so riveting to read and understanding her justifications for these beliefs was rather compelling, too.

The writing itself was absolutely stunning, Tokarczuk has such an amazing mind and understanding of the world around us, and Lloyd-Jones has done such a beautiful job with her translation I cannot help but be incredibly grateful for her doing this so an entirely new audience can enjoy this also.

I think my only gripes with the book is that it was first person, and she uses apostrophes instead of quotation marks for speech. This gave me a slower start than I would have liked, but once I had managed to get over these little problems - which are entirely personal preferences when it comes to the literature I read - it was just one of the best books I think I have ever read.

DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD.

Reviews

Highlights