Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Tokarczuk, Olga, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Tokarczuk, Olga, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Tokarczuk, Olga
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	Due 05-11-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	Due 05-21-2024
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	Due 05-24-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	Due 05-02-2024
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	Due 05-17-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Tokarczuk, Olga	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024

Now pay attention -- Testosterone autism -- Perpetual light -- 999 deaths -- A light in the rain -- Trivia and banalities -- A speech to a poodle -- Uranus in Leo -- The largest in the smallest -- Cucujus haematodes -- The singing of the bats -- The vengeful beast -- The night archer -- The fall -- Saint Hubert -- The photograph -- The damsel.
Finalist for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize. 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, and autonomy and fate. 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 . . .

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Book submitted by Clown81 on August 31, 2019, 8:21pm Don't.

Excellent! submitted by AGAPHD on June 20, 2020, 10:20pm A fascinating meditation on our relationship to the environment and communities. Highly recommended!

Quirky lead character and fun twists and turns! submitted by jaromatorio on July 24, 2020, 11:24am Had I not felt such a deep affinity for the narrator of “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” I don’t know that I would’ve loved it as much as I did because-I’m gonna be honest here-it was weird.

The story is told by the aging, eccentric Janina Duszejko, whose neighbors in her remote Polish village begin dying gruesome deaths, one by one. Ms. Duszejko (who HATES to be called Janina) is an amateur astrologer, fledgling Blake translator, and ardent lover of all animals, and is absolutely convinced that the creatures of the area are taking revenge on their human neighbors by brutally murdering them. She is absolutely batty, but in my opinion, a total delight.

The book is a little bit thriller, a touch more mystery, but is primarily the philosophical musings of this well-meaning but sort of nuts old woman. Though it may not be for everyone, I absolutely adored “Drive Your Plows Over the Bones of the Dead”, and if you’re looking for something a little different (some philosophy! a mystery with a lil twist(ish) ending!) I would absolutely recommend it!

nicenice submitted by angie. on July 30, 2021, 2:54pm nicenice

Not what I expected submitted by KatieD on August 17, 2021, 3:02pm Someone told me this book is magical realism, which it really isn't. Nevertheless, I found myself really enjoying the story and connecting with the characters. Unlike other stories which have life as the backdrop of a mystery, this book has mystery as the backdrop of life. The story is mostly about Janina Duszejko's day to day interactions with other people and animals and her inner musings and thoughts. I would definitely recommend reading it if you're looking for something a bit different!