Paperback, 274 pages
Published Oct. 18, 2019 by Fitzcarraldo Editions.
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?
4.5 stars
A compelling story and intriguing story about injustice, animal rights, feminism, corruption and hypocrisy, especially in traditional religion. Tokarczuk writing is distinctive and original, dark and witty, and Antonia Lloyd-Jones has done a remarkable job in capturing the sensitive and melancholic prose in the English translation.
Purchasable
https://www.ebooks.com/en-ca/book/209541808/drive-your-plow-over-the-bones-of-the-dead/olga-tokarczuk/.