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Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Contemporary LiteratureCrime
Pages
288
Published
2009
Language
English

Synopsis

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?

Prose complexity
6/10

Vibe

DarkThought-ProvokingPhilosophical
Unreliable NarratorMorally GreyRevenge

Genres

Contemporary Literature Crime Literary Fiction Mystery Thriller Fairy Tales Psychological Thriller

About the author

O
Olga Tokarczuk

Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (ur. 29 stycznia 1962 w Sulechowie) – polska pisarka, eseistka, poetka i autorka scenariuszy, psycholożka, laureatka Nagrody Nobla w dziedzinie literatury za rok 2018, laureatka The Man Booker International Prize 2018 za powieść Bieguni oraz dwukrotna laureatka Nagrody Literackiej „Nike” za powieści: Bieguni (2008) i Księgi Jakubowe (2015). ---------- Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk ([tɔˈkart͡ʂuk]; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellect...

Characters

Janina DuszejkoProtagonist
JaninaProtagonist

A reclusive woman in a remote Polish village who studies astrology and William Blake, and inserts herself into a murder investigation.

Big FootSupporting

A neighbor of Janina who is found dead, initiating the murder mystery.

Świętopełk ŚwiersxczyńskiSupporting
The CommandantSupporting
All characters in Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Frequently asked questions

  • Is Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead a real book?

    Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a real book. It was written by Olga Tokarczuk and first published in 2019.

  • What is the book Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead about?

    The book is about Janina, an eccentric woman living in a remote Polish village. She investigates a series of mysterious deaths, believing animals are involved. Her theories are dismissed by the local authorities.

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