Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk, Riverhead Books, 2019, 274 pp (originally published by Wydawnictwo Literackie, Krakow, Poland, 2009; translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.)
When I reviewed Poland by James Michener, I mentioned two books I planned to read by Polish authors. This is one of them and is the third novel I have read by Olga Tokarczuk. She is my favorite Polish author.
"Drive your plow over the bones of the dead" is a line from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Janina, protagonist of this novel, has many interests, one of which is working with a friend to translate William Blake into Polish.
If all of that sound obscure and scholarly, the novel is anything but. Instead it is a murder mystery, even a thriller. Men in Janina's village are turning up dead. It looks like murder but the police are not doing much to apprehend any suspects. Janina's attempts to provide evidence in the form of letters to the police chief are almost comical, making her appear to be an aging crank who is possibly losing touch with reality.
Her voice as the first person narrator of the story is unmistakable. "I am already at an age and additionally in a state where I must always wash my feet thoroughly before bed, in the event of having to be removed by ambulance in the Night." She despises her given name and has "afflictions" that can send her to bed for days. I can relate to that!
She is also an accomplished astrologer and does the charts of everyone she knows by which she predicts what will happen to them. When she is well she has incredible energy and strength. Her escapades in the village bring the sense of a small 21st century Polish town on the Czech border to life.
I won't say more because I would certainly spoil it for future readers. I found it all so entertaining with unique characters, some of whom reminded me of my interactions with New Age friends and my own past as a nonconformist hippy.
This is the third novel I have read by Tokarczuk, winner of the Man Booker International Prize and the Nobel Prize. Her latest novel, The Books of Jacob, historical fiction featuring a Polish Jew who claimed to be the Messiah, is due in English in early 2022. I can hardly wait.
That's a wonderfully evocative title.
ReplyDeleteThe title always called to me. When I found out it was from William Blake, it made sense.
DeleteYour review does thorough justice to this cleverly devised book. A new book by Tokarczuk early next year is something to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dorothy!
DeleteI'd like to read Tokarczuk and this sounds like a good place to start.
ReplyDeleteIt would be an excellent place to start.
DeleteWhat a great review and what you said made me smile and made me want to know more. I've had the audio for a while now so I'll be curious - I'm hoping the narrator will do a great job.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Diane. I am thrilled that I made you smile. I hope you enjoy the audio.
DeleteI liked it. Though I only gave it 4 stars at the time. Maybe because I was expected less quirky and darker??: https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/04/11/book-review-drive-your-plow-over-the-bones-of-the-dead/
ReplyDeleteOK, I am coming over!
DeleteI reread your review. I like how you captured the main elements of the story. We did it differently but I almost feel like we had a book club about it!
DeleteDRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD sounds like a very intriguing read!! I have yet to read a book written by Olga Tokarczuk.
ReplyDeleteI sure had a good time reading it!
Deletewas the title reflected in plot elements? maybe a bit puzzling that a Polish author would choose Blake...
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, because there were dead bodies in the story. Also the Polish author is highly educated in literature, so I guess she has something going with Blake.
DeleteI am thinking of reading this one for the translated crime prompt in the reading women challenge. It's been on my list forever, so hopefully I will get to it soon.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a great fit for a translated crime read, Athira. You sure are a reading woman!
DeleteI think I would quite adore the main character and her quirks. I'll be on the lookout for this one at some point.
ReplyDeleteI think this book is a wonderful introduction to Tokarczuk.
DeleteSounds like it. You've introduced me to quite a few authors I would otherwise never have known.
DeleteWow good review. Is this your favorite book of hers? It sounds entertaining as a murder mystery. Are her books accessible ? thx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I found this one to be the most accessible. Flights, which won her all the prizes, is more experimental and thus less accessible I felt.
DeleteIf the title alone doesn't grab attention then I don't know what will!
ReplyDeleteIt puts a picture in your mind, doesn't It?
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