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rhgrimes's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As the main character and narrator of this darkly funny novel, Mrs. Duszejko steals the show. A fierce old woman who lives alone in a house on a remote Polish plateau, she has a big personality as an eccentric astrologer, vegetarian, non-Catholic, and translator of William Blake. She patrols the area surrounding her home daily and has a few, select friends. After her neighbor, “Bigfoot,” is found dead, a series of deaths unfolds, but no one will hear her theories about stags and stars. Ultimately, this is a story of a woman in a significant amount of grief. Beata Poźniak’s narration is exemplary—just perfect.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
mandaleigh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
Moderate: Murder
whatthekatdraggedin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
floatinthevoid's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a strange one.
I came in with little to no expectation. I heard about Tokarczuk a lot, but i don't want to read Flights yet, because it seems like a challenging read so i chose this one.
This book is surprisingly quirky? But from my experience it's not the insufferable quirky type. Philosophical musings inside the head of the main character happens a lot. Although i'm a bit wary at the beginning, it doesn't really bother me that much later on.
Janina Duszejko is one of a kind main character. So authentic yet realistic. Almost like an amalgamation of mad woman and witches archetypes. She is a middle aged woman, living in a barely isolated area in the forest, near the poland-czech border. She does a lot of things: an english teacher, a (sort of) housekeeper, a translator, an ex engineer. She has a strong fixation with astrology to the point that it drives her to do definitely very bad things. As a character, she's fascinating to observe. It's very clear that beneath her odd layers, she's a lonely and depressed old woman.
Despite that, i found that a big chunk in the middle part is so mind-numbingly dull. I know the mystery aspect is not meant to be a whodunit as the main focus, but maybe it should be shorter and weirder. The few murders that happened in this book feels like forever to read. What pushed me to keep reading forward is unrelated to the book itself (if i see my reading progress is already more than 70%, it's very likely i'll finish the book).
The writing style is beautiful, though a bit dense if i may be honest.
My favorite part of the book is the quote below. Despite Janina's offputting aura, the things that she did in her elementary classroom? I respect that.
'Rumours have reached me before now of your unconventional teaching methods. Apparently you burn candles, some sort of fireworks during lessons, then other teachers complain about a smell of smoke in the classroom. The parents are afraid it’s something satanic, Satanism. Perhaps they’re just simple people… And you give the children strange things to eat. Durian-flavoured sweets, for instance. What on earth is that? If any of them were poisoned, who’d be responsible? Have you ever stopped to think?'
I came in with little to no expectation. I heard about Tokarczuk a lot, but i don't want to read Flights yet, because it seems like a challenging read so i chose this one.
This book is surprisingly quirky? But from my experience it's not the insufferable quirky type. Philosophical musings inside the head of the main character happens a lot. Although i'm a bit wary at the beginning, it doesn't really bother me that much later on.
Janina Duszejko is one of a kind main character. So authentic yet realistic. Almost like an amalgamation of mad woman and witches archetypes. She is a middle aged woman, living in a barely isolated area in the forest, near the poland-czech border. She does a lot of things: an english teacher, a (sort of) housekeeper, a translator, an ex engineer. She has a strong fixation with astrology to the point that it drives her to do definitely very bad things. As a character, she's fascinating to observe. It's very clear that beneath her odd layers, she's a lonely and depressed old woman.
Despite that, i found that a big chunk in the middle part is so mind-numbingly dull. I know the mystery aspect is not meant to be a whodunit as the main focus, but maybe it should be shorter and weirder. The few murders that happened in this book feels like forever to read. What pushed me to keep reading forward is unrelated to the book itself (if i see my reading progress is already more than 70%, it's very likely i'll finish the book).
The writing style is beautiful, though a bit dense if i may be honest.
My favorite part of the book is the quote below. Despite Janina's offputting aura, the things that she did in her elementary classroom? I respect that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Death
rusina's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Religious bigotry
lifepath7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Murder and Gaslighting
willow_thewisp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Grief and Religious bigotry
lottiegasp's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This novel is a murder mystery that considers the ethics of how we treat humans versus how we treat animals. It is a fast, easy and enjoyable read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Fatphobia
The book is a murder mystery and includes some descriptions of animal cruelty and murder, but not too graphic. The narrator occasionally describes characters as "obese" or other somewhat dated or offensive termsdas_nomi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. Ich bin völlig fertig! Ich muss ganz ehrlich sagen, das ist eines der besten Bücher die ich je gelesen habe.
Ich dachte mit dem Ende kurz ich würde meine Meinung ändern, aber nein: Es ist und bleibt von vorne bis hinten ein fantastisches Buch!
Ich habe glaube ich noch nie in meinem Leben Zettelchen in ein Buch geklebt, geschweige denn in einem Buch etwas angestrichen, aber dieses Buch besteht eigentlich nurnoch aus Post-its und angestrichenen Zitaten. Olga Tokarczuk hat ihren Literaturnobelpreis jedenfalls verdient! Mit so wunderbaren Worten findet sie einen Weg durch diese doch so wundersame Geschichte.
Ich dachte mit dem Ende kurz ich würde meine Meinung ändern, aber nein: Es ist und bleibt von vorne bis hinten ein fantastisches Buch!
Ich habe glaube ich noch nie in meinem Leben Zettelchen in ein Buch geklebt, geschweige denn in einem Buch etwas angestrichen, aber dieses Buch besteht eigentlich nurnoch aus Post-its und angestrichenen Zitaten. Olga Tokarczuk hat ihren Literaturnobelpreis jedenfalls verdient! Mit so wunderbaren Worten findet sie einen Weg durch diese doch so wundersame Geschichte.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Murder