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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
43 reviews
breadbummer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
welaneyding's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder
suzyq's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Medical content, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
contemporarymeepsie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think I missed the hook of this book. I understood the points it was making about animal cruelty and our definitions of insanity and the hypocrisy of religious hunting and so forth. I just wasn't interested in anything that was happening. I'm not a big fan of books that waffle and this was very waffley which is unfortunate as it was recommended to me by a close friend who defined it as his favourite book of the year. I found it dull and the ending was predictable. I wouldn't recommend this book but not because it was "bad" or poorly written; it was exceptionally written, but because it was dull and not my kind of book. Sorry Mike!
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, and Murder
almostqualified's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Blood
thursdd4y's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bomenvernietiger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"Deep inside their anthill, the Ants cling to each other in a large ball and sleep like that until spring. I only wish people had the same sort of confidence in each other."
'"Why are you crying?" I asked.
"You're so kind..."
"I know," I replied.
"What about you? Why are you crying?" he said.
That I didn't know.'
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, and Alcoholism
chloeam3103's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, and Blood
jstilts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The book follows Duszejko - an elderly Polish lady - living remotely enough that in winter she only has two neighbours, and makes an income from keeping watch on and maintaining the houses of those that can't stand to live there in the colder seasons. She spends her time looking after the local wildlife, railing against hunters and poachers, translating Blake into Polish, and researching the horoscope in all sorts of unusual ways.
One morning one of her two neighbours discovers the other dead, and as they tend to the corpse Duszejko becomes convinced he was murdered by the very animals he hunted.
This surprising book reads almost as a stream-of-conciousness from a narrator that is not so much unreliable as mildly out of touch with reality.
Her worldview is disarmingly cosy and endearing, sometimes heartbreaking, and it's so wonderful to follow her unusual trains of thought - not just of her life but the very mechanics of existence itself - that it's easy to forget that Duszejko's state of mind is probably unhealthy, especially as she rarely if ever seems to be in anything approaching peril.
At once both relaxing and compelling, I honestly didn't want this book to end - but the terrible truths being laid out were done so with such verve it had me laughing in glee at the audaciousness of the author.
Highly recommended!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Misogyny
liesbethvv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The set-up was predictable (to me) yet executed in an entertaining way.
I could have done without the lengthy rants about astrology, though they did feel like part of the main character’s eccentricities. If you’d like to read something of
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness and Blood