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Reviews tagging 'Body horror'
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
22 reviews
freckled_frog_boi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Damn.. i don’t really know how to feel about this book.
Idk if i liked or disliked it. It was new though, and I was really engrossed towards the end. I wish there was a bit more foreshadowing, but I guess with an unreliable narrator, they don’t have to tell us everything.
I think this is my first Polish Translated text, and I think some meaning escaped me, but overall I liked the book even if I had a love/hate relationship with the characters.
Beware! Fatphobia and Romaphobia are rampant. There’s also a splash of anti-communism in there as well that could catch me off guard, even though within the location and time period it was common.
Idk if i liked or disliked it. It was new though, and I was really engrossed towards the end. I wish there was a bit more foreshadowing, but I guess with an unreliable narrator, they don’t have to tell us everything.
I think this is my first Polish Translated text, and I think some meaning escaped me, but overall I liked the book even if I had a love/hate relationship with the characters.
Beware! Fatphobia and Romaphobia are rampant. There’s also a splash of anti-communism in there as well that could catch me off guard, even though within the location and time period it was common.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Stalking and Fire/Fire injury
abithereader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Violence
the_clueless_tourist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Murder
joanabryant's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty
kshertz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was definitely a weird one for me. It was recommended to me because the old woman is a curmudgeon which is true and I do technically love a curmudgeon. But I’m thinking maybe it just didn’t translate for me into English from Czech? The old woman’s eccentricities I think were what ended up kind of putting me off the book. Her belief in astrology and palm reading and such were just too out there for me. But she does get sweet vengeance in the end so I’m glad I finished it and didn’t just give up on it. But definitely only recommending to friends who love Czech literature and astrology 😝
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
faloneran's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
rupesaltai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
I borrowed this book from a friend and (even though she won the Nobel prize for literature) I didn't know much about the author or what the book was about. I was in for a ride.
The prose of the book is one of the most beautiful I've read in quite a long time, it's poetic even when describing what can be gruesome. The main character appeared to me as rather uncommon (a quirky old woman, kind of a rebel, child-free, who is deeply into astrology, social justice, and translating poetry) who felt incredibly real and mutidimensional, as did most of the secondary and side characters.
The story in itself is engaging, full of twists and turns, and surprising until the very end.
I don't think I could recommend this book enough.
The prose of the book is one of the most beautiful I've read in quite a long time, it's poetic even when describing what can be gruesome. The main character appeared to me as rather uncommon (a quirky old woman, kind of a rebel, child-free, who is deeply into astrology, social justice, and translating poetry) who felt incredibly real and mutidimensional, as did most of the secondary and side characters.
The story in itself is engaging, full of twists and turns, and surprising until the very end.
I don't think I could recommend this book enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, and Murder
inhisbluegardens's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was an unusual, unexpected crime story that I really enjoyed!
Our protagonist is an eccentric lady in her 60s named Janina Duszenko, who lives on her own in the middle of nowhere near the Polish-Czech border. She is odd and hermit-like with a love of astrology and a great reverence for animals. Mrs Duszenko's perspective on the world and her understanding of the story's happenings are really what makes this a worthwhile read. Her complete belief in the logic she draws from the stars and the deep empathy she displays for animals and for people also considered to be on the outskirts of society in some way really puts us on her side, I feel. Her dedication to solving the mystery of four separate murders involving local hunters are the focus of the book, but it almost comes second to her musings on everything from the local mushroom pickers society to the rights of animals and the reasoning behind the names she bestows on others in her head. Mrs Duszenko's unique voice does a stellar job of putting the unsavoury sharply into focus but presenting it in a matter-of-fact way. Indeed, cruelty, loneliness, exploitation and addiction can all be explained by the planetary alignments. The experience of reading this book is deepened by the way Tokarczuk writes about the landscape and the traditions that its people cling to. How we as humans, like all other living things mark the changing seasons.
Such an interesting read!
Our protagonist is an eccentric lady in her 60s named Janina Duszenko, who lives on her own in the middle of nowhere near the Polish-Czech border. She is odd and hermit-like with a love of astrology and a great reverence for animals. Mrs Duszenko's perspective on the world and her understanding of the story's happenings are really what makes this a worthwhile read. Her complete belief in the logic she draws from the stars and the deep empathy she displays for animals and for people also considered to be on the outskirts of society in some way really puts us on her side, I feel. Her dedication to solving the mystery of four separate murders involving local hunters are the focus of the book, but it almost comes second to her musings on everything from the local mushroom pickers society to the rights of animals and the reasoning behind the names she bestows on others in her head. Mrs Duszenko's unique voice does a stellar job of putting the unsavoury sharply into focus but presenting it in a matter-of-fact way. Indeed, cruelty, loneliness, exploitation and addiction can all be explained by the planetary alignments. The experience of reading this book is deepened by the way Tokarczuk writes about the landscape and the traditions that its people cling to. How we as humans, like all other living things mark the changing seasons.
Such an interesting read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Self harm
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
paulasnotsosecretdiary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is an excellent title for a book that celebrates, in part, William Blake's work. The book is part mystery using an unreliable narrator trope. There are many themes packed into the pages of this story: feminism, aging, social isolation, mental illness, and animal welfare. There are many stories I have read published after this book that borrows from its tropes (and some of them are not an improvement from the source material). However, I don't get why this book is so celebrated; it didn't engage me even though I could find a way into the story. There is foreshadowing at the start of the book when the central character talks about how much she hates one of the victims and that sometimes people need to die. From there, it was just a matter of when and how she would be revealed as the killer. This is one of those times when a book is admired or wins awards, and I wonder why. Maybe if I read Blake and studied him I would appreciate this story more. A meh from me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Murder