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A review by diannastarr
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As House of Day, House of Night stands as one of my favorite reads of 2023, I was very excited to pair Jose Saramago's Blindness with Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead as my "airplane reads" for the holiday break.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to finish this on the plane and once I landed, I couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. There's something about liminal spaces like hotels and airports that make them prime places for reading, but only if you finish it cover to cover.
While House of Day, House of Night focused on a broad range of perspectives and time periods, I appreciated Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead's limited perspective as told by Janina: an eccentric teacher with a devotion to the art of astrology and an affinity for the company of animals over people. She is not an all knowing perspective being guided by the author and she certainly doesn't serve as the reader's moral compass; Janina is incredibly flawed, naïve, self-centered, a bit narcissistic, and feels refreshingly human. Every page was a delight and kept me on edge partially because of the string of murders, but mainly because I didn't know what the hell Janina was going to do next. The premise of a serial killer in a remote Polish village caught my eye, but by the end I was wholly enraptured by the unique cast of characters that Tokarczuk created for this piece.
As someone whose family raises cattle, I have my own convoluted relationship with its consumption so Tokarczuk's work struck a bit of a personal chord. It was relatable in a way that I hadn't anticipated and, while I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will recommend it out to my friends, I feel that House of Day, House of Night was the stronger piece between the two. A coworker saw me reading this during my lunchbreak and mentioned how, sometimes we feel strongly between different pieces written by the same author based on which piece we read first. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case for me, but Janina will always have a fond place in my heart.
To those who have yet to venture into the works of Olga Tokarczuk: pick your poison.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to finish this on the plane and once I landed, I couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. There's something about liminal spaces like hotels and airports that make them prime places for reading, but only if you finish it cover to cover.
While House of Day, House of Night focused on a broad range of perspectives and time periods, I appreciated Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead's limited perspective as told by Janina: an eccentric teacher with a devotion to the art of astrology and an affinity for the company of animals over people. She is not an all knowing perspective being guided by the author and she certainly doesn't serve as the reader's moral compass; Janina is incredibly flawed, naïve, self-centered, a bit narcissistic, and feels refreshingly human. Every page was a delight and kept me on edge partially because of the string of murders, but mainly because I didn't know what the hell Janina was going to do next. The premise of a serial killer in a remote Polish village caught my eye, but by the end I was wholly enraptured by the unique cast of characters that Tokarczuk created for this piece.
As someone whose family raises cattle, I have my own convoluted relationship with its consumption so Tokarczuk's work struck a bit of a personal chord. It was relatable in a way that I hadn't anticipated and, while I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will recommend it out to my friends, I feel that House of Day, House of Night was the stronger piece between the two. A coworker saw me reading this during my lunchbreak and mentioned how, sometimes we feel strongly between different pieces written by the same author based on which piece we read first. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case for me, but Janina will always have a fond place in my heart.
To those who have yet to venture into the works of Olga Tokarczuk: pick your poison.