A review by ladydisdain
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I highly recommend this to anyone feeling intimidated by Literature as a reminder that books are written to be read (and anyone operating with a different agenda is. Maybe wrong?). This book feels like a Nobel Prize winner that has been translated from Polish, and this does not present as a barrier to reading for sheer enjoyment. The narrative meanders in a deliberate manner that did slow me down in the middle, but the voice is engaging enough to power through easily. I would venture that this is not a book or characters that many will find personally relatable, but they are written with such tenderness that I cared as deeply for the tight ensemble at the center and the unfamiliar world. That is not to say that this extreme specificity in setting is necessarily alienating- there is a universal recognition at the heart that is. Probably why this book won a Nobel Prize.
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