“Drive Your Plow Over THE BONES OF THE DEAD,” by Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk is different to say the least, ‘weird,’ to quote another reviewer. At times I felt it difficult to continue to read, because I just didn’t care.
Janina, the main character, is an older lady who lives in a remote Polish village where most of the citizens flee during the winter because it is so unbearable. She is the narrator, and at times I found her the most annoying of all the characters. She is an extreme animal rights’ advocate and seems to prefer the company of animals over humans.
A number of murders are committed and Janina, with the help of astrology, is certain she knows who is responsible. So the novel turns into a murder mystery. The only problem being that even I figured out who the murderer was early on, and when it comes to murder mysteries I seldom solve the mystery.
For me, the most interesting thing about this novel was the quotes from William Blake, and one quote from Dante’s ‘Inferno.’ It is also possible, that my translation of the book from Polish to English was not the greatest… or quite simply it was just not my cup of tea.
A Curious View 