Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

9 reviews

best_rat's review

dark mysterious 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

Albeit an atmospheric read, fares as shittily as a flockful of bird droppings as a crime novel, and unfortunately, that was the intended purpose of my reading. But even more problematic than that is the constantly antagonizing tone of the narrative and the main character's deranged psyche left completely uncharted.

As a transparent mystery, the plot is granted autheticity only through inexplicable idolatry of a set of degenerate esoteric interests. The inner monologue of the main character is filled to the brim with cognitive biases remained unresolved and unsorted, and although blaming her surroundings of vile hypocrisy, we see in her vicious lashout against animal cruelty (the bane of her worries) the reductionary quality of other kinds of cruelty against the living. When confronted with violence, responding with violence to demonstrate your disapproval is neither revolutionary nor logical. It is also pretty much useless, and only causes more destruction. It is, more importantly a petty move that makes nill of a perfectly sound cause and does it, moreover, even injustice. The revenge plot may move you emotionally, yet it virtually changes nothing in the system opposed to. One still ends up being stuck in one's ivory tower. The protagonist at some point early on also seems to be acknowledging this fact. "My efforts are insignificant" is declared, in a morbid passage on the ephemeral condition of human existence, one of the few parts of the text that truly got me thinking. Unfortunately, the grief-stricken, eccentric mind of a ethically charged murderer is somehow managed to be left alone in a sort of lazy man's first-person narrative, with minimal disruption in the form of occasional nightmares. While commiting the very act of cruelty that shaken her to the core in "Anger", she remains desentisized, unperturbed, and even proud and full of self-righteousness. The very image of hypocrisy and the "insignia of power" she shed tears in opposition to, yet no more. Another good intention doomed to fail through human vanity, the source thereof remaining indisputable.

Imagine all the fun duality that left unexplored. For shame, surely not what Raskolnikov should've taught you!

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bomenvernietiger's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

"In unison, they set about tearing up the plants that had been growing around their house until now, in order to plant others that they'd bought at a shop. It was hard to tell what logic was driving them."

"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.'

Content Warnings

rusina's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

willow_thewisp's review

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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rain_blackbird's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

4.0

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noahfence's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

5.0

yeah, so. prepare to enter the world of janina duszejko. like, really prepare. its not for the faint of heart.

i have never read anything quite like this book. it is a story that will question your perception of madness, animals, astrology and religion—and you will probably finish it with a very different view of the world.

the plot follows the story of the sickly, elderly woman janina duszejko and her life in a lonely polish village on the border of the czech republic. the book drags you along on her investigation into the strange, unsettling murders of several members of the town’s hunting society, filling you with intrigue, awe—and perhaps horror, depending on your attitude towards animals. do you treat them like they have souls, or not? are you willing to face their wrath?

drive your plow over the bones of the dead is everything i could ever ask for in a book. the weather is strange, the animals are vengeful, the stars are sentient. it is a beautifully dark exploration into feminism, animal rights and murder, and although at first it may just seem like the story of a lonely old women, the prose grips you by the throat and really doesn’t let you go. you will come away from the book wondering if your horoscope could show you how you will die, and if you should really continue eating meat.

drive your plow over the bones of the dead is a deliciously dark read. so go on—take the plunge. 🤭

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