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

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Everything will pass. The wise Man knows this from the start, and has no regrets.

I REALLY enjoyed Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. I wasn't sure about it at first (not to judge a book by its cover, but the edition that I have isn't very inviting!) and when I picked it up I wasn't expecting an easy read, especially with the subject matter described in the blurb. However, I was glad to be proven wrong. I can see why the author is a Nobel Prize winner!

The book does a really good job of balancing the inner life of the main character and her reflections on life (and death) with the murder mystery that almost sneaks up on the reader. I really liked Duszejko and even at the end,
despite her eccentricities and "madness" the book does a good job at making you feel that her actions were justified. The description of the photograph at the end was a gut punch.
Although we don't spend much time with the other characters, they feel very realistic and the way they come together as a kind of family is really moving. For a book with a lot of horrible events, covering dark topics, there's also a lot of kindness in it.

On a Wednesday morning in January, at seven in the morning, it's plain to see that the world was not made for Man, and definitely not for his comfort or pleasure. 
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