Discussion for Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Start discussion here for Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.

[George P.]

4 star rating
Oh, eleven days since discussion opened and I'm the first post- that's not so good. I finished my reading on the 14th but just getting around to the discussion. I listened to the e-audio book, and liked the reading done with a Polish accent- don't know the reader's name though.
This is my first book by Tokarcyzk, who was awarded the Nobel in lit a few years ago. Antonia Lloyd-Jones did the translation (even though Tokarczuk, who is Polish, speaks English reasonably well).
For about the first quarter of the book I was feeling "I'm not too sure this is a good book", but then the characters seemed to "grow" on me and I began to like it.
By the way, my wife just read Tokarczuk's Flights, which seems to be her 2nd most-read after "Drive Your Plow...", and she enjoyed reading it.

[NancyJ]

I loved this book. Like George, the beginning gave me pause, but it also felt fresh and exciting. Translated literature doesn't follow all the conventions I'm accustomed to, so I sometimes feel a little off-kilter when I read it. That's part of what makes it exciting.

I grew to love all the little surprises and angles of the story. I really enjoy reading about older characters whose lives have unexpected dimensions. Her astrology interest at first seemed at odds with her technical career, but her knowledge of it was technical and scientific (she constructed charts using an ephemeris and angles of the planets). I was into that when I was young, and it was fun when I recognized the points she made. The way she described people was quirky and interesting, and I liked learning more about some of those characters.

I also enjoyed the setting and the imagery. Every time I think of Poland and Czechoslovakia now, I will picture the sunlight poring over Czechoslovakia the way she described it. I also listened to the audio and I think the Polish accent of the narrator was perfect.

My library just obtained The Books of Jacob and I immediately requested it without realizing it was nearly 1000 pages long. I'll have to wait to start that one.

It looks like someone thought she needed a more generic penname too:
The Books: of Jacob a Novel by Edith Evans.

[George P.]

NancyJ wrote: "I loved this book. Like George, the beginning gave me pause, but it also felt fresh and exciting. Translated literature ..."

The characters are the strength of the novel, because there isn't all that much plot. I got to like her character names, like "Bigfoot" and "Dizzy".
Have you read her Flights?

[K]

I agree, the characters are strong and this was an interesting book. OK, I kinda identified with the narrator,though not with her "crime" (as the law/society defined it). Seems the author wants us to ponder on it.

[George P.]

K wrote: "I agree, the characters are strong and this was an interesting book. OK, I kinda identified with the narrator,though not with her "crime" (as the law/society defined it). Seems the author wants us ..."

I rather thought the murderer should have gone to prison in the end, even though the people killed weren't good people. Did you?

[K]

Yes, I think she should have (following our/the legal system). And she did,w/out being a big cry-baby,IIRC. Interesting that SHE was caught & prosecuted;don't recall the others ever being arrested by the "'ol boyz" posse.

[George P.]

Pat wrote: "I just started reading this book, whose title is somewhat off-putting, to say the least. The description of the main character intrigued me, because of her interest in astrology and her age. I'm no..."

Hope you like it- it's rather unusual and I liked it.