Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead / Olga Tokarczuk
trans. from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
NY: Riverhead, c2019.
274 p.

Now for a quirky new novel that is also a bit of a mystery. Janina Duszejko is a former English teacher and caretaker of the summer homes in her small hamlet near the Czech border. She is fascinated by astrology and supports animals in the face of the local hunters.

As the book opens, one of her few neighbours (who she's nicknamed Big Foot) has been found dead, apparently having choked to death on a deer bone. Then other strange deaths of local men, all hunters, begin occurring, and Janina is convinced that animals are rising up against their killers.

She is a marvellous character. Strong willed, set in her beliefs, she also teaches children English a day a week, and helps a former student in his efforts to translate William Blake into Polish. Blake is a big influence on this book's aesthetic, too -- there are quotes from Blake as the chapter titles (and the very book title itself) and his otherworldly ethos reflects a part of Janina's outlook too. Although she is, at the same time, very down to earth indeed. 

There is a mystery here: there are murders, and Janina and her small band of friends are watching what's happening. Her neighbour in the small hamlet is also the police detective's son, which she learns to her surprise. So there is that element of straightforward mystery. But there is so much more, as well -- this is Tokarczuk writing, after all. 

The philosophical elements embodied by Blake also include the bigger ideas of who we really are, self-determination, animal rights, humanity's place in the world, our responsibility to one another and to other living things in our world. Plus some wry humour, some political commentary, and a bunch of great characterization. 

After reading Flights, I have to admit that this much smaller book was not at all what I was expecting. But it was a quick read, with an actual plot! I enjoyed it and found that Janina's plight really engaged me, and that her seemingly odd behaviour made sense to her -- and gained her some loyal friends. 

If you are looking for a literary novel that engages with many ideas and also has a strong female lead, plus a puzzling plot to untangle, this is sure to meet that need. Recommended!