Scan barcode
A review by versmonesprit
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
It can be difficult to get over what you thought the book would be. What’s insurmountable is what the book could be.
DYPOTBOTD starts off in such a special, mesmerising, magical way that I have no clue how to pin it down, how to explain or express it. The slight surrealism brought on by the absurd nicknames, the eccentric narrator/MC, the almost meditative snowy landscape, the slight eeriness of the initial animal encounters… I wish the book had kept on like that.
Instead I found the blurb misleading, as the deaths are far apart and well, unfortunately it is not the animals doing the good deeds. I eventually shook off my disappointment that the book is not what the blurb made it sound, and surely one thing is true: even at the depths of my disappointment, the book was never not enjoyable. I thoroughly loved the book, and almost 2 days later, I still feel sad it had to end and that I can’t forever stay in it. I really do miss Janina (even though she would’ve hated me for using her name).
And yes, that is despite all the astrology stuff I know is putting off many readers. I found myself scoffing at times too, but it was impossible not to see it as an eccentricity of a character as compelling as our narrator. I loved every bit of the environmentalism, even when it was literally just preaching and not really the story being told. Because nothing said was wrong.
What ultimately made me feel the book missed its potential kind of circles back to the blurb. The book could very well be that, the perpetrators could very well be the animals … and it would have been great. I think the book still had some length to go. This book deserved to be Magnificent. This book deserved to be truly philosophical.
DYPOTBOTD starts off in such a special, mesmerising, magical way that I have no clue how to pin it down, how to explain or express it. The slight surrealism brought on by the absurd nicknames, the eccentric narrator/MC, the almost meditative snowy landscape, the slight eeriness of the initial animal encounters… I wish the book had kept on like that.
Instead I found the blurb misleading, as the deaths are far apart and well, unfortunately it is not the animals doing the good deeds. I eventually shook off my disappointment that the book is not what the blurb made it sound, and surely one thing is true: even at the depths of my disappointment, the book was never not enjoyable. I thoroughly loved the book, and almost 2 days later, I still feel sad it had to end and that I can’t forever stay in it. I really do miss Janina (even though she would’ve hated me for using her name).
And yes, that is despite all the astrology stuff I know is putting off many readers. I found myself scoffing at times too, but it was impossible not to see it as an eccentricity of a character as compelling as our narrator. I loved every bit of the environmentalism, even when it was literally just preaching and not really the story being told. Because nothing said was wrong.
What ultimately made me feel the book missed its potential kind of circles back to the blurb. The book could very well be that, the perpetrators could very well be the animals … and it would have been great. I think the book still had some length to go. This book deserved to be Magnificent. This book deserved to be truly philosophical.