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Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead

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Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead

By: Olga Tokarczuk
Narrated by: Antonia Lloyd-Jones
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With Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, Man Booker International Prize-winner Olga Tokarczuk returns with a subversive, entertaining noir novel.

In a remote Polish village, Janina Duszejko, an eccentric woman in her 60s, recounts the events surrounding the disappearance of her two dogs. She is reclusive, preferring the company of animals to people; she’s unconventional, believing in the stars; and she is fond of the poetry of William Blake, from whose work the title of the book is taken.

When members of a local hunting club are found murdered, Duszejko becomes involved in the investigation. By no means a conventional crime story, this existential thriller by ‘one of Europe’s major humanist writers’ (Guardian) offers thought-provoking ideas on our perceptions of madness, injustice against marginalized people, animal rights, the hypocrisy of traditional religion, belief in predestination - and caused a genuine political uproar in Tokarczuk’s native Poland.

©2020 Olga Tokarczuk (P)2021 Fitzcarraldo Editions Crime Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Fiction Detective Crime Mind-bending
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I loved this book. Clever, brilliantly written, thought provoking, darkly funny, completely engaging. This is the first Olga Tokarczuk book I have read (listened to) - very pleased to have discovered her and I will definitely be reading more.

As most of the negative comments are on the narration, I will focus on that.

For me, the narrator was perfect for the character and the book overall - although I will admit it took me a while to see that, so I wonder if reviewers who gave up early might have formed a different view if they had continued.

Many reviewers who dislike the narration specifically comment on the fact that the narrator is the translator of the book. I wonder if this coloured their perception - she is not an actor (but do we know that?) and should have stayed in her lane? She should have left it to an expert?

Or maybe it’s more general that that. She sounds like a batty older lady who has bitten off more than she can chew? She doesn’t know her limits? Her male voices sound like a woman badly imitating a man? But these are all exactly what is required for a first person narrator of this fascinating character - why do the critical reviewers assume that this is a failed performance rather than a brilliant one?

Anyway, I suspect it is thoughts like these that underlie some of the critical reviews. If so, this is precisely what makes her *the* perfect narrator for this book, given its subject matter. I couldn’t imagine it being read by anyone else and I think the narration enhanced the themes and subject matter of the book brilliantly. Maybe it is not a coincidence that so many reviews focus on the narration?

Incidentally I found the translation excellent - natural and unobtrusive while retaining a strong sense of place and culture.

Brilliant

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Bit wacky, dark and pretty funny at times. Reader felt like the exact right voice for it

Strange little book

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I've seen a few reviews complaining about the narration of this book, but I absolutely loved it and thought it was a brilliant, perfectly fitting reading of a great story.

The narrator was definitely a big factor in my enjoyment of the book, in fact I will likely listen again, which is something I don't do with many audiobooks.

I will be reading more by the author. I loved her style. Very intelligent and beautiful writing.

Loved the narration and the beautiful writing.

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I did not like the narrator's voice. Part of me hunks that maybe it was this annoying because the character is supposed to be annoying but I think I would have liked the story and the character better if the narrator's voice was less shrill. The story is not mind blowing either but it is subtle as well as clear and with multiple unique angles which I totally respect and even admire.

Good story, wrong voice

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Reading other reviews, it is clear that this novel is very well received. The feelings about the narration is where the reviewers differ hugely.
As many others, I was sceptical about the translator reading the novel, and at the start I thought she was terribly stilted and her voice forced.
However, I soon grew accustomed to her voice and ended up thinking it had the perfect pitch. Even her male voices were the character’s (not the reader’s) attempt to imitate them in her head, invariably making fun of all these guys she loathed.
In all I thought it was a unique and surprising story with credible characters.

Unusual

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