Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

A Novel

By: Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones

Narrated by: Beata Pozniak

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

"A brilliant literary murder mystery." (Chicago Tribune)

"Extraordinary. Tokarczuk's novel is funny, vivid, dangerous, and disturbing, and it raises some fierce questions about human behavior. My sincere admiration for her brilliant work." (Annie Proulx)

In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then, a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon, other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind....

A deeply satisfying thriller cum fairy tale, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a provocative exploration of the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, autonomy and fate. Whom do we deem sane? it asks. Who is worthy of a voice?

©2019 Olga Tokarczuk and Antonia Lloyd-Jones (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Named a best book of 2019 by Time, NPR, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and BookRiot.

PEN America Translation Prize longlist

Warwick Prize for Women in Translation shortlist

“A marvelously weird and fablelike mystery.... Authors with Tokarczuk’s vending machine of phrasing...and gimlet eye for human behavior...are rarely also masters of pacing and suspense. But even as Tokarczuk sticks landing after landing...her asides are never desultory or a liability. They are more like little cuts - quick, exacting and purposefully belated in their bleeding.... This book is not a mere whodunit: It’s a philosophical fairy tale about life and death that’s been trying to spill its secrets. Secrets that, if you’ve kept your ear to the ground, you knew in your bones all along.” (New York Times Book Review)

“While it adopts the straightforward structure of a murder mystery, [the book features] macabre humor and morbid philosophical interludes [that] are distinctive to its author...[and an] excellent payoff at the finale.... As for Ms. Tokarczuk, there’s no doubt: She’s a gifted, original writer, and the appearance of her novels in English is a welcome development.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Drive Your Plow is exhilarating in a way that feels fierce and private, almost inarticulable; it’s one of the most existentially refreshing novels I’ve read in a long time.” (The New Yorker)

A massive tome that speaks volumes

If you are interested in animal ethics and human destiny, this is your book. I loved every chapter, it keeps me intrigued. The pace is slow as the books eye pours over details that are often overlooked.

Performance ruined it

I cannot stand the narrator. SOOOO SLOOOWWWWWWW. Had to give up 4 chapters in. What a shame.

a darkly humorous mystery

loved the odd woman and the story. I wish I knew more William Blake poetry, but not knowing did not take away from the story.

Crystal Clear

Gripping tale, beautiful prose and wonderfully performed reading... hauntingly marvelous. Stellar and bountiful read for lovers of nature and literature.

Sadly disappointed

I am disappointed by the performance, which, sadly, affected the appreciation of the writing. The book is well written but one must constantly struggle to unearth it from the slow moving badly pronounced words. It seems that the performer is reading too a mentally inferior crowd.

Hard listen on Audible

Just because a book has a gold sticker on the front doesn't mean it's good!

So Beautifully Original!

I really loved this book and it’s quirky protagonist. Great plot and narration. Perhaps someone will option it as a movie. There are likely scores of 60+ actresses who would fight to be cast as Mrs Talchenko

Loved it!

Great character development with a most interesting story to go along with them. The narrator is excellent and I hope you will enjoy listening.

Fantastic murder mystery

The author’s obvious brilliance and depth shines in her novel. The plot is excellent and keeps you engaged throughout. The final presentation brings all the elements back together in a final twist that leaves you juxtaposed between justice, admiration, and the darker side of our psyche.
Her specific ties to Blake offer a level of existential consideration. The elements of modern struggles political right wing views, the fight for rights of women and animals and the constant push and pull of natural order and religion are all presented beautifully woven together in the story leaving you pondering long after you’ve put it down.
I will re-read it again very soon- fully excited to glean more and more each time.
Brilliant!

Different, delightful performance

I love the main character and the voice of the performer. This is one of my favorite audio books because it is so different and thought provoking.