Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Everything’s better in the Czech Republic.In this episode the girls discuss ‘Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’ (2009) by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.The novel follows Janina Duszejko, a woman living in a remote Polish village near the Czech border; the sudden and violent death of her neighbour is the first in a string of mysterious murders, and Janina is convinced that only she knows the identity of the true culprit. ‘Drive Your Plow’ raises questions around humans’ relationship with animals and our place in the universe; the revolutionary poetry of William Blake and the complexities of translation; the mind-body divide and the nature of prisons, both literal and metaphorical.Would you rather be mauled to death by a grizzly bear, or torn apart by a pack of wolves? Let us know over at @weirdgirlbookclub_pod on IG. x