Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is darkly humorous, deadly serious, and populated with a quirky cast of characters that will stay with you forever. This is definitely not to be missed. — Dua Lipa

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

New York Times Readers Pick - 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

'A brilliant literary murder mystery.' — Chicago Tribune

A subversive, entertaining noir novel from one of Poland's most important writers, and the winner of the 2018 Man Booker International Prize.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead takes place in a remote Polish village, where Duszejko, an eccentric woman in her sixties, recounts the events surrounding the disappearance of her two dogs. When members of a local hunting club are found murdered, she becomes involved in the investigation. Duszejko 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.

Filled with wonderful characters like Oddball, Big Foot, Black Coat, Dizzy, and Boros, this subversive, entertaining noir novel, by 'one of Europe's major humanist writers' (Guardian), offers thought-provoking ideas on our perceptions of madness, injustice against marginalised people, animal rights, the hypocrisy of traditional religion, belief in predestination — and getting away with murder.

Praise:

'A genre-defying novel, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is part investigative thriller and part fairytale, with biting social critique and a wicked sense of humour.' — Book Riot

'I thrilled to this story—a dark, strange, comic, twisted masterpiece...It's a great narrative voice, and I loved the book from the first page.' — Elizabeth Gilbert

'Sardonic humour and gothic plot twists add a layer of macabre rustic comedy.' — The Economist

'One of the funniest books of the year.' — The Guardian

'Shimmering with subversive brilliance... this is not your conventional crime story—for Tokarczuk is not your conventional writer. Through her extraordinary talent and intellect, and her "thinking novels," she ponders and tackles larger ecological and political issues. The stakes are always high; Tokarczuk repeatedly rises to the occasion and raises a call to arms.' — HuffPost

'Sometimes the opening sentence of a first-person narrative can so vividly capture the personality of its speaker that you immediately want to spend all the time you can in their company. That's the case with Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead... a barbed and subversive tale about what it takes to challenge the complacency of the powers that be.' — Boston Globe