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

Set in a remote Polish village, the book follows the eccentric Janina Duszejko as she investigates a series of deaths that may—or may not—have been caused by the animals of the forest.

Olga Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a novel that quietly claws at you, page by page, until you’re left unsure whether you’ve just read a murder mystery, a philosophical treatise, or a howl of rage against the world. In our book club, it sparked one of the richest conversations we’ve had in months.

Set in a remote Polish village near the Czech border, the novel follows Janina Duszejko—retired bridge engineer, astrology enthusiast, and part-time English teacher—as she investigates a string of bizarre deaths among local men. Janina believes the animals are exacting revenge. No one else takes her seriously.