Sur les ossements des morts by Olga Tokarczuk (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead)

 

Sur les ossements des morts by Olga Tokarczuk (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead)

I didn't know who Olga Tokarczuk was when I bought this, but it was billed as a crime drama written by a nobel prize winner, and that was not something I'd experienced before. Unfortunately, I suspect, the marketing department at the French editors' definitely oversold this. Sure, there are a few crimes, but there is none of the sleuthing or inquiry I expect in a crime story. At heart, this is the story of an aging woman in rural Poland who sees society crumble around her, nature being trampled by industries and hunters alike, and the slow deterioration of her mental status due to all these reasons. It's beautifully written (even in translated French) but neither what I was expecting nor what I particularly enjoy.