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Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead [GRPL Book Club]

You'll enjoy these titles because: Join us for our monthly book club to discuss "Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead" by Olga Tokarczuk on Saturday, July 13 from 12:00 - 1:00 pm at the Main Library. Looking for more similar reads? Check out these character-driven, mostly-literary mysteries featuring older protagonists, snowy settings, and/or a touch of magical realism or fairy-tale dreaminess.

Grand Rapids Public Library

20 items

  • A dreamy story that explores the boundaries between man and nature, myth and reality, good and evil, past and present, in a small arctic town in Nunavut, Canada. Written and narrated by internationally acclaimed Inuit throat singer, Tanya…
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Viking, 2018.
  • "I was absolutely engrossed in the book--wanting to know what happened to the little girls kept me turning the pages, the stories of the various characters were interesting and I was learning about a different part of the world. When I…
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Random House Audio, 2019.
  • A quite-close read-alike for "Drive Your Plow" - specifically in terms of some of the more polarizing aspects of the novel: As a mystery, it's a bit disorienting - weird, wandering, and lacking in resolution. But if you're looking for…
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Penguin Audio, 2020.
  • Another novel that collects the internal journey of a reclusive older woman, "An Unnecessary Woman" errs a bit more on the side of philosophy than magical realism, blending reflections on the history of Lebanon and the late-life crisis of…
    BookNew York : Grove Press, c2013. — Fiction Alameddine
  • "What's not to love about a group of old retirees - some grumpy, some ridiculous - who spend their free time trying to solve cold cases?!" - Karen M.
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Penguin Audio, 2020.
  • "It's a thrilling whodunnit novel that will keep you guessing until the end." - Lori G.
    Downloadable Audiobook[United States] : Dreamscape Media, LLC, 2022. — eAudiobook hoopla
  • More heavily on the side of fairy tale and folklore retelling, "Deathless" blends Russian history and mythology into a single, compelling narrative that follows Koschei the Deathless through the eventful early 20th century in Russia.
    BookNew York : Tor, 2011. — Science Fiction Valente
  • "Sometimes you get to an age where you just really don't care. You just want to go on vacation, buy a lovely store prepped lasagna, and not have a snoopy thief steal your things. An elderly lady gets up to absolutely no good as she simply…
    Downloadable Audiobook[United States] : HighBridge, 2019. — eAudiobook hoopla
  • "Epic family saga with magical realism and beautiful writing." - Andrea B.
    BookNew York : A.A. Knopf, 1985. — Fiction Paperback Allende
  • "It left me speechless with its beauty. It is a magical and classical fairytale story for adults!" - Raven P.
    BookNew York : Little, Brown and Co., 2012. — Fiction Ivey
  • Another story that follows a somewhat-prickly, largely misunderstood narrator who is driven by circumstance to engage (and reconnect) with her community. This one has a little more of a contemporary/humorous vibe, but is set in an insular…
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Atria Books, 2016. — eAudio
  • "Anecdotes about the inhabitants of Crosby, Maine. Slice of life, colorful characters, wonderful writing!" - Hannah M.
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Random House Audio, 2019.
  • A sequel to Pulitzer Prize-Winning "Olive Kitteridge" written just shy of a decade later, "Olive, Again" brings readers back to the small town of Crosby, Maine - and our prickly, wry narrator seeking to understand herself in the context of…
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Random House Audio, 2019.
  • "A spooky fairy tale about getting lost in the woods! Like the best fables, this book starts off simple enough but slowly devolves into nightmarish dream logic." - Kelly D.
    BookNew York, NY : Little, Brown and Company, [2018] — Fiction Hunt
  • The story of an isolated woman who feels a stronger connection to nature than people, who witnesses and attempts to uncover the truth behind the death of a near neighbor. This one is more Nordic Noir than literary fiction, but with a…
    BookNew York : Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1993. — Fiction Hoeg
  • The story of a woman living in isolation in the woods, though in this case, the mystery is for the readers to solve: of the past that haunts our main character, Laura, and what it was that drove her to live alone in the Italian Alps in…
    BookColumbus, Ohio : Two Dollar Radio, [2023]. — Fiction Bromwich
  • "It was a fast read. I whipped through the first half on Thursday evening and finished it off on Friday!" - Carolyn P.
    Downloadable Audiobook
  • Entranced with Olga Tokarczuk's unique writing style? This 1996 novel has a similar level of literary stylization, examining the tension between modernity and nature in Poland during the 20th century.
    BookPrague : Twisted Spoon Press, c2010. — Fiction Tokarczuk
  • Flights

    Nobel Prize and Booker Prize Winner

    Tokarczuk, Olga
    The novel that won Olga Tokarczuk both the Nobel Prize and the Booker Prize (though many readers prefer "Primeval" and "Drive Your Plow"!), "Flights" is a collection of interconnected short stories that follows a wide cast of unique…
    Downloadable AudiobookNew York : Penguin Audio, 2018.