Tall Tales from Kansas

I have a humdinger of a suggestion for you if you are looking for a book with a quirky main character (Janina Duszejko) who lives in a small village on the border between Poland and the Czech Republic and during the long winter “minds” the homes of the residents who are only there in the summer. Full disclosure, she is guided by her belief in astrology, her love of nature, and aversion to anyone or thing that is hurtful to animals. She does not believe that people are given the names that suit them and so has other names for all the people in the story. The story opens with “oddball” knocking on her door in the middle of the night because “bigfoot” has died. Oddball and bigfoot are 2 neighbors that live in close proximity to her. Other people begin to die. Who is murdering them? Theories are put forth, based on the laws of nature, karma, and astrological signs. Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead is by Olga Tokarczuk, I can’t remember who translated it. The audio version is read (very very well) by Beata Pozniak.

I love the cover of the book. It reminds me of a modern quilt. This novel is not for everyone. I can’t predict who will and who will not like it. Mrs. Duszejko would be able to if she knew the date and time of your birth, but alas, I know nothing about astrology.

This is one of those books that you are never going to mix up with anything else you have read. Trust me.