Olga Tokarczuk

In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind . . .

A quirky dark tale, exquisitely written and thoroughly enjoyable.… (more)

I'm not sure I found this book very enjoyable and it took me forever to get through it, but it is undeniably an achievement. I found myself getting interested in the story of the Frankists and Jacob Frank while never quite fully understanding what was going on or the full context of it all, having never heard about any of this before. Its incredibly long and the page numbers count backwards which I kind of liked. There is a lot of depth to it, and many characters, a lot of whom change names/religions over the course of the book, so its surprising its a as readable as it is really. The many short chapters and breaks in the narrative also make it manageable, but I do find a lot of it has floated through me without leaving much impression. I found the ending weirdly moving though, and still remember that.… (more)