I found this book strangely atmospheric and very readable. Written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk and translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, it’s the story of an older woman, Janina, who is one of only a small number of people who live all year round in what is normally a Summer cabin in a forested region near the Polish border with the Czech Republic. Her job is to maintain the empty cabins as well as teaching English part-time in the local school. She is passionately concerned with animal rights, and vehemently opposed to the active hunting tradition in the forest near her home. When prominent local men start to die in suspicious circumstances, Janina is convinced their deaths are somehow brought about by the animals seeking revenge for the acts of animal cruelty carried out by these men. I thought the language was very poetic and beautiful, with frequent references to Blake, who’s works Janina is translating with a former pupil. I liked how Janina lives in harmony with the harsh natural climate and l loved the dark humour with which she views the world.
Sarah Wray Writer 