A series of gruesome deaths occurs in a remote corner of southwestern Poland. Janina, an elderly woman who spends her time on astrology, translating William Blake, and animal rights, is convinced that the victims, all of them hunters, were murdered by animals taking revenge.
Many elements of a conventional murder mystery can be found in this book: a revenge plot, someone taking justice into their own hands, means and opportunity aligning perfectly in a single moment. Others, like a true investigation or a pool of suspects, are completely missing. On top of that, Tokarczuk throws an additional layer over the proceedings, and that is an allusion to a supernatural quality attached to them, which leads the reader to question the true nature of events when, for instance, being told about the stars aligning perfectly, the victims being surrounded only by hoofprints made by deer, or being covered in beetles. This mysteriousness is aided by the incredibly eeriness of the book which makes it seem as if it is happening in a place fallen out of time although there are instances where it is clarified that it is a more or less contemporary story. The isolated place it is set in, the darkness of a long, cold winter, the icy wind blowing incessantly over the plateau, deer and other animals wandering silently through the snow are all parts of this particular atmosphere.
Additionally, we see the world through Janina’s eyes who is an eccentric and unreliable narrator with her views on the power of the stars and the conviction that the animals are responsible. She is, however, funny, with a dark kind of humour which is displayed in her wry observations of the world in general, but especially in her assessment of people. She never calls them by their real names but instead gives them different ones that she feels suit them best, like Big Foot, Oddball, or Good News. And there are some strange people populating the place, lonely but set in their ways as Janina is, and others that have no patience for what they only see as a kooky old woman. She is not easy to get along with but she has a good heart, and the way she cares about the animals is endearing and impressive, as she faces much adversity because of it.
Overall, this is a marvellous book by a terrific writer, one that manages to transport the reader completely into an unfamiliar and uncertain world. However, a fairy tale it is only on the surface, even if there were moments where I was almost convinced that it was true, that it really was nature taking revenge. This is not the way the world we live in works though, and in this book, it is still the real world despite all the smoke and mirrors that give it the illusion of being a place in a fairy tale. Assuming otherwise is just wishful thinking, as far-fetched as the hope that our future can be divined from the stars.