I’m currently reading the English translation of Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, a Polish mystery novel by Olga Tokarczuk. It’s about an older woman who over-winters in a small hamlet, working as a caretaker for the other houses in the village, which are essentially summer homes. She spends her time helping her younger friend (and former pupil) translate William Blake into Polish and doing astrology charts before she finds herself embroiled in a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances. She has a wonderfully off-kilter voice, and peppers her account with homespun philosophy, or Theories (her capitalisation choices are very Blake). This passage is particularly wonderful:
It was hard to have a conversation with Oddball. He was a man of very few words, and it was impossible to talk, one had to keep silent. It’s hard work talking to some people, most often males. I have a Theory about it. With age, many men come down with testosterone autism, the symptoms of which are a gradual decline in social intelligence and capacity for interpersonal communication, as well as a reduced ability to formulate thoughts. The Person beset by this Ailment becomes taciturn and appears to be lost in contemplation. He develops an interest in various Tools and machinery, and he’s drawn to the Second World War and the biographies of famous people. His capacity to read novels almost entirely vanishes; testosterone autism disturbs the character’s psychological understanding. I think Oddball was suffering from this Ailment.
Note to future self: watch for signs of testosterone autism.
See here for Fitzcarraldo Editions’ edition (minimalist cover art). Thanks to ABK for the recommendation.
