Tokarczuk cleverly disguises a story about obsession, singular ideas, patriarchy, grief and Anger inside a funny and touching narrative of rural life in Poland, near the Czech border. The narrator, Mrs. Duszejko, is a frail old woman, derided and belittled by her neighbours as she launches tirades about the evils of hunting. Her neighbours cannot understand her point of view and choose to ignore it in most cases. When the animals seem to be rising up and murdering people in the night, her Astrology-inspired theories begin to hold sway.

The book is frighteningly perfect in its dark humour, and the execution is flawless.