Status Updates From Varyk savo arklą per mirusi...

Tokarczuk knows her setting, somewhere on the Polish-Czech border on a high plateau. She lives there. Her own house is described by Janina when she thinks about her hamlet. The people are tight-lipped, grim. Living a life of scarce means, making a living of what the woods provide, small deals and shenanigans. The winter is hard and long, the townsfolk will not return to their holiday homes before April.

So far two of the village’s inhabitants have died in the night. Both events are linked to wildlife. The protagonist is very into astrology and believes the animals are taking revenge.

This is so me it's kind of scary