******
- Verified Buyer
This is the perfect time of the year to cuddle up on the couch with a cozy blanket in front of a toasty fire and lose yourself in a Louise Erdrich novel. I'm reading her latest novel, "The Round House," which is based in North Dakota during the spring of 1988. The story is narrated by a 13 year old boy, Joe, whose prior life has been stable, loving, and secure. Joe, or "Oops," as many on the rez refer to him is an inquisitive, inciteful, and determined child who finds his loving home life turned upside down when his mother is horribly assaulted by an unknown perpetrator. As a result, she retreats into her own tortured world and leaves Joe and his father to carry on without her. During this period, Joe is inadvertently drawn into reservation and border town history, politics, and dynamics as he searches for answers to find the man responsible for his mother's rape.We are drawn into Joe's world as a child whose loving life has been uprooted as he reaches out to his buddies who are there to help him find answers through their numerous escapades throughout the reservation. It is a story of love, redemption, and the brutal realities of bordertown/reservation relationships.Ms. Erdrich does a fabulous job of drawing us into her characters and bringing to life vibrant characters, a heart wrenching history, and, yet, a strength of people that often goes unrecognized. Throughout the narrative she weaves stories of characters from previous novels that bring them back to life and provide us with more reasons to love and miss them.And, in this novel she walks us through the challenges of multi-jurisdiction, border town politics, ICWA, and provides context for the effects that westward expansion and federal Indian policy has had on tribes.If you've never read a Louise Erdrich novel, you must start with "Love Medicine," to truly understand the mastery of her writing. She is a true gift to the literary world. Her characters are people I know and love and root for their success. Her intimate knowledge of history, of her people, of people in general is eery in its brilliance.I have not yet finished the book, so there are no spoilers here. Would love to hear from others who enjoy her writing as much as I do ...
