Louise Erdrich stands as a profoundly gifted, prolific, and challenging voice in contemporary Native American literature. Her narratives delve into the complexities of identity, family, and the interwoven experiences of Indigenous peoples within broader society. Erdrich crafts compelling characters and resonant stories through a distinctive style that masterfully blends realism with mythic and poetic elements. She is celebrated for her insightful exploration of Native community life and her significant contributions to modern American letters.
In "The Mighty Red," Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louise Erdrich weaves a tale of love, nature, and the impact of uncontrollable events on ordinary lives in Argus, North Dakota. As characters navigate personal struggles and deep connections amidst societal turmoil, the novel explores themes of hope, tragedy, and the human bond with the earth.
In late summer 1999 North Dakota, Landreaux Iron accidentally shoots his neighbor's five-year-old son, Dusty Ravich, while hunting. This tragic event sets off a chain of emotional turmoil and moral dilemmas, forcing Landreaux and his family to confront their grief, guilt, and the impact of their actions on their community. The story delves into themes of loss, responsibility, and the complex relationships between neighbors, highlighting the profound consequences of a moment's decision.
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, The Plague of Doves--the first part of a loose trilogy that includes the National Book Award-winning The Round House and LaRose--is a gripping novel about a long-unsolved crime in a small North Dakota town and how, years later, the consequences are still being felt by the community and a nearby Native American reservation. Though generations have passed, the town of Pluto continues to be haunted by the murder of a farm family. Evelina Harp--part Ojibwe, part white--is an ambitious young girl whose grandfather, a repository of family and tribal history, harbors knowledge of the violent past. And Judge Antone Bazil Coutts, who bears witness, understands the weight of historical injustice better than anyone. Through the distinct and winning voices of three unforgettable narrators, the collective stories of two interwoven communities ultimately come together to reveal a final wrenching truth. Bestselling author Louise Erdrich delves into the fraught waters of historical injustice and the impact of secrets kept too long.
From Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich comes a richly layered novel that explores identity, exploitation, and how the burdens of history still shape our lives today.
Set over a century, this novel follows the life of an Ojibwe family, exploring their experiences and heritage through rich storytelling. As the first book in a nine-part series, it delves into themes of identity and resilience, complemented by the author's own striking black-and-white illustrations. Recognized as a National Book Award finalist, it showcases Louise Erdrich's mastery in weaving together personal and cultural narratives.
The narrative follows mismatched lovers Vivian Twostar, a pregnant anthropologist, and Roger Williams, an academic and father, as they embark on a quest for truth about Christopher Columbus. Their journey takes them from New Hampshire to the Caribbean after Vivian discovers a presumed diary of Columbus. This adventure intertwines themes of history, love, and personal growth, as they confront challenges that test their relationship and reshape their lives, ultimately exploring the complexities of parenthood and passion amidst a race against time.
A young Native American girl who considers her family's wood-burning stove to be the heart of her home in the Turtle Mountains must adapt when it is replaced.
Based on the extraordinary life of Louis Erdrich's grandfather Patrick Gourneau, who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, with lightness and gravity, and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a literary master. Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel-bearing plant, the first factory located near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a Chippewa council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new "emancipation" bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. It is 1953 and he and the other council members know the bill isn't about freedom: Congress is fed up with Indians. The bill is a "termination" that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity. How can the government abandon treaties made in good faith with Native Americans "for as long as the grasses shall grow, and the rivers run"? Since graduating from high school, Pixie Paranteau has insisted that everyone call her Patrice. She makes jewel bearings at the plant, a job that pays barely enough to support her mother and younger brother. Patrice's alcoholic father returns home sporadically to terrorize his wife and children, and to bully Patrice for money. But Patrice needs every penny to follow her beloved older sister, Vera, who moved to the big city of Minneapolis. Vera may have disappeared; she hasn't been in touch in months and is rumored to have had a baby. Determined to find Vera and her child, Patrice makes a fateful trip to Minnesota that introduces her to unexpected forms of exploitation and violence and endangers her life. Thomas and Patrice live in a reservation community. We also come to know young Chippewa boxer Wood Mountain and his mother, Juggie Blue, and Patrice's best friend, Valentine, as well as Hay Stack Barnes, the white high school math teacher and boxing coach who is hopelessly in love with Patrice. In The Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich creates a fictional world populated with memorable characters who are forced to grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. Illuminating the loves and lives, the desires and ambitions, of these characters with compassion, wit, and intelligence, The Night Watchman is a majestic work of fiction from one of the most acclaimed writers of our time. -- Back cover
Louise Erdrich, the New York Times bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of LaRose and The Round House, paints a startling portrait of a young woman fighting for her life and her unborn child against oppressive forces that manifest in the wake of a cataclysmic event.
