Louise Erdrich

This novel has emotional heft from the start. Heartbreaking and then Erdrich explores how that tragedy changes the lives around it, where those lives weren’t necessarily straightforward beforehand.
I had previously read The Roundhouse and realised that this book is set in the same Ojibwe setting (native American), although with different main characters. Therefore although the place is worlds away from my rural British environment, Erdrich confidently creates a believable milieu for me and the characters to explore.
I love the way that the story effortlessly moves between past and present (well, around 2000), and between generations. There isn’t a neat ending, but there is a sense of resolutions, and beginnings. It is complex in a joyously organic fashion.
I thought that there were weaknesses in some characterisation, and after the initial tragedy, several times we might have had more tragic outcomes, but didn’t. But this didn’t detract from the overall arc.
In other words, it’s a good story.… (mer)

A little girl experiences many family moments around their wood-burning stove.

This was an interesting book. I love Louise Erdrich and she never disappoints with her writing style. I feel like this book is more of a nostalgia trip for adults than it is a story for children, despite being in the picture book format. There is a metaphorical warmth to this story about soups made on the stove and nights cozied up next to a fire. The book ends with the little girl as a grown woman re-creating these moments with her own child.

The gentle illustrations fit the story perfectly. I particularly love the ones where the girl/woman imagines the open range of wilderness with bison, foxes, herons, etc. while sitting by the oven range.… (mer)