Louise Erdrich often gets compared to Faulkner, a comparison I know some people bristle at given the popularity of proclaiming to not like Faulkner as if it’s some kind of virtue. This comparison in part comes from her complexity in narrative and her blending of various styles and perspectives within single novels. Her writing is not remotely uniform: some novels are pretty straightforward narratives (like Faulkner) and some of more constructs of myriad forms (like Faulkner) and like Faulkner, her writing is generally one of […]
50: Revisiting a haunting and beautiful dystopian novel
The Chancellor has June’s book club pick for our friend group, and he chose Future Home of the Living God, much to my enormous delight. I read and reviewed this about seven months ago for CBR 9, so I am going to plunk that link right here and just talk about my response for this re-read. Because I loved it even more than the first time I read it. I think we’re going to have a rollicking discussion this month, because a few of us […]
An eerie and timely reminder about women’s reproductive rights in 2017
My current research is focusing on post-9/11 dystopian literature and women’s reproductive agency. So the fact that Louise Erdrich’s new book fits neatly within these categories is highly convenient for me. Thanks, Erdrich! I was delighted to see that her new book appeared to be relevant to my project, so delighted, in fact, that I promptly broke my no-buy rule and bought the hardcover on the day it was released. Because, you know, research. Cedar Songmaker is adopted by two liberal white hippies, and her […]
A Plague of Books
This will be my last review. I am closing out the year the way I began, with a Louise Erdrich novel. This novel is like several of her novels, the story of a town, the story of a family, and representing and recreating a panoply of voices. Taking place in the South Dakota town of Pluto, this novel begins in the town where a horrendous murder leads to a horrendous lynching. The guilty party was never really found, but the white rage that was felt […]
How flattering, I said, meaning the opposite
Hey you. You. I’m talking to you. A human living in the world in 2017 who takes things like The Handmaid’s Tale incredibly personally. A human living in the world in 2017 who is horrified by what has been happening for centuries in a very real, cold-blooded, and methodical way to the Native American community. A human living in the world in 2017 who cannot believe that people don’t believe in science and climate change. A human living in the world in 2017 who still finds […]
Some books I heard while reading the new Brandon Sanderson
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee – 5/5 stars So somehow, Trump ruined this day of all days with his racist remark to Navajo Codetalkers at a White House ceremony. This is also the day I finished this book….it’s like I made it happen by being so clearly reminded of the inhumanity of US history and the sheer resilience and patience with which Native peoples have had to ask for not only basic decency, but for agreements they made to be upheld. And so the […]