false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172147422m/142900.jpg 142900 18 Louise Erdrich's <I>The Master Butchers Singing Club</I> is a powerfully told story of love, death, redemption, and resurrection. After German soldier Fidelis Waldvogel returns home from World War I to marry his best friend's pregnant widow, he packs up his father's butcher knives and sets sail for America. He settles in Argus, North Dakota, where he sets up a meat shop with his wife Eva, who quickly befriends the struggling yet resourceful Delphine Watzka. Delphine, who runs a vaudeville show with her balancing partner Cyprian Lazarre, has returned home to Argus to care for her alcoholic father. While most of this emotionally rich novel focuses on the changing landscape of small-town life as seen through Delphine and Fidelis's eyes, Erdrich does a masterful job of illuminating hidden dramas through her secondary characters. Erdrich's portrayal of these various townsfolk, including members of the Master Butchers Singing Club, truly shows off her storytelling talent. Her ability to infuse each character with a distinct and multifaceted personality makes this novel an intimate and thought-provoking adventure. <I>--Gisele Toueg</I> 1075684 2003 The Master Butchers Singing Club (P.S.) total:2345|5:727|4:1030|3:463|2:102|1:23| 2345 9371 3056 401 5 2 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Apr 21 21:58:47 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 02 07:44:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 07:34:21 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 09:10:39 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Mon Mar 24 07:57:49 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 24 08:13:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 13 07:42:24 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 13 07:58:05 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 true false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 29 04:00:30 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 28 07:29:39 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 21:18:26 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 21:32:14 -0700 2009 The Master Butcher's Singing Club is the story of Delphine, a woman who once performed in acrobatic shows with her platonic life-partner; a woman who settles in Argus, North Dakota not long after WWI. It's also the story of Fidelus, a German sniper in the war, and his family ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 19:21:40 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 19 06:32:24 -0700 2009 5 2 false false Sat Jul 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 24 10:10:47 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 11:55:39 -0700 2008 I sobbed my heart out on pages 139-140...other than that, I was just involved in the story. In turn I thought, Poor Delphine, Poor Cypri...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Jul 04 08:37:02 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 04 08:44:41 -0700 2008
She is such a nuanced, intelligent, talented writer.

I would read anything she writes. I'd read her shopping list.

Even her weaker novels -- and there have been one or two -- are worth the read, simply for her lyricism and the way she...more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Apr 01 12:42:18 -0700 2007 Sun Apr 01 12:43:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jul 30 07:55:22 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 01 09:32:18 -0700 2007 Clueless radio interviewer asked if the frequent mentions of stomachs in the book had to do with a metaphorical hunger or the reposession of bodies to the earth through death. Ms. Erdrich said no, she was pregnant and couldn't reach the keyboard, so it was kind of ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Thu Jul 19 10:45:33 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 19 10:59:23 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Jun 14 12:34:04 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 14 12:35:05 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Aug 12 18:33:21 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 18:35:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Dec 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 15:27:59 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 05:20:33 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Dec 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 05 09:53:45 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 09:54:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Thu Dec 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 06:38:31 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 15:13:30 -0800 2008
I kept waiting for that moment of ahhh, that's why this character is acting this way, but it n...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Feb 05 22:47:26 -0800 2008 Fri Jul 25 09:39:59 -0700 2008 2 1 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Mon Sep 29 16:19:36 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 16:26:50 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Nov 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 18 08:21:56 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 03 07:22:18 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=142900