false 91440 0060786469 9780060786465 3121 279 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171229200m/91440.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91440.Love_Medicine_A_Novel 9388 Louise Erdrich 17728 2448 4 0 false Wed Oct 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 21:45:19 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 22:08:26 -0700 2009
The plot's orbit is uneven as it revolves around two centers of gravity: June Morrisey on her own, and Lulu, Marie and Nector bound together. That unevenness is not a weakness; it adds complexity to a book about the ways that love binds together us and pushes us apart.

At the outset of "Love Medicine," June Morrisey is alone, heading home, but open to a little fun before she goes. She finds her fun on the side of the road with a man who convinced her to stick around for beer and sweat. He falls asleep. June steps out of the truck into the deep northern snow, and spends the rest of her life walking in the isolate cold.

June's death tears at the fabric of a family she rarely saw: the abusive ex-husband who blames himself, adoptive parents who know her secrets, the son who misses his mother, and the son who never knew who she really was to him.

As we learn their stories in relation to June, we also see how these characters' lives are shaped by Lulu Nanapush and Nector and Marie Kashpaw. Long ago, Nector seemed fated to marry Lulu, but instead he chose Marie. As these three stubborn teenagers grow old and begin to fade, their loves, sorrows, jealousies, hopes and fears stay strong. No choice is final, their lives suggest.

June's final choice may rebut that suggestion. But I'm not so sure.]]>