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Python's Kiss
Not yet published
Expected 24 Mar 26If you are touched by the tongue of a snake, it is somehow good. It gives you wisdom and long life.
In Ojibwe mythology, Mishipeshu, a reptile with the head of a cat, stands sentinel at the gates of the underworld, where the mortal becomes eternal. Louise Erdrich’s remarkable story collection navigates this terrain where life and death are inextricably entwined. Python’s Kiss probes the essence of our humanity in moments both intimate and grand, inviting us to consider the nature of existence; the wonder, bravery, shame, loneliness, yearning, and terror that drive and define us.
Python’s Kiss opens with the acclaimed story “Nero,” originally published in The New Yorker, which explores the tragic transformation of a fierce and innocent spirit and the first stirrings of self-awareness. It is followed by twelve stories that exhibit the range of Louise Erdrich’s remarkable talent. In “Hollow Children,” a school bus driver experiences a terrifying realization during a freak spring blizzard. Collective consciousness and a woman’s longing for revenge transcend death in the near future “Domain.” “December 26” culminates in a terrible debt that must be paid. The final story, “The Stone,” is a reminder of our deep connection to the earth and those who came before us.
Featuring wives and husbands, spirit animals, ghosts, and talismans, betrayals and secrets, an artificial afterlife and a dangerous teenage game, Erdrich’s stories, at once intimate and universal, conjure up narrative worlds which capture our beauty and pain. Python’s Kiss is a gift from one of our greatest chroniclers of human fallibility and nobility, an imaginative and perceptive storyteller whose generosity of vision, wit, and lyricism sing from every page.
In Ojibwe mythology, Mishipeshu, a reptile with the head of a cat, stands sentinel at the gates of the underworld, where the mortal becomes eternal. Louise Erdrich’s remarkable story collection navigates this terrain where life and death are inextricably entwined. Python’s Kiss probes the essence of our humanity in moments both intimate and grand, inviting us to consider the nature of existence; the wonder, bravery, shame, loneliness, yearning, and terror that drive and define us.
Python’s Kiss opens with the acclaimed story “Nero,” originally published in The New Yorker, which explores the tragic transformation of a fierce and innocent spirit and the first stirrings of self-awareness. It is followed by twelve stories that exhibit the range of Louise Erdrich’s remarkable talent. In “Hollow Children,” a school bus driver experiences a terrifying realization during a freak spring blizzard. Collective consciousness and a woman’s longing for revenge transcend death in the near future “Domain.” “December 26” culminates in a terrible debt that must be paid. The final story, “The Stone,” is a reminder of our deep connection to the earth and those who came before us.
Featuring wives and husbands, spirit animals, ghosts, and talismans, betrayals and secrets, an artificial afterlife and a dangerous teenage game, Erdrich’s stories, at once intimate and universal, conjure up narrative worlds which capture our beauty and pain. Python’s Kiss is a gift from one of our greatest chroniclers of human fallibility and nobility, an imaginative and perceptive storyteller whose generosity of vision, wit, and lyricism sing from every page.
240 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 24, 2026
15 people are currently reading
10246 people want to read
About the author
Louise Erdrich
132 books12.9k followersKaren Louise Erdrich is a American author of novels, poetry, and children's books. Her father is German American and mother is half Ojibwe and half French American. She is an enrolled member of the Anishinaabe nation (also known as Chippewa). She is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant Native writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance.
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Author Biography:
Louise Erdrich is one of the most gifted, prolific, and challenging of contemporary Native American novelists. Born in 1954 in Little Falls, Minnesota, she grew up mostly in Wahpeton, North Dakota, where her parents taught at Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. Her fiction reflects aspects of her mixed heritage: German through her father, and French and Ojibwa through her mother. She worked at various jobs, such as hoeing sugar beets, farm work, waitressing, short order cooking, lifeguarding, and construction work, before becoming a writer. She attended the Johns Hopkins creative writing program and received fellowships at the McDowell Colony and the Yaddo Colony. After she was named writer-in-residence at Dartmouth, she married professor Michael Dorris and raised several children, some of them adopted. She and Michael became a picture-book husband-and-wife writing team, though they wrote only one truly collaborative novel, The Crown of Columbus (1991).
The Antelope Wife was published in 1998, not long after her separation from Michael and his subsequent suicide. Some reviewers believed they saw in The Antelope Wife the anguish Erdrich must have felt as her marriage crumbled, but she has stated that she is unconscious of having mirrored any real-life events.
She is the author of four previous bestselling andaward-winning novels, including Love Medicine; The Beet Queen; Tracks; and The Bingo Palace. She also has written two collections of poetry, Jacklight, and Baptism of Desire. Her fiction has been honored by the National Book Critics Circle (1984) and The Los Angeles Times (1985), and has been translated into fourteen languages.
Several of her short stories have been selected for O. Henry awards and for inclusion in the annual Best American Short Story anthologies. The Blue Jay's Dance, a memoir of motherhood, was her first nonfiction work, and her children's book, Grandmother's Pigeon, has been published by Hyperion Press. She lives in Minnesota with her children, who help her run a small independent bookstore called The Birchbark.
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January 7, 2026
Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026:
If you've never read Louise Erdrich, I envy you the joy of discovery wherever you start in her extensive catalog. If you have read Louise Erdrich, you know that her signature blend of the sacred, the mundane, and the mythic is unlike anything else in contemporary fiction. Erdrich's stories are deeply human and real. Her writing is somehow both spare and lyrical. She's a master of her craft with a Pulitzer and National Book Award under her belt, and she routinely shows up as someday-contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Wherever she wants to take me, I’m ready to go. —Rebecca Joines Schinsky
If you've never read Louise Erdrich, I envy you the joy of discovery wherever you start in her extensive catalog. If you have read Louise Erdrich, you know that her signature blend of the sacred, the mundane, and the mythic is unlike anything else in contemporary fiction. Erdrich's stories are deeply human and real. Her writing is somehow both spare and lyrical. She's a master of her craft with a Pulitzer and National Book Award under her belt, and she routinely shows up as someday-contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Wherever she wants to take me, I’m ready to go. —Rebecca Joines Schinsky
August 5, 2025
our best living american writer tbh
December 22, 2025
In this collection of short stories (some might be familiar as they're a compilation/reworking of works she has published in various literary publications), Louise Erdrich reminds me why she’s one of my very favorite authors. As in her other works, her characters feel like the folks you left behind in your small town. Her world-building is unlike any other author I've encountered, but there's a je na sa quois (did I spell the right??) about them that I just can't put my finger on. The worlds she creates feel familiar—like being reminded of a dream you'd had months or years before. This is quintessential Louise Erdrich, so you're sure to get everything you love about her from this book like I did. I'd still say LaRose or The Round House are my faves, but this was good.
Many center around the small fictional town of Tabor. In one, we follow a little girl as she watches her favorite uncle fall in love with a lady whose father is a formidable fighter. In another (my favorite) we ride along on a school bus as it rolls along lost on the prairie in a blizzard.
Most of the stories land just this side of magical realism (or maybe very very light sci-fi?) and I love them for it. Wonderful job, Louise Erdrich!
Many center around the small fictional town of Tabor. In one, we follow a little girl as she watches her favorite uncle fall in love with a lady whose father is a formidable fighter. In another (my favorite) we ride along on a school bus as it rolls along lost on the prairie in a blizzard.
Most of the stories land just this side of magical realism (or maybe very very light sci-fi?) and I love them for it. Wonderful job, Louise Erdrich!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars
Just when I was saying short stories aren't for me, they just aren't punchy as often as I want them to be...I'm entranced by my favourite author. What do I know? What is this mere reader to a god? 🙌🏻 I'm born again.
Sure, there's a couple in here that don't hit as hard as the rest. But it's a stunning ratio and there's no duds. There are some new all-time favourite short stories in this collection. Erdrich continues to enchant me with her rich characterization, funny dialogue, and original concepts.
"Python's Kiss", "Wedding Dresses", and "The Hollow Children" are the most accomplished three stories in the collection and open us up to her imaginative and confident voice. They're devastating, memorable, and capture so much intensity in just a few pages.
I love the snake theme running through several of the stories including "Python's Kiss", "Borsalino", and "December 26". A rhythm that runs through and binds them together without sacrificing their individuality.
The science fiction afterlife world we're introduced to in "Domain" and "Asphodel" is weird and wonderful. Hard to describe, but captivating to read.
I laughed at a troubadour, cried for a dog, felt the cold of an April blizzard and a frozen field and the warmth of moss. As always, I bow down to the master. She doesn't have a golden era, it's been this way the whole time. From Love Medicine and Jacklight to Python's Kiss.
Just when I was saying short stories aren't for me, they just aren't punchy as often as I want them to be...I'm entranced by my favourite author. What do I know? What is this mere reader to a god? 🙌🏻 I'm born again.
Sure, there's a couple in here that don't hit as hard as the rest. But it's a stunning ratio and there's no duds. There are some new all-time favourite short stories in this collection. Erdrich continues to enchant me with her rich characterization, funny dialogue, and original concepts.
"Python's Kiss", "Wedding Dresses", and "The Hollow Children" are the most accomplished three stories in the collection and open us up to her imaginative and confident voice. They're devastating, memorable, and capture so much intensity in just a few pages.
I love the snake theme running through several of the stories including "Python's Kiss", "Borsalino", and "December 26". A rhythm that runs through and binds them together without sacrificing their individuality.
The science fiction afterlife world we're introduced to in "Domain" and "Asphodel" is weird and wonderful. Hard to describe, but captivating to read.
I laughed at a troubadour, cried for a dog, felt the cold of an April blizzard and a frozen field and the warmth of moss. As always, I bow down to the master. She doesn't have a golden era, it's been this way the whole time. From Love Medicine and Jacklight to Python's Kiss.
March 8, 2026
I won a free advance copy of this book on Goodreads, so I suppose it's only good form to share my thoughts. This really isn't a review, it's just a record of my thoughts as I read through each story, trying to figure out what each was about. These thoughts will probably make little sense to you.
I will also say that I really dig Erdrich’s writing, her mythic and magical realism, and her shout-outs to Minnesota that perfuse her works. I feel this weird pride about living in the same community as her.
***
These are stories about children, and death, not snakes per se. Children who, despite honest and curious engagement with the world, do not see the fullness of the world we inhabit, with its dangers and cruelties and inequities. Or perhaps they just experience the world differently than we adults do, or remember having done? Or maybe they do see the darkness in the world, and just manage it better? Or worse? Children and death, though, not snakes.
Pythons Kiss
A child witnesses suffering and jealousy, but only just begins to think of blame. She sees an uncle who tames others, through charm or persistence or cruelty or brute force. What doesn’t a child notice, or remember? If a python's kiss gives you a blessing, it's the mercy of ignorance. Or maybe just the opposite, and now the child is just waking up to reality?
Wedding Dresses
The tension between an honest recounting of past love-and-loss, and what you’d tell a child about the world.
The Hollow Children
A child, calm, wise and unafraid in the face of near annihilation, giving comfort to a man who nearly couldn’t manage his responsibility to her. Did she even exist? Was she, in fact ... a snake? j/k
Love of My Days
My favorite story in this book. Also thematically distinct from the rest of the collection, unless you squint a bit and see family lore being told to the grandkids. A man, given a second chance at life after a near-death experience, takes a darker path. The reader is escorted through the action from one perspective to another (and without resorting to those choppy chapterized rotating perspectives — IYKYK), including from that of a horse! The characters inhabit a tight knit rural community, but seemingly lack connection, that is, until the last page when much is made clear. At times I wondered what the hell this story was going to be about, but in retrospect every hint had been placed just so. So many themes and impressions fit within a mere 13 pages, a lovingly edited story that could easily be 10 times its length. Imagine a Cormac McCarthy western left on the stove for a few days, reducing away.
This collection should really be titled Love of My Days (which incidentally could work in support of the themes about children). But alas no asp, I guess.
There are also some typos in my copy -- hopefully the author decides on the name of the Deputy before the final version goes to print!
Domain
A woman seeks revenge upon her father in the afterlife, a story with a twist you see coming miles away. Written like Philip K Dick's take on the Pieta.
Asphodel
Be careful what you wish for. A woman learns in the afterlife that the bottled genie is a trickster. Her daughter bests that genie. This one is also Philip K Dick's take on the Pieta.
Borsalino
A surprisingly dark tale of regret and menace, with a resolution only made possible by the selflessness of a mother. If a python's kiss gives you a blessing, it's that of perserverence.
Assassin
The games that children play, how children choose to interact with each other, as a reflection (or simulation) of the environment they grow up in. Note: this game is an actual thing here in the Twin Cities.
December 26
Most heartfelt. When a son reaches adulthood, and experiences the Consequences of his poor decisions, what responsibilities does a mom have? If a python's kiss gives you a blessing, it's that of a second chance, but the universe will always take its pound of flesh.
The Feral Troubadour
This is that “Squirrel Cop” tale from a late 90’s episode of This American Life, except every conceivable role has been reversed.
Big Cat
Parents sacrifice their dreams for the well-being of a child, but then the husband can’t sustain the relationship. They are brought back together first by familiarity, but then by guilt. Was their reunion really an elaborate ploy by the jaded wife? Is this renewed relationship sustainable? Lots of snoring but no snakes.
Amelia
A lovely tale about a child piecing together a mystery, with a twist I didn’t see coming until I was meant to. No snakes, but plenty of bad cole slaw.
The Stone
We ascribe meaning to things. Things can give us confidence and comfort, maybe, but they do not have agency except what we invent in our minds. The stone is a metaphor. But not a snake.
I will also say that I really dig Erdrich’s writing, her mythic and magical realism, and her shout-outs to Minnesota that perfuse her works. I feel this weird pride about living in the same community as her.
***
These are stories about children, and death, not snakes per se. Children who, despite honest and curious engagement with the world, do not see the fullness of the world we inhabit, with its dangers and cruelties and inequities. Or perhaps they just experience the world differently than we adults do, or remember having done? Or maybe they do see the darkness in the world, and just manage it better? Or worse? Children and death, though, not snakes.
Pythons Kiss
A child witnesses suffering and jealousy, but only just begins to think of blame. She sees an uncle who tames others, through charm or persistence or cruelty or brute force. What doesn’t a child notice, or remember? If a python's kiss gives you a blessing, it's the mercy of ignorance. Or maybe just the opposite, and now the child is just waking up to reality?
Wedding Dresses
The tension between an honest recounting of past love-and-loss, and what you’d tell a child about the world.
The Hollow Children
A child, calm, wise and unafraid in the face of near annihilation, giving comfort to a man who nearly couldn’t manage his responsibility to her. Did she even exist? Was she, in fact ... a snake? j/k
Love of My Days
My favorite story in this book. Also thematically distinct from the rest of the collection, unless you squint a bit and see family lore being told to the grandkids. A man, given a second chance at life after a near-death experience, takes a darker path. The reader is escorted through the action from one perspective to another (and without resorting to those choppy chapterized rotating perspectives — IYKYK), including from that of a horse! The characters inhabit a tight knit rural community, but seemingly lack connection, that is, until the last page when much is made clear. At times I wondered what the hell this story was going to be about, but in retrospect every hint had been placed just so. So many themes and impressions fit within a mere 13 pages, a lovingly edited story that could easily be 10 times its length. Imagine a Cormac McCarthy western left on the stove for a few days, reducing away.
This collection should really be titled Love of My Days (which incidentally could work in support of the themes about children). But alas no asp, I guess.
There are also some typos in my copy -- hopefully the author decides on the name of the Deputy before the final version goes to print!
Domain
A woman seeks revenge upon her father in the afterlife, a story with a twist you see coming miles away. Written like Philip K Dick's take on the Pieta.
Asphodel
Be careful what you wish for. A woman learns in the afterlife that the bottled genie is a trickster. Her daughter bests that genie. This one is also Philip K Dick's take on the Pieta.
Borsalino
A surprisingly dark tale of regret and menace, with a resolution only made possible by the selflessness of a mother. If a python's kiss gives you a blessing, it's that of perserverence.
Assassin
The games that children play, how children choose to interact with each other, as a reflection (or simulation) of the environment they grow up in. Note: this game is an actual thing here in the Twin Cities.
December 26
Most heartfelt. When a son reaches adulthood, and experiences the Consequences of his poor decisions, what responsibilities does a mom have? If a python's kiss gives you a blessing, it's that of a second chance, but the universe will always take its pound of flesh.
The Feral Troubadour
This is that “Squirrel Cop” tale from a late 90’s episode of This American Life, except every conceivable role has been reversed.
Big Cat
Parents sacrifice their dreams for the well-being of a child, but then the husband can’t sustain the relationship. They are brought back together first by familiarity, but then by guilt. Was their reunion really an elaborate ploy by the jaded wife? Is this renewed relationship sustainable? Lots of snoring but no snakes.
Amelia
A lovely tale about a child piecing together a mystery, with a twist I didn’t see coming until I was meant to. No snakes, but plenty of bad cole slaw.
The Stone
We ascribe meaning to things. Things can give us confidence and comfort, maybe, but they do not have agency except what we invent in our minds. The stone is a metaphor. But not a snake.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I devoured this book, I read it so fast. Louise Erdrich is such a beautiful and emotional writer. I really enjoyed reading this book for the most part. It was like a grab-bag of different genres all rolled into one book - including some magical realism, sci-fi, and literary fiction.
I gave this book five stars because the short stories that I did like, I really liked. I had a hard time reading the first story in the book, there is a "sad animal" story line that really got to me. I know it wasn't really about the dog, but I didn't love reading it first thing in the book. Maybe I'm too sensitive though.
My very favorite stories were "Wedding Dresses" and "Amelia". I also thought "Assassins" was especially poignant considering the awful events happening in the Twin Cities right now (even though this story was written before any of it was happening). I don't want to give too much away though.
One of my best friends is a big Louise Erdrich fan and she will definitely be getting this book for her birthday this year! Overall, very thoughtfully put together and beautifully written book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I gave this book five stars because the short stories that I did like, I really liked. I had a hard time reading the first story in the book, there is a "sad animal" story line that really got to me. I know it wasn't really about the dog, but I didn't love reading it first thing in the book. Maybe I'm too sensitive though.
My very favorite stories were "Wedding Dresses" and "Amelia". I also thought "Assassins" was especially poignant considering the awful events happening in the Twin Cities right now (even though this story was written before any of it was happening). I don't want to give too much away though.
One of my best friends is a big Louise Erdrich fan and she will definitely be getting this book for her birthday this year! Overall, very thoughtfully put together and beautifully written book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I am a fan of Louise Erdrich's work, so I was excited to receive this ARC of short stories in Python's Kiss. Admittedly I knew little about it when I requested the ARC other than the author, so I went in with little expectation. At times, the stories seem disconnected from each other, but the descriptions available on other sites say they are held together by the in-between of life and death. I could see it, but it wouldn't be what jumped out at me. These are stories all having been published elsewhere in different forms. As with all short stories collections, some are stronger than others. Overall, however, I did enjoy the variety of characters, stories, and even genres. This is a good selection for people who have liked Erdrich's other stories or those who are looking to get into her writing for the first time. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
(Note: I read an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
Since Louis Erdrich is one of my favorite authors already, I confess that I was already a bit predisposed towards enjoying Python’s Kiss. But the fact that this is a short story collection really made this into something great. It’s a literary variety pack where Erdrich’s always-memorable writing covers an impressive range of plots, characters, and genres, leading to a fantastic array of different reading experiences wrapped up into one package.
Since Louis Erdrich is one of my favorite authors already, I confess that I was already a bit predisposed towards enjoying Python’s Kiss. But the fact that this is a short story collection really made this into something great. It’s a literary variety pack where Erdrich’s always-memorable writing covers an impressive range of plots, characters, and genres, leading to a fantastic array of different reading experiences wrapped up into one package.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
ARC for review. To be published March 24, 2026.
3 stars
Great title (it’s explained) for this collection of thirteen short stories by this redoubtable author. I did not love all the tales, I think Erdrich reads better as a novelist, but I did enjoy “Borsalino” and “December 26” quite a bit (the two related stories about the afterlife really unsettled me in a bad way that I can’t quite put my finger on.).
If you like Erdrich you’ll probably enjoy. If this is your first experience with her, better to start with one of her great novels.
3 stars
Great title (it’s explained) for this collection of thirteen short stories by this redoubtable author. I did not love all the tales, I think Erdrich reads better as a novelist, but I did enjoy “Borsalino” and “December 26” quite a bit (the two related stories about the afterlife really unsettled me in a bad way that I can’t quite put my finger on.).
If you like Erdrich you’ll probably enjoy. If this is your first experience with her, better to start with one of her great novels.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I adore Louise Erdrich's novels so I was thrilled when I was approved for an arc of Python's Kiss. This was my first time reading her short stories and they also had that distinct Erdrich feel. There is an almost dream-like quality to many of the stories; a blending of what's real and what may be imagined (or magical). As with her novels, she infuses Ojibwe culture and mythology throughout these 13 stories. They are reflective, dark at times, and overall a really strong collection of short stories. I will always look forward to reading more from her.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper, for early access.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper, for early access.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Louise Erdrich is one of my favorite writers. Some of her books I think about all the time, and as a readers' advisory librarian, I suggest them to my patrons constantly. Also, I'm not much of a short story person, so this could just be me.
This collection is just okay. They grabbed me enough that I read all of them, but they're kind of forgettable. Louise Erdrich is such a spinner of tales- but I think she maybe needs more space than a short story offers to spin them in?
This collection is just okay. They grabbed me enough that I read all of them, but they're kind of forgettable. Louise Erdrich is such a spinner of tales- but I think she maybe needs more space than a short story offers to spin them in?
January 26, 2026
4.5 stars. There's no simple way to summarize Erdrich's short story collection-- her writing spans across time and genre. What I can guarantee for sure is that almost every story in Python's Kiss landed a gut punch that made me "oof" out loud from the emotional impact. What a spectacularly moving assortment that capture the moral and psychological complexities of being human.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This collection spans the wide array of Erdrich’s styles - the family stories resonated more than the dystopian ones, especially liked December 26 and would love to see that developed further!!!
Her writing is so consistently strong so it was fun to read her dabbling in and out of her comfort zone.
Her writing is so consistently strong so it was fun to read her dabbling in and out of her comfort zone.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A nice compilation of short stories that feels homey and comfortable. Ms Erdrich is a star when it comes to writing about the everyday happenings of ordinary people.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC to read and review.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC to read and review.
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October 16, 2025Reading for work, so not rating.
Review of advance copy
A great and varied collection of stories.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews