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The Plague of Doves

Louise Erdrich

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: April 21, 2023

Discussion: Author's Pick

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What Members Thought

May 20, 2016 Jeanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-women, first-nation

I'd read and enjoyed Round House when it came out and am looking forward to LaRose. I had not read Plague of Doves, the first in Louise Erdrich's loose trilogy before Round House, which stood on its own even though it has many of the same characters. I am making up for my sins of the past by now going through these books in order.

Plague of Doves is a tangled ball of yarn. It is comprised of seemingly unrelated stories from the history of several families. Many characters, across several generati I'd read and enjoyed Round House when it came out and am looking forward to LaRose. I had not read Plague of Doves, the first in Louise Erdrich's loose trilogy before Round House, which stood on its own even though it has many of the same characters. I am making up for my sins of the past by now going through these books in order.

Plague of Doves is a tangled ball of yarn. It is comprised of seemingly unrelated stories from the history of several families. Many characters, across several generations of the same families, have similar names. (Which Joseph is this?) It would have been useful to have a genogram for the family like this one to keep the characters and their stories straight, as their histories influence later stories. Perhaps that's Erdrich's point, though, that the past and present are interwoven, part of a single tapestry.

This is the story of a family with a "reputation for deathless romantic encounters," where people fall in love after a single glance, where they write their beloved's name on their body one million times, where they kidnap their wives to support their mistresses (p. 8). In the introductory story Evelina's grandfather tells of being lynched – then saved – which she hears as "instructions on how to behave when our moment of recognition, or perhaps our romantic trial, should arrive" (p. 9). Of course, on a number of occasions, we discover that her grandfather's stories are not in fact the literal truth, so unreliable instructions. This difficulty is thematic throughout the entire book: one character misrepresents himself, another is misunderstood, often with real consequences for all parties.

This is only one theme, though, as Plague of Doves is a richly textured book. Although I was often confused about the structure of the overall story, I enjoyed it even as a series of short stories. The narrators each had interesting and unique voices. Imagine jewels sitting on the table. In the last story, however, Erdrich pulled the stories together: a shining stained glass window.
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Nov 26, 2020 Suzy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: back-and-forth-in-time, family-dynamics, secrets, crime-mystery, native-american, historical-fiction, looking-back-on-life, listened-to, diane-buddyread

Honestly, I did not enjoy my experience with this (audio) book. Like many Erdrich novels, it contains lots of characters who are interrelated and spans a few generations. Most of her books are also in towns adjacent to reservations and include much mixing between the Dakotah and white Dakotans. I could not keep track of the characters, all related in some way to the massacre of a white family in the early 1900's, a crime for which several Dakotah were hanged . . . by a mob, of course.

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Aug 18, 2013 Lisa rated it it was ok

Shelves: just-could-t-get-into-it

I've read almost all of Louis Erdrich's novels and I enjoyed them. For some reason, I just couldn't get into this one. This was my second attempt at this book. ...more

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Mar 16, 2022 Melissa Rochelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2022

one small town with lots of connections - family, friends, native, and newbies. They all intertwine and the events of one day in the past ripples throughout the town and touches everyone.

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