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What Members Thought

When we are young, the words are scattered all around us. As they are assembled by experience, so also are we, sentence by sentence, until the story takes shape.
This book is amazing! It’s complex brilliant rambling unexpected and beautiful.
The story was a complex tapestry woven so tightly and beautifully; I thought the ending would be just as tight, but it’s not. It sort of unravels. I found it a bit deflating.
The GR blurb makes this sound like its some sort of Native American murder myster ...more

• I am always wiser and more informed after reading a Louise Erdrich novel
• At first I was a little confused by the characters and their connections and then I settled into the voices of the different narrators as the tale reveals the effect of a tragedy on a small town in an area of country we often do not read involving a group (Native Americans) whose voices we often do not hear.
• Beautiful language that makes you want to linger over the sentences, well-executed – just loved how the murderer ...more
• At first I was a little confused by the characters and their connections and then I settled into the voices of the different narrators as the tale reveals the effect of a tragedy on a small town in an area of country we often do not read involving a group (Native Americans) whose voices we often do not hear.
• Beautiful language that makes you want to linger over the sentences, well-executed – just loved how the murderer ...more

Erdrich's story is described as centering around a murder that happened long ago in a reservation town. The story begins with children listening to their grandfather telling about a time when the land was so overrun by doves that they covered the ground, broke windows and collapsed roofs, and most upsettingly drowned in the outhouse muck. Obviously this is an allegory but I could not really figure out for what exactly, except perhaps the crowded connections and interactions all over the land and
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May 21, 2012
Jessica
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
indigenous-and-native
This is one to persevere with in the early going - it can be hard to figure out when the events you're reading about take place at first, but patience is rewarded if you hang in there to see how Erdrich brings it all together in the end. Lots of big themes here, and especially of note for those who find the many facets of family relationships compelling.
...more

Mar 13, 2022
Deedee
marked it as to-read
Lexile 960L
IL: UG - BL: 6.4 - AR Pts: 17.0
IL: UG - BL: 6.4 - AR Pts: 17.0

May 26, 2008
Kristin
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Dec 18, 2008
Ching-In
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Mar 25, 2009
Gaijinmama
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May 20, 2009
Saima
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Jun 14, 2009
Isabel
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Dec 28, 2011
Lorri
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Sep 20, 2012
Sara
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Oct 11, 2013
Vesra (When She Reads)
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
c-brown,
library,
e-book,
p,
author-e,
fiction,
mystery-thrillers,
pc-300-399,
tbr-2012,
book-club

Jan 18, 2016
Christy McKenna
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
historical-fiction

May 30, 2018
Idit
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Feb 23, 2020
Heather
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Mar 30, 2021
Erica
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Mar 29, 2022
Mihika
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Jun 26, 2022
Wanda
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