Tournament of Books discussion
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Tournament of Favorites
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2023 ToF Round 1: LaRose vs. Tell the Wolves I'm Home
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As sad as I am to see Wolves go, LaRose is just as good. I'd have been happy with either of them absolutely destroying the competition and reigning supreme. Which I am sure is going to happen.
I liked both of these books, and I think I enjoyed Wolves better, but I would have gone the same way with the judgment. I struggled with the sibling aspect of Wolves - I know Greta was acting out of pain but her cruelties were never fully acknowledged and June was so hurt by Greta's actions.
I was going to be sad either way since these are my two favorites but am hoping enough people felt the same way to have Wolves come back as a zombie! I read LaRose for the first time a couple months ago to get ready for this tournament and I was stunned by what Erdrich had accomplished by the time I finished. It's gorgeous, expansive, layered, deep. When I came to the book, I was a little exhausted by all the deep family drama that a lot of literary fiction seems to revolve around (at least the books that tend to come to my attention) and LaRose kind of...upended what I thought the genre had to offer. I'm happy its moving forward.
Great judgment, Bryn. I also loved both books, and actually felt more while reading Wolves, but LaRose just seems more (for lack of a better term) mature to me, a book from a more seasoned author, much more nuanced. I’m sad Wolves had to go this early, hate that these two books were paired, and hope it rises again! But for this round, I absolutely am on the same page.
Beautifully written judgement, Brynn!I read LaRose for the first time because of this tournament and I am so glad for the push. It really is an extraordinary book.
And we’re off to a great start. Very nice judgment, Bryn, and excellent comments from the rest of the group. This is gonna be a fun ~2 weeks!
Thanks, Bryn. Great write up. I loved Wolves, but I would have picked LaRose as well. I've put LaRose in several people's hands confident that they would love it.
Thank you, Bryn.I was impressed by the craft in LaRose. I was more moved by Wolves. It was my only re-read for this tournament, and, once again, it made me cry. Like - ugly cry. It wowed me, especially given that it is a debut novel.
I wish I were more comfortable with ghosts in literature. It's just ... not my thing. That often poses challenges for me with Erdrich's work, and it did so here. The character with whom I found it hardest to connect was ... LaRose (the boy). However, the other characters were so well drawn and the depth of feeling they and their struggles and circumstances and triumphs evoked was powerful and memorable.
So - I don't fault the decision, even though the novel that brought me more joy is the one not moving forward.
It would've been Wolves for me, but Erdrich is a master of her craft so I can't fault the judgment at all. I just loved June and thought she captured that age--the confusion of every second, basically, while also dealing with profound grief--so well. I do think 14 year-olds can keep secrets, especially from themselves, but often from a family they feel alienated from. I have pressed Wolves into the hands of many, many people.
These were hands-down my favorite books in this year's tournament, so I'm disappointed they were up against each other. But, I think I would have gone with the same choice here. I found LaRose both quiet and engaging. It left me with plenty to think about on the topics of harm, accountability, forgiveness, and family. A sold story. Tell the Wolves I'm Home had a completely different vibe, and I'd say I was even more engaged in the story (the writing style was nice and direct, easy to hold onto). I didn't think the romantic love for the uncle was necessary (deep familial love could have covered it for me), but I recognize what the author was aiming for. I appreciated the part where we learned about the meaning behind the title. I read that about five times to let it fully sink in. Thanks for helping me find this story I hadn't heard about before this Tournament of Favorites!
And thanks to Bryn for kicking us off with a solid judgment.
I enjoyed Wolves when I read it, and the synopsis above helped refresh my memory a bit. I didn't many any notes though, so I don't remember the part Lauren is talking about with the meaning of the title. Can someone remind me? The one thing I did jot down was that the painting was cool but now that is also hazy in my mind - was it that each sister kept making changes to it, as a way of communicating to each other?
(I don't know for sure, since I didn't read them near each other in time, but I think I would have chosen LaRose too. I gave both 4.5 stars, I think.)
My comment above about the painting also reminded me; there were some funny/interesting commonalities between books I noticed: importance of a painting in Wolves, Horse, and TGB, for example!
You're right about the role of paintings in these books - interesting!And yes, the sisters each added a few things to their portrait painting (streaks in hair, etc.), and the mother added a necklace to it later.
The passage that connects to the title is, "Maybe all I wanted was for Toby to hear the wolves that lived in the dark forest of my heart. Tell the Wolves I'm Home. Maybe Finn understood everything, as usual. You may as well tell them where you live, because they'll find you anyway. They always do."
Yay! It's Tourney Time. Thanks Bryn for a wonderful kick-off decision. I would agree that LaRose seemed the more accomplished or polished, perhaps. I feel comfortable in the story hands of Erdrich, and have put all her books on my tbr. I didn't reread Wolves but I remember enjoying it - and CRYING, which is something I don't mind at all. When a book makes me ugly-cry, it's a winner. I would read Brunt's next book; her website says it is on target for 2024.
I very much enjoyed 'LaRose', only my second Erdrich book somehow. I bet if it had made the tournament, instead of the longlist, it might have gone quite far (except for what I now like to call "the Erdrich curse" in which her books never making it very far in the ToB.)'Tell the Wolves' is tough for me. I'm surprised at all the love here, a little bit? It's a little what I imagine a Jodi Picoult book is like? But definitely more elevated than that with some bright moments. It's just HARD for any writer to write a first person narrative about a 14 year old. Either they are written beyond their years, too intelligent for their time. OR they are like June and admit to not being great in school. The writer is painting them into a corner. Then, if a book is really TRYING to make me cry... I think I notice that more. Some odd plot choices also made the book weird for me.
I would have chose 'LaRose' as well.
I had 'Tell the Wolves...' on my shelf forever and was glad that the ToF made it rise to the top of the reading pile. I liked the book very much at first, but it all careened downhill after Toby entered the picture. I felt increasingly emotionally manipulated by the story, rather than carried away by it. Toby never came alive for me - he felt like a construct designed to elicit pity, rather than a fully rounded person, and his life story seemed improbable. Stories set in the early days of AIDS, when fear-driven prejudice made otherwise reasonable people act cruelly are always important, but the message was undermined by the heavy-handed tear-jerking. Greta started out for me as the least interesting character, but gradually became the most compelling.
Nadine in California wrote: "I had 'Tell the Wolves...' on my shelf forever and was glad that the ToF made it rise to the top of the reading pile. I liked the book very much at first, but it all careened downhill after Toby en..."Agree with all you have said here, Nadine!
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I was nervous about choosing between LaRose and Tell the Wolves I’m Home because they are both so well-loved.
Both of these books have similar themes; living with death, loss, and grief. They are very different in other aspects though, like writing style, characters, and setting.
I read LaRose in 2016 shortly after it was released. I gave it 4 stars and reported on Goodreads that parts of it were too vague. You have to actually pay attention Bryn!! I’m constantly amazed that my ability to read and comprehend continues to get better. Everyday I am a better reader than the day before. I just reread the book and am now giving it 5 stars. There is so much in this book. It starts with Landreaux accidentally killing the 5 year old son of his neighbor while deer hunting. Landreaux and his wife, Emmaline have 4 kids, the youngest of which is 5 year old LaRose. After much soul searching, they give LaRose to Peter and Nola Ravich, parents of deceased Dusty. They also have a teenage daughter, Maggie.
The book tells this main story of the year after a child’s death, and it also tells the history of all the people named LaRose and also the story of the relationship between Landreaux and Romeo who went to boarding school together. Both of these additional narratives add to the sense of the emotional lives of a family carrying on from generation to generation. Nothing is ever lost which is a good thing and a bad thing. When Romeo is caught stealing gas from Landreaux’s tank the narrator says, “He had long ago decided that whatever Romeo or anyone else did to him resulting from his hell days he had coming.”
All of the LaRose people could rise above their bodies and could receive visits from their ancestors and friends and the current LaRose had the ability to heal the two families. The book was tragic and beautiful.
I just read Tell the Wolves I’m Home for the first time and I loved it; also a 5 star book. It’s about 14 year old June Elbus who loses her Uncle Finn to AIDS in 1987. Finn was close to June’s mother, his sister, when they were growing up but there is a distance between them now both because Finn is gay and because Danni, the sister, is jealous because he got to pursue his love of painting and Danni did not. Finn dies very early in the story and June befriends his partner, Toby. She has to keep everything secret from her parents and older sister.
It’s a little unbelievable that a 14 year old could keep all the secrets that she did. Of course, the book ends very sadly. It’s another sad book about losing the people you love and trying to continue living a life.
I ultimately like LaRose better and choose it to progress in our tournament. It’s more complex. I like the almost supernatural elements of talking to the dead and the ability to separate from what’s nearby and see something larger. Tell the Wolves was a very well told tale but very straightforward and pretty much followed one story.
I hope I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings by my choice. As someone said in the chat. That’s why it’s called The Tournament of Favorites. All of these books are someone’s favorite.