Hailed in the US as a Native-American To Kill A Mockingbird, and winner of the US National Book Award, The Round House is Louise Erdrich's undeniable - and unmissable - masterpiece.
Louise Erdrich is the author of thirteen novels as well as volumes of poetry, children's books and a memoir of early motherhood. Her debut novel, Love Medicine (1984) won the National Book Critics' Circle Award. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse (2001) was a finalist for the US National Book Award. Her last novel, The Plague of Doves (2008) was a New York Times bestseller. Louise Erdrich lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookshop.
The Round House is an extraordinary, engrossing novel, which should live long in the memory. The Independent on Sunday The Round House showcases [Erdrich's] extraordinary ability to delineate the ties of love, resentment, need, duty and sympathy that bind families together...[a] powerful novel. New York Times Erdrich has achieved an impressive trick; a spellbinding read, an earnest message and fierce emotional punch. Sunday Telegraph A rare insight into the dilemma of an adolescent caught between two cultures. Mail on Sunday A compelling coming-of-age story ... [Erdrich] is a gifted storyteller who brings all these characters and tales together with sureness and grace. Indpendent Echoes of Stand By Me ... a classic coming-of-age narrative. The Observer Detailed and nuanced, it is Erdrich's portrayal of the Native American reservation that makes The Round House stand out as a work of literary fiction. Sunday Express Emotionally compelling...Joe is an incredibly endearing narrator, full of urgency and radiant candor...the story he tells transforms a sad, isolated crime into a revelation about how maturity alters our relationship with our parents, delivering us into new kinds of love and pain. Washington Post A powerful novel worth reading. The Scotsman Erdrich is brilliant at using dialogue to capture the teenage psyche...The parallels with To Kill a Mockingbird are obvious, but it is the soundtrack to Rob Reiner's classic coming-of-age film Stand by Me that spooled through my mind as I followed Joe and his mates through their long, hot, life-changing summer. The Economist Erdrich threads a gripping mystery and multilayered portrait of a community through a deeply affecting coming-of-age novel. O, the Oprah Magazine Brilliant. Saga The Round House is filled with stunning language that recalls shades of Faulkner, Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison. Deeply moving, this novel ranks among Erdrich's best work, and it is impossible to forget. USA Today A gripping mystery with a moral twist: revenge might be the harshest punishment, but only for the victims. Entertainment Weekly Steeped in American folklore, rituals and tradition, Erdrich's rite-of-passage masterpiece is raw and compelling. Good Book Guide
When Geraldine Coutts, a Native American woman living on a North Dakota reservation, is assaulted and raped, she retreats into solitude. Her husband, Antone, a tribal judge, tries in vain to find the culprit while her 13-year-old son Joe begins his own investigation. Actor Gary Farmer turns in a workmanlike performance of Erdrich's literary mystery. He reads in crisp, clear tones-though occasionally he enunciates so carefully the narration sounds stilted and slows the pace of the story. Farmer struggles to lend unique voices to the book's characters-and this is particularly unfortunate given the rich, varied cast. Farmer provides the bulk of the characters with vocal pacing and verbal idiosyncrasies that don't differ from his narration. And this makes it extremely difficult for listeners to keep track of who is talking to whom and under what circumstances. A Harper hardcover. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Thirteen-year-old Joe lives happily on a reservation in North Dakota with his tribal judge father, his mother, and their close-knit community. A single act of violence cleaves his family, leaving his mother an isolated rape victim, his father preoccupied with an unattainable justice, and Joe, reeling in the aftermath, left to draw his own conclusions about what must be done. This New York Times best seller is undoubtedly well written, with carefully crafted, believable characters who evolve throughout the story. Gary Farmer provides solid narration, with the exception of a few irksome mispronunciations of local place names. Verdict The book is highly recommended for all collections. Read-a-likes include previous works by the author, some of which share characters with this work, or those by David Treuer, who also writes on Native American themes. ["Erdrich skillfully makes Joe's coming-of-age both universal and specific," read the review of the New York Times best-selling Harper hc, LJ 8/12.-Ed.]-Lisa Anderson, Omaha P.L. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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