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paxtyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Rape, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Joe's personal liminality is reflected in Erdrich's depiction of life on the reservation. We take long detours through Catholicism and the local church and see the ways in which colonizing religions have influenced various people and families in their tribe, and we sense the disharmony of these traditions and their own. In the end, as Joe journeys toward revenge, he finds himself seeking reassurance and validation in both Catholic and Ojibwe tradition, alternately leaning on stories of Sins Crying out for Vengeance and the wiindigoo. Erdrich sets the crime itself in just such a liminal space - occurring, in part, within the Round House, a sacred space for the Ojibwe, but occurring in part at an intersection of tribal and "fee" lands. This liminality becomes the crux of the injustice in our story, and Erdrich shows us how the very real lack of sovereignty for Indigenous communities undermines their ability to protect themselves and their lands, and how it has specifically betrayed Indigenous victims of sexual violence.
There is so much that can be said about how Erdrich builds the narrative - the lack of quotation marks that give it a stream of consciousness feel at times, the storytelling woven throughout, the anecdotal detours, the wide cast of characters and the decision to confine the story to Joe's point of view. Altogether, these decisions create a world haunted by many ghosts, one in which we can see the ripples of action and inaction across people and generations, and one in which justice feels illusory.
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Car accident
library_anne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Murder
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Alcohol
sarahholliday's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
I am definitely a plot-driven person, but I enjoy picking up the occasional character-focused story. Joe and his community are absolutely fascinating, and though at times I wished we could move outside of his limited first-person perspective, it was both haunting and magical to see the events of the novel through his eyes.
What stood out to me the most was the emotional rawness—Erdrich takes readers into the kinds of emotional landscapes that are suffocating and overwhelming, but leads them through in the myriad ways all humans turn to: avoidance, escape, drunkenness, attempts to maintain some sort of control.
I loved Erdrich's style enough that I'm eager to pick up some of her other novels, and I highly recommend The Round House to anyone looking for a deeply-felt story of family, injustice, courage, and friendship.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Grief, and Murder
bangishimokwe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Colonisation
sam_fielder_137's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Eating disorder and Kidnapping
katsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“We are never so poor that we cannot bless another human being, are we? So it is that every evil, whether moral or material, results in good. You'll see.”
This was a very intense read. Definitely check trigger warnings for this book. It started a little slow for me but really picked up as it went. Generally, I like to listen to general fiction because I find it doesn't hold my attention the way romance, fantasy or thrillers. That's how I started this novel but found it fairly easy to finish it physically. My main complaint is that I didn't like that there weren't any quotation marks. I get that it's a literature choice but I don't really get it. Other than that, there wasn't a whole lot that I didn't like about this book. My favorite aspect was probably the perspective. It was so effective to make the main character's perspective that of a 13-year-old boy. It took all of the serious, intense themes and filtered them through the semi-innocent eyes of a pubescent boy. It genuinely made so much of the story more impactful. I also really appreciated the commentary on how Native Americans straddle the line between tribal soveriegnty and American jurisdiction, especially when it comes to things like rape cases or crime perpretrated by white people on reservations. It was also really interesting to read a depiction of reservation life.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
internationalreads's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
suzanlemont's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Colonisation
None of the triggers were very overwhelming/are all thoughtfully handled.