nglofile's review against another edition
3.0
In the month since finishing this book, I've been struggling to articulate my response. I came to it with an established adoration for Erdrich's writing, and I expected to be led on a journey that plumbed depths of characterization and theme. Those qualities are unquestioningly on offer, but I was conflicted in where those energies were directed.
Perhaps expectation is set up to miss the target, as it's always difficult to tease any complex book's content. The premise of LaRose is well-documented, and selfishly I'd wanted to read more of what would lead a family to follow an ancient tradition of giving up their child, the origins/context of the tradition itself, and perhaps more balance in the struggles of each immediate family member involved. We see stories from elsewhere in the community, something that I will rarely count as a negative, but many times the plot felt sprawling and muddled. I tried to trust that the ending would knit everything together in a way that illuminated the approach, and there were steps in that direction. I'm just not certain it made up for the tedium of some of the sidetrips, including the passages that swirled back to a sequence of ancestors named LaRose. I understand this was to establish the otherworldly echoes of those who bore the name, including the present-day boy, but it was difficult to hold back impatience at the disruptions.
An easy trap for reader response is to compare a work to the version we wanted to read rather than the one we read, and I've obviously succumbed. It's why I held off. However, this was my honest experience, and I offer it with the acknowledgment that perhaps I wasn't in the right place to fully appreciate what this book has to offer. Even with my reservations, I still recognize the narrative's power. However, if this had been my first Erdrich, I wouldn't immediately be drawn to other works, and that saddens me.
audiobook note: Initially I was disappointed to learn that Louise Erdrich recorded the audio adaptation. Not only am I wary of author narrators in general, I'd been holding out hope that Graham Greene, who read The Round House with mesmerizing resonance and empathy, would also be voicing this work. Frankly, I still found myself imagining his voice with this text, but Erdrich gained favor. Her reading embodies a careful humility in addition to her (obvious) understanding of the emotional beats of the work. It wasn't an exceptional performance, but it was effective, and I'm glad I didn't permit personal disappointment to rob me of her grounded and graceful reading.
Perhaps expectation is set up to miss the target, as it's always difficult to tease any complex book's content. The premise of LaRose is well-documented, and selfishly I'd wanted to read more of what would lead a family to follow an ancient tradition of giving up their child, the origins/context of the tradition itself, and perhaps more balance in the struggles of each immediate family member involved. We see stories from elsewhere in the community, something that I will rarely count as a negative, but many times the plot felt sprawling and muddled. I tried to trust that the ending would knit everything together in a way that illuminated the approach, and there were steps in that direction. I'm just not certain it made up for the tedium of some of the sidetrips, including the passages that swirled back to a sequence of ancestors named LaRose. I understand this was to establish the otherworldly echoes of those who bore the name, including the present-day boy, but it was difficult to hold back impatience at the disruptions.
An easy trap for reader response is to compare a work to the version we wanted to read rather than the one we read, and I've obviously succumbed. It's why I held off. However, this was my honest experience, and I offer it with the acknowledgment that perhaps I wasn't in the right place to fully appreciate what this book has to offer. Even with my reservations, I still recognize the narrative's power. However, if this had been my first Erdrich, I wouldn't immediately be drawn to other works, and that saddens me.
audiobook note: Initially I was disappointed to learn that Louise Erdrich recorded the audio adaptation. Not only am I wary of author narrators in general, I'd been holding out hope that Graham Greene, who read The Round House with mesmerizing resonance and empathy, would also be voicing this work. Frankly, I still found myself imagining his voice with this text, but Erdrich gained favor. Her reading embodies a careful humility in addition to her (obvious) understanding of the emotional beats of the work. It wasn't an exceptional performance, but it was effective, and I'm glad I didn't permit personal disappointment to rob me of her grounded and graceful reading.
sariereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Cursing
teresac's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.75
gorecki's review against another edition
5.0
No other writer has been able to touch and move me as deeply as Louise Erdrich has, is doing, and will keep doing. Many have come close, but none other's words and stories have resonated as deeply in me as hers have. As someone who has read all of her novels, (all but one), I have always thought that there will come a moment when I would grow accustomed to her style and stories. That I will no longer feel that throwing-your-eyes-wide-open pang as when I read my first book by her, The Plague of Doves. How happy I am that I was wrong and that such a moment will never come.
LaRose is an incredible novel about loss, retribution, and healing. During a hunting accident, Landreaux Iron shoots Dusty, the son of a friend and neighbor. Following old traditions and trying to make omends, he offers his own son, LaRose, to fill in the place of Dusty and become a part of Peter, Nola and their daughter Maggie's family. This accident opens new and old wounds in both families and people around them, and takes us on a journey across generations of Ojibwe healers who at one point or another took a new name and were known as LaRose. Starting from the first LaRose, whose real name was Mirage and who saved her husband's life and fought the consumption that years later took her from her loved ones, to the fifth LaRose in the bloodline, who fought loss and saved the lives of both his families.
Louise Erdrich is a remarkable writer who has once again created a novel with just the right amount of myth, magic, and love to create a touching story that is original, heartwarming, and inspiring. Something more - it left me three sentences that have found me at a time when I believe I need them most. In a way, LaRose healed me as well as all the characters in this book:
Sorrow eats time.
Be patient.
Time eats sorrow..
LaRose is an incredible novel about loss, retribution, and healing. During a hunting accident, Landreaux Iron shoots Dusty, the son of a friend and neighbor. Following old traditions and trying to make omends, he offers his own son, LaRose, to fill in the place of Dusty and become a part of Peter, Nola and their daughter Maggie's family. This accident opens new and old wounds in both families and people around them, and takes us on a journey across generations of Ojibwe healers who at one point or another took a new name and were known as LaRose. Starting from the first LaRose, whose real name was Mirage and who saved her husband's life and fought the consumption that years later took her from her loved ones, to the fifth LaRose in the bloodline, who fought loss and saved the lives of both his families.
Louise Erdrich is a remarkable writer who has once again created a novel with just the right amount of myth, magic, and love to create a touching story that is original, heartwarming, and inspiring. Something more - it left me three sentences that have found me at a time when I believe I need them most. In a way, LaRose healed me as well as all the characters in this book:
Sorrow eats time.
Be patient.
Time eats sorrow..
masriazs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
rachaelwho's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Excellent. Masterful. And she's one of the few authors who narrates her own book beautifully, I wish I could give another star for that.
I just wonder why she ended the book precisely on that line. I'm not sure I know what it means.
If you liked Beloved, you'll like this. (If you didn't, I don't know what to say...)
I just wonder why she ended the book precisely on that line. I'm not sure I know what it means.
If you liked Beloved, you'll like this. (If you didn't, I don't know what to say...)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child death, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Addiction, Bullying, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Infidelity, War, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
emilyusuallyreading's review against another edition
4.0
What I Liked
I love the character development in this novel. Maggie was my favorite. She is brilliantly broken, borderline psychopathic, but also fierce and strong and loyal. Watching LaRose grieve for his friend and grieve for the life he lost when his parents made the sacrifice to give him to Dusty's family is beautiful. The two mothers and their grief are also stunning, as are the healing stories of both fathers. The villain Romeo is hateable and loveable in the perfect kind of way.
The Native American folklore and culture added so much to this story. I never knew about the tradition of giving one's child to another family who lost their own, but it makes sense in an awful, broken kind of way.
What I Didn't Like
The flashbacks got a little too complex for me! At times, I was lost and would have to go back to try to understand where this snippet of story connected to another.
I know this is Erdrich's style, but quotation marks really, really help.
I love the character development in this novel. Maggie was my favorite. She is brilliantly broken, borderline psychopathic, but also fierce and strong and loyal. Watching LaRose grieve for his friend and grieve for the life he lost when his parents made the sacrifice to give him to Dusty's family is beautiful. The two mothers and their grief are also stunning, as are the healing stories of both fathers. The villain Romeo is hateable and loveable in the perfect kind of way.
The Native American folklore and culture added so much to this story. I never knew about the tradition of giving one's child to another family who lost their own, but it makes sense in an awful, broken kind of way.
What I Didn't Like
The flashbacks got a little too complex for me! At times, I was lost and would have to go back to try to understand where this snippet of story connected to another.
I know this is Erdrich's style, but quotation marks really, really help.
notoriouszoe's review against another edition
3.0
Book Riot’s 2017 Read Harder Challenge: "Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey."
kellyroberson's review against another edition
4.0
Really beautiful. The more I read of her the more I like her writing.
hoosgracie's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written. I was glad to finally read one of her books as she was a favorite of my Dad’s.