katie_archer's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.5
abroadwell's review against another edition
4.0
I always enjoy Erdrich's beautiful writing, and the intimate view of the Ojibwe world.
This novel deals with the quasi-magical ability of some special children to fix deep grief and trauma in the adults around them. The child LaRose works to heal the wounds within his adoptive family and his family of origin.
This novel deals with the quasi-magical ability of some special children to fix deep grief and trauma in the adults around them. The child LaRose works to heal the wounds within his adoptive family and his family of origin.
springdayzs's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
m_berthelsen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bbqrplanting's review against another edition
4.0
The only reason I rated it 4 is that it seemed a little slow. The book was well written and overall I enjoyed it but I was eager to finish by the time I was halfway through. I listened to this book, so that may be impacting my perception of the book. COVID quarantine may also be affecting my impression of the book as well, I wanted to move onto something lighter.
carmenere's review against another edition
4.0
Like many of her novels, Ms. Erdrich tells a story of Native American culture, traditions and spiritual world.
This novel in particular deals with a tragic death and how a Native American father comes to reconcile the mishap. His young son, LaRose, is at the center of retribution and reconciliation.
I found the novel well constructed however some may find it a bit confusing at first, read on, the names and time periods will soon by understandable.
The characters are well drawn and developed well, as much is learned from past storylines.
The conclusion, in my opinion is sort of lackluster but a well told story nonetheless.
This novel in particular deals with a tragic death and how a Native American father comes to reconcile the mishap. His young son, LaRose, is at the center of retribution and reconciliation.
I found the novel well constructed however some may find it a bit confusing at first, read on, the names and time periods will soon by understandable.
The characters are well drawn and developed well, as much is learned from past storylines.
The conclusion, in my opinion is sort of lackluster but a well told story nonetheless.
hpstrangelove's review against another edition
2.0
Hard Copy and Audiobook review - Narrator: the Author
This is a difficult book for me to review. It was almost the very first 'DNF', but I persevered because it was chosen for a book club I joined recently, and I wanted at least to be able to discuss it.
The first thing I actually hated, and I don't often use that word, was the narration. It's a perfect example of how some authors shouldn't narrate their own books. The audio is over 15 hours long, and after the first 30 minutes of listening to the author's voice drone on, I simply couldn't see how I was going to listen to another 14 1/2 hours of it! Thank goodness my little mp3 player has a 'fast' speed, otherwise I am not sure I would have been able to finish. Listening to the narration sound like a chipmunk was preferable to the slow whining voice of the author.
The second thing I hated about the book, which showed up within the first five minutes of listening, was the point-of-view (POV) switching! The POV endlessly switched throughout the entire book, in the middle of paragraphs, so much so that I felt like I was watching a basket ball game with the POV ball being thrown from one player to the next so fast it made me dizzy! It was maddening.
I thought perhaps there were physical cues in the actual book, indicating that the POV was changing, which did not come across in the audio. I checked the book out from the library, which was probably a mistake - not only were there no physical cues to the POV switches, there is no dialog punctuation! Some people like to say it's 'a style of writing', but to me, it's plain laziness. If you don't know the grammar, get an editor who does. If I had tried to read this book, I'm not sure I could have done it.
All of the technical flaws aside, it took a while to warm up to the characters, although I can't say I ever liked or cared about the four main parental characters, Peter, Nola, Landreaux, and Emmaline. They were selfish and, except for Peter, none of them cared about how their actions affected LaRose. I think I despised Nola the most. I can't imagine losing my son, but if I did, keeping another son and mother apart out of revenge or grief is simply deplorable. And if I had been LaRose's mother, I would never, ever, have agreed to letting him go.
The only redeeming part of the book, which is why it got two stars instead of zero, was that I became interested in the children and their stories, along with the backstory of Landreaux and Romeo's relationship. Romeo was the most fascinating character of them all - tragic, flawed - yet his actions were the most understandable.
Overall, this book had so much potential, but it was way too long and in need of a good editor. Fix the dialog punctuation and POV issues, cut it back by about 150-200 pages, and it could have been four stars.
This is a difficult book for me to review. It was almost the very first 'DNF', but I persevered because it was chosen for a book club I joined recently, and I wanted at least to be able to discuss it.
The first thing I actually hated, and I don't often use that word, was the narration. It's a perfect example of how some authors shouldn't narrate their own books. The audio is over 15 hours long, and after the first 30 minutes of listening to the author's voice drone on, I simply couldn't see how I was going to listen to another 14 1/2 hours of it! Thank goodness my little mp3 player has a 'fast' speed, otherwise I am not sure I would have been able to finish. Listening to the narration sound like a chipmunk was preferable to the slow whining voice of the author.
The second thing I hated about the book, which showed up within the first five minutes of listening, was the point-of-view (POV) switching! The POV endlessly switched throughout the entire book, in the middle of paragraphs, so much so that I felt like I was watching a basket ball game with the POV ball being thrown from one player to the next so fast it made me dizzy! It was maddening.
I thought perhaps there were physical cues in the actual book, indicating that the POV was changing, which did not come across in the audio. I checked the book out from the library, which was probably a mistake - not only were there no physical cues to the POV switches, there is no dialog punctuation! Some people like to say it's 'a style of writing', but to me, it's plain laziness. If you don't know the grammar, get an editor who does. If I had tried to read this book, I'm not sure I could have done it.
All of the technical flaws aside, it took a while to warm up to the characters, although I can't say I ever liked or cared about the four main parental characters, Peter, Nola, Landreaux, and Emmaline. They were selfish and, except for Peter, none of them cared about how their actions affected LaRose. I think I despised Nola the most. I can't imagine losing my son, but if I did, keeping another son and mother apart out of revenge or grief is simply deplorable. And if I had been LaRose's mother, I would never, ever, have agreed to letting him go.
The only redeeming part of the book, which is why it got two stars instead of zero, was that I became interested in the children and their stories, along with the backstory of Landreaux and Romeo's relationship. Romeo was the most fascinating character of them all - tragic, flawed - yet his actions were the most understandable.
Overall, this book had so much potential, but it was way too long and in need of a good editor. Fix the dialog punctuation and POV issues, cut it back by about 150-200 pages, and it could have been four stars.
cher_n_books's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars - It was really good.
Slow in places but had incredible character development that left me looking forward to reading more of the novels I have by Erdrich. For such profound literary writing though, I couldn’t help but snicker and be surprised by some of her character names that seemed completely out of place – Coochy and Father Dick Boner for instance. Seriously?
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Favorite Quote: Getting blown up happened in an instant; getting put together took the rest of your life.
First Sentence: Where the reservation boundary invisibly bisected a stand of deep brush—chokecherry, popple, stunted oak—Landreaux waited.
Slow in places but had incredible character development that left me looking forward to reading more of the novels I have by Erdrich. For such profound literary writing though, I couldn’t help but snicker and be surprised by some of her character names that seemed completely out of place – Coochy and Father Dick Boner for instance. Seriously?
-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: Getting blown up happened in an instant; getting put together took the rest of your life.
First Sentence: Where the reservation boundary invisibly bisected a stand of deep brush—chokecherry, popple, stunted oak—Landreaux waited.
wildsage's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
janeanger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.25