A review by sssnoo
The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

5.0

What a fantastic book. I never would have found this author or this book had I not joined the Goodreads 50 States Challenge and reached North Dakota. This is a true find. The book follwos a family from the end of WWI through the mid 1950’s and if you are from the midwest or central plains (I am from Iowa) you recognize the culture. The book is more than that though. The writing is lyrical and full of suprises, both in plot and style. I was taken aback by nuances in the sentances within the chapter “The Snakeman” for example (I won’t give spoilers). Their is not really one plot, one story; the book takes one direction then another and comes back full circle as it travles the decades, finally connecting all the dots. So many times I was hooked and stayed longer than I should have to finish a thread. Then the book would meander a bit with the characters as ther eader bonded more and more with their humaness. Oh I loved this book.

In some ways this book remined me of A Gentleman in Moscow. More in the way it delves into characters and personalities as they develop and grow over a lifetime; how these people influence others and also with a background storyline that comes full circle and leaves you satisfied and suprised at the end. A masterpiece.