Good Reads / Community Library Notes
The Round House
Louise Erdich
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Round House
Louise Erdich
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Round House by Louise Erdrich is about a woman who is attacked on the reservation where she lives with her husband Basil, and their thirteen year-old son, Joe. It's mostly about Joe and his buddies: Cappy, Zach, and Angus, a coming of age story. Joe’s father is a tribal judge, but cannot identify who has attacked his wife. He’s determined to find out and to seek justice.
Joe and his friends sit around a campfire every night and talk about girls, smoke stolen cigarettes, and tell dirty stories. Author Erdrich describes these teens perfectly. Joe’s grandmother and his great uncle, Mooshum, talk together about old times. Joe discovers where his mother was raped and looks for evidence there. He finds a gas can and flings it into the lake. He also discovers beer bottles and cigarettes. The boys suspect the new priest and spy on his house near the cemetery.
Linda Wishkob comes to visit Joe’s mother. She’s the only one his mom will talk to. Each time she comes, she brings a loaf of banana bread. She was a twin, and her brother was adopted by someone else. Linda was adopted by a nurse at the hospital because her real mother refused to keep her. She was deformed, but the nurse molded her into shape. Her brother, Linden, grew into a strange man.
The round house is the main location, almost the main character, as everything happens there. It’s where young boys become men. Linden takes his former girl friend there, and her baby conceived with another man. He also takes Joe’s mother there. However, we don’t know this until Joe’s mother confesses it later in the story, after she finds out the baby is unharmed. Maya, the young mother, has been killed. Linden pours gasoline on her body, but Joe’s mom has peed on his trousers and the matches get wet. They won’t light. Linden runs to his car to get new matches and Joe’s mom escapes in her car. Weeks later, Joe steals a rifle and practices shooting. His friend Cappy helps him. Joe asks Linda about her brother’s habits. He goes to the golf course every morning.
Will Joe seek revenge on his mother’s attacker? What will happen to the boys and especially to Cappy, Joe’s best friend? Find this fabulous book in the fiction room of your Mendocino Community Library.
Joe and his friends sit around a campfire every night and talk about girls, smoke stolen cigarettes, and tell dirty stories. Author Erdrich describes these teens perfectly. Joe’s grandmother and his great uncle, Mooshum, talk together about old times. Joe discovers where his mother was raped and looks for evidence there. He finds a gas can and flings it into the lake. He also discovers beer bottles and cigarettes. The boys suspect the new priest and spy on his house near the cemetery.
Linda Wishkob comes to visit Joe’s mother. She’s the only one his mom will talk to. Each time she comes, she brings a loaf of banana bread. She was a twin, and her brother was adopted by someone else. Linda was adopted by a nurse at the hospital because her real mother refused to keep her. She was deformed, but the nurse molded her into shape. Her brother, Linden, grew into a strange man.
The round house is the main location, almost the main character, as everything happens there. It’s where young boys become men. Linden takes his former girl friend there, and her baby conceived with another man. He also takes Joe’s mother there. However, we don’t know this until Joe’s mother confesses it later in the story, after she finds out the baby is unharmed. Maya, the young mother, has been killed. Linden pours gasoline on her body, but Joe’s mom has peed on his trousers and the matches get wet. They won’t light. Linden runs to his car to get new matches and Joe’s mom escapes in her car. Weeks later, Joe steals a rifle and practices shooting. His friend Cappy helps him. Joe asks Linda about her brother’s habits. He goes to the golf course every morning.
Will Joe seek revenge on his mother’s attacker? What will happen to the boys and especially to Cappy, Joe’s best friend? Find this fabulous book in the fiction room of your Mendocino Community Library.