"The Plague of Doves" by Louise Erdrich (HarperCollins, ISBN 9780060515126,
$25.95)
The newest great book to pick up is "The Plague of Doves" by Louise Erdrich.
The novel is earthy and rich, filled with delicious prose. Set in a small,
rural North Dakota town and a bordering Native American reservation, the
story spans nearly 200 years. By the time you finish reading this book
you'll feel like you are a part of this tiny settlement of people.
"The Plague of Doves" is densely packed with characters whose lives are
endlessly intertwined. It explores the dynamic between the whites of the
town and the Ojibwe people of the reservation who intermarry, hate, love,
kill, and form deep friendships.
My two favorite characters are Mooshum and Shamengwa. These elderly, Ojibwe
brothers love to drink and hassle the town priest, resulting in
laugh-out-loud hilarity. Their humor is balanced with breathtaking
tenderness and complexity. Shamengwa's violin music has particular
significance.
"The inside became the outside when Shamengwa played music... The music was
feeling itself. The sound connected instantly with something deep and
joyous. Those powerful moments of true knowledge that we have to paper over
with daily life. The music tapped the back of our terror, too. Things we'd
lived through and didn't want to ever repeat. Shredded imaginings,
unadmitted longings, fear and also surprising pleasures. No, we can't live
at that pitch. But every so often something shatters like ice and we are in
the river of our existence. We are aware. And this realization was in the
music, somehow, or in the way Shamengwa played it."
I highly recommend this book if you want something thought-provoking,
substantial, and sensuous to read.
Review by
Laura Flaugher, May 1, 2008
Back
to Reviews
