One of the mostrevered novelists of our time—a brilliant chronicler of Native-Americanlife—Louise Erdrich returns to the territory of her bestselling, Pulitzer Prizefinalist The Plague of Doves with The Round House, transporting readers to theOjibwe reservation in North Dakota. It is an exquisitely told story of a boy onthe cusp of manhood who seeks justice and understanding in the wake of aterrible crime that upends and forever transforms his family. Riveting andsuspenseful, arguably the most accessible novel to date from the creator ofLove Medicine, The Beet Queen, and The Bingo Palace, Erdrich’s The Round Houseis a page-turning masterpiece of literary fiction—at once a powerfulcoming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history,and culture.The Round Housewas the first Louis Erdrich novel I have read and I’m already looking forward toreading more. In this novel, Erdrich examines the Ojibwe's modern-day culture,the discrimination they face, and the conflicts and complications of theirjustice system as a result of jurisdiction. Specifically, if a crime is committedagainst an Ojibwe member on non-Native American soil, the crime cannot be triedin the Ojibwe legal system. When I first heard about this novel I pegged it fora powerful book that could expose me to a way of living with which I was not very familiar and Erdrich delivered. This is a novel that will pull at your heart strings and make you reconsider the rights and tangle of laws surrounding Native Americans.
"We want the right to prosecute criminals of all raceson all lands within our original boundaries... What i am doing now is for thefuture, though it may seem small, or trivial, or boring, to you."First and foremost, TheRound House is a coming-of-age story narrated by thirteen-year-old Joe Bazil, whois young enough to not yet be a man but too old to be considered just a kid. Weas readers piece together and understand details of the crime and his family’sunfolding just as he does. There is something to be said about an innocentnarrator who doesn’t deserve the reality with which he is faced and the amountof sympathy we as readers feel.
The title of the book itself refers to a sacred meeting place, where the Ojibwe gather toworship and hold significant gatherings. In this novel, the Round House is alsothe scene of a heinous crime. (Not a spoiler – this is revealed in the first100 pages.) The fact that sacred space saw such a horrible crime highlights theunderlying Ojibwe traditions that were violated as a result of this crime, in addition tothe Bazil family itself.
Among other things, I enjoyed that Erdich weaves details of thetraditions and stories of Ojibwe culture into the narrative. In the novel ghost expose themselves and wendigos seek to possess humans. Erdichalso emphasizes the tremendous support extended families provide for oneanother in this culture. All in all, this is a story about injustices and how afamily pulls together in the wake of tragedy. It’s a story of redemption andspeaks to the prejudice many Native American women face across our nation. Ifyou do read this novel, and I recommend that you do, be sure to read the afterward;it details sobering statistics that I think would be considered spoilers if Iincluded them here.
Publisher: Harper, 2012
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