This is a powerful multigenerational saga of two extended families that live on and around a Chippewa reservation in North Dakota. The family members are full of despair and hope as they cope with insensitive government policies, poverty, alcoholism, and love.

Somewhere Erdrich's style was compared to Faulkner's (narrative from multiple points of view). Love Medicine is more accessible, in my opinion. ( )

Product Description
The stunning first novel in Louise Erdrich's Native American series, Love Medicine tells the story of two families -- the Kashpaws and the Lamartines. Written in Erdrich's uniquely poetic, powerful style, it is a multigenerational portrait of strong men and women caught in an unforgettable drama of anger, desire, and the healing power that is love medicine.

2240 Love Medicine A Novel by Louise Erdrich (read 22 Oct 1989) (National Book Critics Circle fiction award for 1984) The author is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, grew up in Wahpeton, N.D., and now lives in New Hampshire. The Turtle Mountain people she writes about are just as worthless as one who stereotypes Indians considers them. The book has gratuitous sex, foul language, and is a pain to read. Authentic? Certainly, I am sure.the drinking, laziness, and oddity she writes about are authentic. The story line is not too hard to follow, and is about a couple of Indian families on the reservation, all mixed up and filled with worthless behavior. I am not sure reading this book was worthwhile, but as modern novels go it could have been worse. ( )

Harper Perennial edition ( )