2.5 stars really. ( )

A man accidentally kills his neighbor’s son while hunting. He decides to send his own son to live with his neighbor, in the traditions of the Ojibwe tribes of the past. It is well-written, but I never warmed up to this story. I did not find it particularly compelling and there were several superfluous storylines that seemed to go nowhere. Suffice it to say this is not my favorite book by Louise Erdrich. I can highly recommend The Round House and The Master Butchers Singing Club. ( )

The more I read Louise Erdrich, the more I find in her novels. Larose is a family saga but one which explores the way injustices done to American Indians echoes down the generations and affects people in the present day. I don't want to spoil this expansive novel so that's all folks. ( )

Not a spoiler, because it occurs in the first chapter of this book--Landreau Iron is hunting, stalking a deer, and accidentally kills his neighbor’s 5-year old son, Dusty. To atone for his role in the accident, Landreau resorts to “the old ways” and gives to his neighbor’s family his own son. The premise of this book, that a man can atone for his accidental killing of a child by giving to the victim’s family his own 5-year old boy, is a difficult idea to process. My initial reaction was that this man, in order to clear his own conscience, was subjecting his wife and his son and his other children to an inhuman and unnecessary deprivation. Like Abraham sacrificing Isaac on the altar, it is the worst punishment that could be required, but I could not help thinking it was visiting the sins of the father upon the son, and grossly unfair. I wondered how it could help the other mother to have this child filling the place of her own son, as if one child could ever replace another.

That was my initial reaction. Deeper into the book, I saw this in a different light. I felt that LaRose, the child who is given away, had a great purpose and was the key to having all the members of both families survive this tragedy. In his person is embodied the way of healing the unhealable loss. The grief that runs through this story is palpable. It flows like a river around all the characters and it sweeps them along and plunges them down rapids that they cannot escape or navigate. Only LaRose seems to know how to deal with each of them and the dead boy head on. I loved this child, whose old-soul wisdom made his spiritual lineage believable and sweet.

Louise Erdrich incorporates Indian mysticism into the novel without breaking the credibility of the story. I enjoyed the parts of the book that dealt with the five previous generations of family members named LaRose. But, I particularly liked the side-story of Romeo and Landreau. Romeo seemed to be a character outside the main story, but Erdrich connected the dots and made him an important piece of the main plot. It would have been so easy to see him as a worthless person, but the threads of his story reveal him slowly and caused me to redefine my initial assessment. I think one of the strengths of this novel is the way it makes you continually rethink your feelings and understanding of these people and their relationships to one another.

This is my first Erdrich and I know now that I must go back and read The Round House, which is purported to be her finest work. I appreciate the authenticity of her writing and the depths to which she can plumb this culture and make me feel both how different and unique this culture is and at the same time how universally human. ( )

Louise Erdrich has once again written a powerfully haunting novel that takes place in North Dakota on the eve of the new millenium. This one revolves around a horrible tragedy that resulted in the death of a child. Nola and Emmiline are half-sisters living as nearby neighbors when Landereaux takes aim to shoot a buck, only to find that he has killed Nola and Peter's beloved 5-year old son. The grief of these two families is profound. To compensate for accidentally killing their son, Emmiline and Landreaux reluctantly decide to give Nola and Peter their own 5-year old son, LaRose, after seeking guidance from their time in the sweat lodge.

LaRose, Landeraux's favorite child, is understandably confused as he is absorbed into his new family. He is shuffled back and forth between the two families, with each using him as solace for their grief. He is a special boy with a sacred name, as told in the back story of Landereaux and Romeo, both of whom were sent to a “boarding school” for indigenous children. Romeo is a miscreant as an adult, described by someone as having "the soul of a rat," His son, Hollis, is being raised by Emmiline and Landereaux. Their histories are long and complicated.

Louise Erdrich has an ability to absorb her readers into her stories, while educating us about the folklore and history of indigenous people. Her characters are finely tuned and compelling. The fate of these two damaged families, fractured by tragedy and healed by their shared love of a child, is memorable. ( )