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hello_sweetie11's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
mruiz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
larakaa's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
Hum, I couldn't really connect to this one. Neither the protagonist nor the topics. The jumping back and forth in time and narrative didn't help either and made it feel unfocused for me. Maybe this just isn't for me.
squigleylib's review against another edition
5.0
This book is magnificent. Louise Erdrich writing is simultaneously sweeping and delicate. Did she invent the truth that the more personal, the more universal? If not, she has perfected it. That she also makes the universal personal is a revelation.
seanhelvey's review against another edition
3.0
Great writing! For me the subject matter was a little too soon after COVID and everything, so I had a hard time enjoying it. I’d definitely read more of her books though.
c_mcsweeney's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
it's like a cup of soup on a cold winters day
talireadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Okay by the end I really enjoyed this book. The offshooting plot lines made it hard to stay engaged at points. Also reading about Covid is still pretty heart wrenching and close to home. But the overarching plot was interesting, set in Minnesota made me feel at home, and i think will be an opening to reading more of her books.
amfrancis's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
kendragaylelee's review against another edition
5.0
I am grateful to Louise Erdrich for The Sentence.
I loved this book unequivocally. I purposely parsed it out day after day, so it would last longer.
It wasn't just that it was set in a bookstore (but that part made me feel so seen!) or that there was a ghost (I do have a bent toward the spiritual/supernatural). There was something about this novel that made me simply want to exist inside it. To savor every turn of phrase. Every frank insight. All the ways in which the characters were delightfully human, so flawed and so tender.
I realized partway through the novel that the plot was completely beside the point for me. I didn't really care what happened next. I was just pleased to have been invited into this world of human frailty, love, discovery, pettiness, joy, and struggle. I cherished every literary reference (there were many) and had to look a few up.
In short, the entire novel was delightful. So much so that I am going to keep a copy for myself--something I rarely do, since I exist in stacks and stacks of books every day. But I love it so much I can't imagine not being able to reach for it whenever I want, to be able to rejoin those characters again and again in that specific, tender, trying moment in time.
(As a bonus, there's a list of Tookie's favorite books at the end of the novel. That is a long range goal for me--to make it through every last one).
I loved this book unequivocally. I purposely parsed it out day after day, so it would last longer.
It wasn't just that it was set in a bookstore (but that part made me feel so seen!) or that there was a ghost (I do have a bent toward the spiritual/supernatural). There was something about this novel that made me simply want to exist inside it. To savor every turn of phrase. Every frank insight. All the ways in which the characters were delightfully human, so flawed and so tender.
I realized partway through the novel that the plot was completely beside the point for me. I didn't really care what happened next. I was just pleased to have been invited into this world of human frailty, love, discovery, pettiness, joy, and struggle. I cherished every literary reference (there were many) and had to look a few up.
In short, the entire novel was delightful. So much so that I am going to keep a copy for myself--something I rarely do, since I exist in stacks and stacks of books every day. But I love it so much I can't imagine not being able to reach for it whenever I want, to be able to rejoin those characters again and again in that specific, tender, trying moment in time.
(As a bonus, there's a list of Tookie's favorite books at the end of the novel. That is a long range goal for me--to make it through every last one).
annalaurasw's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book I’ve read set during the outbreak of the pandemic that truly evokes what that time felt like to live through. Erdrich’s prose and her characters, Tookie in particular, blend together to create a wonderful story. I can see myself revisiting this over and over again and getting something new out of it each time.