Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

17 reviews

oproy's review

inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I found the backdrop to the story extremely interesting and awe-inspiring. The plight of the Native Americans in the not so distant past is unfathomable, and this novel brings their stories to life.  And the entire idea of the termination bill and that people can just be used as chess pieces is a sad reality many face. 

However, rating just the novel, I did not enjoy. The way Erdrich intertwined magic/mysticism with the rest of the story sometimes confused me. I felt I had to finish it just to finish it, not because I enjoyed turning the page.  I understand that the point of Patrice is that she is coming of age emotionally while also having to take care of her family, but she was just unlikeable to me. 

I did find that the author’s way of leaving certain things to our own mind (Vera’s whereabouts, Parantau’s abuse) was well done. 


Overall, I did not enjoy but mostly because I felt like there was always something I was missing just beyond the grasp of my understanding. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Racism, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

maryfranvs's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexism, Addiction, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content

mamreads0816's review

challenging dark informative reflective slow-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? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking and Violence

rieviolet's review

challenging emotional informative 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? No

3.5

This is the first Louise Erdrich's book I've read and, all in all, I liked it. It was not a bad reading experience and I'd like to try out some of her other books.

The chapters are quite short so you can get through them quickly and the book doesn't really feel as long as it is. 
There are multiple point of views and it is interesting to experience so many different voices; still, inevitably, some characters were more captivating than others to me, and the overall narrative could feel a bit disjointed. 

I really appreciated how the author constructed the characters, they were flashed out well and felt very vivid on the page.
Also, I've read very few stories about Native American communities, so I enjoyed getting a glimpse into their history and culture.

It took me a bit to tune into the writing style, and there were still some bits where I struggled a little with the language and I'm not sure I really understood what was being said (but I am not a native speaker) or what was going on.

At times it got a touch strange for my personal taste 

just to name a few examples: dogs talking, chapters from a horse's POV, mention of a horse's vulva

, or the story took quite dark and disturbing turns abruptly, leaving me a bit discombobulated.

I wasn't completely sold on the ending, I think that a lot was left unexplored and untold, which is comprehensible given that there were a lot of narrative threads, but it still left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Medical content, Kidnapping, Violence, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, and War

danimcthomas's review against another edition

hopeful informative slow-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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Trafficking

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Confinement, Death, and Alcoholism

Some graphic depictions of sex trafficking

madelinemarigold's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad 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? No

4.75

Very informative historical fiction, discusses the attempt to disband (destroy, exterminate) the turtle mountain band of the Ojibwe and the community that came together to stop americas attack on indigenous sovereignty. Language, sisterhood, whiteness, love, indigenous (ojibwe) cosmology, and Mormonism are all explored

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Genocide, Trafficking, Torture, and Drug use

Minor: Death

lizgo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Racism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence

kld2128's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault

samkcs's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Racism, Trafficking, and Sexual violence

ekmook's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Racism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, and Gun violence