Reviews

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich

deanna_rigney's review

2.0

Interesting characters and good writing, but I just wasn't that interested in the subject matter. "Indian Hoo-Hah," as I like to say, just ain't my bag baby.

tarkalson's review

dark inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Mentally placing this in my  “ I wish I could read this again for the first time “ pile.

book_concierge's review against another edition

3.0

Book on CD narrated by Anna Fields.
3.5***

Faye Travers and her mother run an antiques business in their New Hampshire town. When Faye is asked to appraise an estate, she discovers a that the man who died is descended from an Indian agent who worked on the Ojibwe reservation that is home to Faye’s mother’s family. Among the artifacts in the attic is a rare drum. From this point the story moves back and forth, in time and location, as we learn the history – and future – of this particular drum.

This isn’t Erdrich’s best work. It’s slow to start and I wasn’t all that interested in Faye’s current love life. In part two, we have an abrupt jump to the reservation and Bernard Shawano takes up the story, relating how his grandfather came to fashion the drum, and its significance to the family. I found this section, and part three, much more compelling, but I had to wonder what happened to Faye and why Erdrich had just abandoned her storyline. Eventually the reader gets all the pieces of the puzzle and the connection between the storylines becomes clear. Still, I think I would have preferred the book if Erdrich had just focused on the drum’s origin and meaning to the Shawano family, and left Faye out of it.

Anna Fields does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and has the skill as a voice artist to differentiate the many characters.

canadianbookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-painted-drum.html

lsparrow's review

4.0

I love this authors stories..
how she weaves in so many different characters and stories and issues. I also love the imagery she uses in this book.

boreasword's review

4.0

Rich, and full of well drawn characters.

bytheosean's review

2.0

this book was kinda boring and like the only bits of the story that were interesting weren’t even the protagonist’s stories to tell so it’s like whatever. i appreciate being offered a different type of book regarding the indigenous community, and especially one that doesn’t necessarily focus on the pain and the fatigue of being native in white america. that being said,, i could not care less abt this dumbass drum.

craftygoat's review

4.0

Enjoyed. Didn't go into it realizing it would reference some of the characters from Erdrich books I'd previously read. Loved that it did -- but maybe that left me dissatisfied that it didn't give me more?

Spoiler

Specifically, when Bernard told the drum's history so Faye and her mother could know they were of Pillager descent, I expected that there would be some magic Pillager effect on them. Was disappointed that they never showed even any interest.

Still, a good story of the drum and the various lives it touches. Lots of heartbreak and lots of overcoming.

mjgriffinii74656's review

5.0

I have read enough of Erdrich's work by now to have a great appreciation of how she writes. Not just her style, but also the intricate ways in which her stories are knitted together, for indeed much of her work seems to be about amalgamating all the best parts of (...) something (some feeling, some idea about the soul, about character, some quirk of a plot detail). _The Painted Drum_ is a beautiful story about the history and legacy of this indigenous artifact, but it's also an intricate, emotional story of what it means to live, love, and lose. I see grief everywhere in the pages of this text, but I also see so much to live for.

juanitamfm's review

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Overall I really loved parts of this book. The second and third parts were a lot more interesting…Unfortunately the author started and ended the story with the two less interesting (in my opinion) characters. But the storytelling was like a completely different book when it was coming from Bernard’s point of view. And also Ira’s and her kids story was so sad…I could’ve used some closure there as well…like I would’ve loved to hear the baby made a quick and full recovery. I would’ve liked to know if Ira actually did choose Morris, and how the girls were doing after they left the hospital. I thought there was going to be a lot more about the lady with the lip scar…also some family trees would’ve been super helpful in this book! 
I also wanted to see if there was going to be any consequences to  Faye stealing the drum that was never supposed to be stolen or sold”.  Her story was kind of boring…like I couldn’t get why she didn’t want to be with Krahe…and I thought there was going to be more about her sister’s story. Like after she finally got up off the ground…what happened at the hospital. How did her mom find out. Stuff like that.