Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

23 reviews

bookmaddie's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.25

I've never read any Erdrich before, so shoutout to my cousin who gave me this book, and the Read What You Own [In Community] challenged hosted by @sitting.wishing.reading and @bookish.cori on IG for getting me to finally pick up a book by her! Because I loved it! 

This reading experience was lovely—the short chapters drew me in and kept me reading, and Erdrich's way of storytelling is at once magical, approachable, and deeply felt. The magical moments and people's connections with nature were really beautiful rendered. It made me pause to wish I was reading this elsewhere, but also helped me feel more grounded in place while I was reading. I also loved how the story was based on the life of her own grandfather.

I do think Pixie/Patrice's story felt a little unresolved at the end, but I loved seeing her mature and learn about the world and herself—what she desired, what she wants from her life. The tribal community was really comforting in the way that they all cared for each other when times got tough, through gathering, visiting, or bringing along food or other necessities. It was a really warming experience to read about, especially as modern life can feel so isolating sometimes.

A gorgeous work, and I can't wait to dive in to Erdrich's backlist!

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hkburke2's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Complex and lyrical. This was a slow read for me. 

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lorit1227's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0


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erica_palmisano's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Fascinating and surprising. I haven't spent a lot of time in places like North Dakota & Minnesota during the 1950s, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The story was vivid and covered some difficult realities, but also kind and grounded in the details of daily life and simple pleasures. The audio narration was straight-forwardly lovely – cadence and style were simple and it was good to hear the fragments of the Chippewa language pronounced properly too. So glad I read this and got to meet these characters!

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kimveach's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Such a good story - based upon the true fight by the Turtle Mountain band of the Chippewa against the government's plan for the termination of the reservation and support of their people. She brings to life so many different characters and elements of reservation life in the 1950s.  I love these characters and hated to leave them when the book ended.  I'll be reading more from this author.

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alyx's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

A modern classic. The Night Watchman is defined by its beautiful prose and masterful storytelling, uniquely illuminating the lives of a wide variety of characters, yet also informing readers of an oft-erased period of neocolonial history and violence in the United States

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caseythereader's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0


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womanwill's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0


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eicart_reads's review against another edition

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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? No

4.5


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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Um ok this just came right out of left field for me and I am so glad it did. I picked this up on a complete whim while scanning a huge chunk of documents at work one day. I've of course heard of Louise Erdrich, but have admittedly been intimidated by her work, which has often been lauded as modern classics. While some of this book definitely did go over my head, I really really enjoyed it!! The main thread of this story, which is based on the author's grandfather, follows Thomas, the chairman of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Indian Advisory Council, as he works to fight House Resolution 108, which sought to terminate Indian tribes and end treaties put into place in perpetua by the U.S. government in recompense for the theft of Native lands. The story is gorgeously written, and in being told from a range of different perspectives, gives an in-depth look into life on the reservation in the 1950s. I learned alot, and would have given this 5 stars except for one scene that was just not my cup of tea. 

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