Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Night Watchman

This was so captivating and beautiful. It’s been a long time since I’ve met such a quirky and memorable cast of characters. There are so many beautiful stories swirled into this book, with main arcs as a beautiful frame for them all to fall into.

For my senior year English class in high school, we were required to write a “thesis.” I found myself at that point in my life and stumped by an entire year of writer’s block suddenly overwhelmed by so many ideas and feelings. I turned in a muddled mess and my teacher described it in the margins as a “carousel that never stops.” Af the time I was crushed by the B- and now it seems incredibly unimportant but also poignant somehow?

Anyways, this book is an example of a turning carousel that is so perfectly written, structured so expertly, that I was caught up in the motion but was also able to savor those precious moments of heartbreak or spookiness or elation. Would love to be able to write even a fraction as brilliantly as Louise Erdrich.

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republicofben's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Although the synopsis and subject matter of this book piqued my interest, I found it hard to stay engaged with the story. Aside from the slow pace of the story's main events, the part that made it hard for me to make it through this book was the large cast of characters. One theme of this book - and also something I expect the author hoped readers would take away - is the diversity of people part of and that interact with a community. I did enjoy meeting and getting to know the wide cast of characters, but the constant switching of narrators caused the pace of the book's main events to be slow and drawn out. My rating breaks down to the book not suiting my tastes, but one I would still recommend to someone looking for a book that deals with Native American stories and history or a true ensemble book that flips between narrators.

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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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lunxy's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This book took me a very long time to read. I found the short chapters and short sentences very hard to get used too, as someone who often marks my reading by chapters, the often only one page long chapters made it hard for me to really get taken away by the book

that being said I do think this is an excellent book, just not written in a style that is my exact taste.
My favourite thing about it was the way it weaved the more fantastical elements like ghosts and visions with the historical story (roderick was one of my favourite characters). The details of the native american belief systems and culture were absolutely fascinating. I knew nothing about the termination bill before reading this, and finding out how much of the characters stories was rooted in reality was eye opening.

I wish the ending was cleaner, I felt that Patrice’s story wasn’t really wrapped up considering what a prominent character she was (I also wanted her to end up with Millie lol), but again i think that’s just my personal taste rather than an objective mark against the book itself.

all in all i’m really glad I read this book, the spiritual descriptions were amazing, as well as being able to read small bits of the Chippewa language

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libbyhb's review

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emotional funny 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

5.0

I loved this so much. I don't know what it is, but anything Louise Erdrich writes just immediately grabs me. The two main characters we follow in The Night Watchman were immediately so interesting and charming and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next in their story. I liked the way that the story flowed from focusing on the most personal, intimate details of their lives, like Pixie's struggles with relationships and comparing herself to her friends, to broader trends and huge events, like Thomas's fight against termination or women like Pixie's sister being trafficked. And on top of all of that, the world was so well illustrated and immersive! Loved it.

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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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becksusername's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative 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

Holy shit this book was incredible. I love Louise Erdrich now even more than I already did, if that's possible.

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