Reviews

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich

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judyward's review against another edition

3.0

Don't read this book Leslie. The history of a rare Ojibwe drum. The story moves from the past to the present and back as the history of the drum and its affect is traced

ajlewis2's review against another edition

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5.0

A drum for healing. Several plot lines come together around the drum. A moving and hopeful story involving several Native Americans, trials, hopes, love. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it very much.

willan13's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.25

radioisasoundsalvation's review against another edition

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4.0

Louise Erdrich is such a rich, voluminously lyrical writer. I'm constantly astounded by the grace with which such powerful stories are delivered!

Mixed blood Faye Travers' own misdeed brings her to find and return a drum that tells its story past, present, and future in this beautifully wrought story. It's a beautiful story of retribution and family; the drum of the Ojibwe brings health and forgiveness to mothers and daughters wrecked by tragedy and misdeeds, as the lost children speak through the drum across generations of a reservation community.

This novel isn't just about grief and loss; it's about life and recovery. All of the women in this novel must move past their actions and circumstances: "Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself that you tasted as many as you could."

The power in this novel is this message, as well as its scope through multiple generations and over life and death. I highly recommend this novel, as I have been known to recommend others of Erdrich's I have read!

siria's review against another edition

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3.0

Its deftly calibrated prose and well-sketched characters are the real joys of The Painted Drum. Erdrich has a skill at writing about deep emotions, yet modulating them with a perspective and a wry humour which ensures that they don't become over-bearing or maudlin. Her view of the world is realistic, but hopeful. The book is probably best seen as three linked novellas rather than one novel, though, and for me its weakness was that just as I was becoming truly engaged with a character, Erdrich was moving on to the next one; I also felt that the last one was a little rushed, but perhaps that was a function of me finishing the novel while waiting to donate blood. *g* Still, well worth the read.