Reviews

Tracks by Louise Erdrich

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It's so good. I love it. I read it for my American Literature class, and it was so good that I'm going to read all the other interconnected novels. I especially love Nanapush. Man, he's just so funny. I love him. Wish he was real so he could be my best friend.

historybowler's review

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3.0

It was okay

arden_time's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

fourstringspark's review

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Written after “Love Medicine” but as a prequel to that novel, “Tracks” introduces us to characters and families that people many of Louise Erdrich’s later books. It covers much of the same ground as others – accumulating colonial injustices, tension between the church and indigenous ways, family grievances. The writing is what you would expect from Erdrich – lyrical, dreamy, and “ I need to go back and read that line again” beautiful. This is a less straightforward narrative than some of Erdrich’s other works, though, told by two unreliable narrators in alternating sections. It’s the story of two strong, stubborn women representing clashing cultures. Perhaps apropos of oral traditions, the story of the woman representing the old ways was told not by her, but by a storyteller, who is male. “Tracks” also contains far more magical realism than other books by Erdrich. Overall, a good read that will be enjoyed by anyone who is familiar with the fictional world Louise Erdrich has created.

alexisrt's review

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Tracks by Louise Erdrich (2004)

hannahjeanie's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

jveevers's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

rageofachilles's review

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5.0

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s not for everyone, though. The best way to read it is after finishing Love Medicine (The Beet Queen is optional). I also read The Last Report of The Miracle at Little No Horse years ago so some of the characters were already familiar. This novel stretches all the way back to the early 20th century, sketching out the lives of characters, Fleur Pillager (and her cousin Moses Pillager), Nanapush, Pauline Puyat, Margaret Kashpaw, and others. The plot revolves around the ever dwindling reservation land and Fluer’s attempt at maintaining her home by the lake. The plot might not excite, but the novel really shines when Erdrich weaves together the daily lives of her Ojibwe characters with Ojibwe myths. The push and pull between modernization and traditional beliefs propels the novel forward, more so than any plot. In Erdrich’s skilled hands, Misshepeshu, the lake monster, haunts the novel, becoming a symbol of the unknowable, a symbol of all that is lost when modernity comes to the lake.

For those that are interested, Nanapush becomes a part of the myth as well, becoming a main character in the oral tradition of Mooshum in Erdrich’s The Round House (set in 1988).