A review by megansmith
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

I love a good Louise Erdrich book, and this one had me thinking deeply about it’s themes. I liked the more granular, smaller-town focus on the effects of pesticides and harmful practices that are ruining the environment. Following one farming community’s relationship with the dying soil, the inability to kill weeds without killing yourself slowly, and rethinking about what constitutes valuable crops from weeds was a fascinating throughline throughout. I do also love how Louise Erdrich pulls the spiritual in the day to day that feels realistic - life I think contains some unexplainable magic, and this book approaches those moments in a way that keeps the mystery alive, but also feels relatable to many people’s own experiences. 

I did struggle with Kismet / Gary / Hugo for some time, I know many of Kismet’s struggles were propelled by things outside her control but it was painful to read some of the events unfold as they did. Just frustrating but worth the payoff in the end! Martin’s storyline also irritated me at times but, I do think his last chapter really cleared that up for me.

Overall I enjoyed this, I do wish the pace had been a bit quicker at times but the writing is stellar and its a great book to sit and think on well after it’s over.