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A review by punkrockingnerd
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Oh boy, when I made the "kintsugi" tag, this was what I meant. For those of you who don't know, kintsugi is the Japanese technique of fixing broken pottery with a gold lacquer (although there are other colors used, gold is the most common from what I can see), highlighting the damage and repair as part of the piece's history, rather than trying to cover it up. I've always thought of it as in, "I don't like this feeling, but I think I have to feel it."
The Painted Drum is beautifully written, as most will say, but what really got to me was the floating from story to story, learning just enough about characters to care about their circumstances and well-being, only for the narrative to drift to someone else. In a lesser story, the connection from life to life would've been weak or bordering on absurdist, but here, you can see the almost-invisible threads connecting everyone involved until finally, like a ladder stitch, the string tightens and the story comes to a head with all the characters' actions bringing them together in a serendipitous way. A lot of this book is about pain and heartbreak, and a touch about living with grief (although it feels more like Hereditary's or One Hundred Years of Solitude's "grief is felt down the family line for generations"), but it never feels like a downer. Additionally, the author is indigenous and isn't afraid to show it, making a stance of "I'm going to talk about cultural and historical references that some people may not get, but that's not my problem-they'll relate to what they need to for the story's sake, but they can do their own research."
TLDR; It's a good read for someone who wants a quick yet captivating story with a unique perspective, focusing on the effects of tragedy in multiple generations and the people's attempts to understand and heal.
The Painted Drum is beautifully written, as most will say, but what really got to me was the floating from story to story, learning just enough about characters to care about their circumstances and well-being, only for the narrative to drift to someone else. In a lesser story, the connection from life to life would've been weak or bordering on absurdist, but here, you can see the almost-invisible threads connecting everyone involved until finally, like a ladder stitch, the string tightens and the story comes to a head with all the characters' actions bringing them together in a serendipitous way. A lot of this book is about pain and heartbreak, and a touch about living with grief (although it feels more like Hereditary's or One Hundred Years of Solitude's "grief is felt down the family line for generations"), but it never feels like a downer. Additionally, the author is indigenous and isn't afraid to show it, making a stance of "I'm going to talk about cultural and historical references that some people may not get, but that's not my problem-they'll relate to what they need to for the story's sake, but they can do their own research."
TLDR; It's a good read for someone who wants a quick yet captivating story with a unique perspective, focusing on the effects of tragedy in multiple generations and the people's attempts to understand and heal.