A review by barnstormingbooks
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Last month I finally read Love Medicine and now I guess I’m reading the complete series, but out of order. Because this is not necessarily a linear series, but instead the story of a community told from various perspectives over lifetimes it feels like the order isn’t necessarily important. Instead we just keep finding new pieces to the puzzle that defines this community. 

The Last Report follows Father Damian, a priest with a secret past and identity. This is a fascinating character study of someone who decides to live as a gender different from the born sex for reasons that are not based in sexuality, instead due to opportunity, community, and faith. 

This book is steeped in Catholic imagery and iconography. Father Damian (who is also referred to as Agnes depending on the context of the moment) is devout. A woman who once wanted to become a nun, but due to some interesting interactions with music was pushed out. Through a fluke of happenstance she assumes the identity of a dead priest living as a man. Through his new identity Father Damian builds a supportive community and deep friendships in a community that has no reason to trust a priest. 

I loved Father Damian, but I loved Cashpaw and Margaret more. Here we find the wild and a little weird that is so endearing in all Erdrich’s books. It is rare to find an author that can navigate so many characters and storylines without wasting the readers’ time with extraneous recycling of details and plot points.