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A review by meermollusk
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
3.0
3.5
I have some really mixed feelings on this book!
I really thought the strength of this book was its characters and characterization. I loved nearly all the characters of this book (though I felt Angus and and Zack were flat, forgettable and kind of meaningless honestly). I liked that no character was perfect and they all grew and changed throughout the plot.
The symbolism and details told through First Nations traditions and myths and how they related to what the characters were going through at the present time was also very well done. I loved reading the myths and histories here and thought they were extremely potent, relevant metaphors ESPECIALLY with what has been going on in the media recently with
I personally really enjoyed the parts of the book that discussed the law and the consequences of the actions of individuals that take place. I wish we got more of this! I felt the book was more of a coming-of-age story which I appreciate, but for me personally I was more interested in the details of the story directly related to the main plot than I was of the day-to-day life of Joe and his friends. That being said though, inserting these legal details into a coming-of-age story like this makes it much more accessible for many people, I think. If this is something that interests you I would absolutely recommend this!
Further, I'm not sure I'm someone that can really appreciate Erdrich's writing style (or at least the style used in this book). I found myself becoming quickly disinterested when the plot started meandering or when the author started describing something at length that didn't appear to have any particular importance. Almost contrary to this, the ending came very abruptly to me, and I was actually surprised when I reached the last page that when I turned the page one more time, there wasn't another chapter. I really would have liked just a little bit more resolution (not necessarily in the form of another chapter, just some more information since the story is told form the perspective of the main character much later in life).
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I will give Erdrich's writing another try. I would recommend this for anybody who loves a good character driven story!
I have some really mixed feelings on this book!
I really thought the strength of this book was its characters and characterization. I loved nearly all the characters of this book (though I felt Angus and and Zack were flat, forgettable and kind of meaningless honestly). I liked that no character was perfect and they all grew and changed throughout the plot.
The symbolism and details told through First Nations traditions and myths and how they related to what the characters were going through at the present time was also very well done. I loved reading the myths and histories here and thought they were extremely potent, relevant metaphors ESPECIALLY with what has been going on in the media recently with
Spoiler
many rape survivors coming forward and women sharing their stories.I personally really enjoyed the parts of the book that discussed the law and the consequences of the actions of individuals that take place. I wish we got more of this! I felt the book was more of a coming-of-age story which I appreciate, but for me personally I was more interested in the details of the story directly related to the main plot than I was of the day-to-day life of Joe and his friends. That being said though, inserting these legal details into a coming-of-age story like this makes it much more accessible for many people, I think. If this is something that interests you I would absolutely recommend this!
Further, I'm not sure I'm someone that can really appreciate Erdrich's writing style (or at least the style used in this book). I found myself becoming quickly disinterested when the plot started meandering or when the author started describing something at length that didn't appear to have any particular importance. Almost contrary to this, the ending came very abruptly to me, and I was actually surprised when I reached the last page that when I turned the page one more time, there wasn't another chapter. I really would have liked just a little bit more resolution (not necessarily in the form of another chapter, just some more information since the story is told form the perspective of the main character much later in life).
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I will give Erdrich's writing another try. I would recommend this for anybody who loves a good character driven story!