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A review by erins_library
Tales of Burning Love by Louise Erdrich
4.0
Hi friends. I really should have posted this review at the end of May, but here we are! This was read as part of #erdrichmedicinereadalong, and currently we’re reading The Antelope Woman. If you’d like to join us for a video discussion taking place the weekend of July 10th, please let me know!
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I was pleasantly surprised to realize this was connected to the Love Medicine series. It was really lovely to be back in the world Erdrich created and deepen connections to characters and aspects of the stories. There was closure for a couple of loose ends from The Bingo Palace that I appreciated. This book was less about the story and more of a deep dive on the characters (which I enjoyed). The book follows John Mauser and four of his wives and is written alternatively between all their perspectives and stories. Much of the story flipped between his 2nd wife and 5th wife (Dot!), as well as Mauser. The book really picked up about halfway through when the four ex-wives came together and started sharing their stories with each other as they relate to their relationships with Mauser. And it was fascinating to get inside the minds of four very different people. I found Mauser extremely frustrating. But I loved reading it.
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It’s hard to look at this book as a stand-alone without rating it as it fit into the Love Medicine series as a whole. For that it was an excellent wrap up to the entire collection, by filling in story holes and giving new perspectives. Erdrich is so talented at making you think you know enough about a moment, but revisiting that same scenario in a later book and shifting everything you thought you knew. For that I can’t recommend enough that you read the entire series (chronological or publication order), but they do function as standalones. You’ll just be missing out if you don’t read them all. The choice is yours.
⠀
I was pleasantly surprised to realize this was connected to the Love Medicine series. It was really lovely to be back in the world Erdrich created and deepen connections to characters and aspects of the stories. There was closure for a couple of loose ends from The Bingo Palace that I appreciated. This book was less about the story and more of a deep dive on the characters (which I enjoyed). The book follows John Mauser and four of his wives and is written alternatively between all their perspectives and stories. Much of the story flipped between his 2nd wife and 5th wife (Dot!), as well as Mauser. The book really picked up about halfway through when the four ex-wives came together and started sharing their stories with each other as they relate to their relationships with Mauser. And it was fascinating to get inside the minds of four very different people. I found Mauser extremely frustrating. But I loved reading it.
⠀
It’s hard to look at this book as a stand-alone without rating it as it fit into the Love Medicine series as a whole. For that it was an excellent wrap up to the entire collection, by filling in story holes and giving new perspectives. Erdrich is so talented at making you think you know enough about a moment, but revisiting that same scenario in a later book and shifting everything you thought you knew. For that I can’t recommend enough that you read the entire series (chronological or publication order), but they do function as standalones. You’ll just be missing out if you don’t read them all. The choice is yours.