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A review by oumeima_intobooks
Four Souls by Louise Erdrich
5.0
I started off reading Four Souls back in May and it took me almost a month or so to finish it. This was not only because I happened to be very busy but also because the book, despite its being quite short, is a very dense read as far as themes and style are concerned. I've always loved Louise Erdrich and expressed my interest in her works and devotion to giving voice to her people but now I am so sure she's a new favorite author.
Four Souls is part of Erdrich's Love Medicine series and is narrated by three different point of views while tackling key themes and issues in the lives of the native people. The book does not follow any particular chronological order and the narratives are full of implicit flashbacks and memories. Sometimes, I get surprised in a positive way when I fid out the speaker is telling a story within the original story, it's no longer that confusing to me but rather fascinating how Erdrich makes use of the native custom of storytelling even within her original plot!
What I absolutely loved is how the stories have come to be interconnected creating a whole image of the native life and experience. One full of grief, mourning, and resilience. Grief over land loss and the undying desire for revenge are a central theme in the book along with alcoholism, I just can't appreciate Erdrich's bold take on the drinking issue and think she's made use of it really well while exposing the aftermaths of white colonial oppression and hostility.
Finally, I have to mention that the spiritual side of the characters especially Margaret was phenomenal, so well written and so well conveyed, you literally see things the way the characters do. The medicine dress has become my own obsession too, and when it has actually worked its magic on Fleur (aka Four Souls) I felt the connection in my bones and the importance of one's culture and beliefs in one's survival against all external menacing powers.
Overall, this book deserves all the stars and I can't stress enough how painful it's been to read it but in the sense that it made so self-conscious about the characters, their agonies, and their struggles to keep on going. This might not be an easy book to pick and if you're reading a book by and about native people this may be too difficult a start for you but also really worth the try because the prose and the characters are just so beautiful. Louise Erdrich has her own way with words that would lure you into her stories, you might leave exhausted but also very satisfied.
Four Souls is part of Erdrich's Love Medicine series and is narrated by three different point of views while tackling key themes and issues in the lives of the native people. The book does not follow any particular chronological order and the narratives are full of implicit flashbacks and memories. Sometimes, I get surprised in a positive way when I fid out the speaker is telling a story within the original story, it's no longer that confusing to me but rather fascinating how Erdrich makes use of the native custom of storytelling even within her original plot!
What I absolutely loved is how the stories have come to be interconnected creating a whole image of the native life and experience. One full of grief, mourning, and resilience. Grief over land loss and the undying desire for revenge are a central theme in the book along with alcoholism, I just can't appreciate Erdrich's bold take on the drinking issue and think she's made use of it really well while exposing the aftermaths of white colonial oppression and hostility.
Finally, I have to mention that the spiritual side of the characters especially Margaret was phenomenal, so well written and so well conveyed, you literally see things the way the characters do. The medicine dress has become my own obsession too, and when it has actually worked its magic on Fleur (aka Four Souls) I felt the connection in my bones and the importance of one's culture and beliefs in one's survival against all external menacing powers.
Overall, this book deserves all the stars and I can't stress enough how painful it's been to read it but in the sense that it made so self-conscious about the characters, their agonies, and their struggles to keep on going. This might not be an easy book to pick and if you're reading a book by and about native people this may be too difficult a start for you but also really worth the try because the prose and the characters are just so beautiful. Louise Erdrich has her own way with words that would lure you into her stories, you might leave exhausted but also very satisfied.