A review by ktrain3900
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

What's done well in this book is how seamlessly big issues like climate change, GMOs, fracking, are woven with the every day lives of middle- and working-class Americans, the struggle to support families, to grow up and grow old. However, I didn't feel like I always connected with the characters in the same way I had in other of Erdrich's books and I can't quite say why. And every time I try to explain how some of the plot points felt off or not quite believable to me, particularly with the wedding, and that it happened more than how it happened, I swing to a sort of "didn't we all have to read Romeo & Juliet, with it's nutty teenage obsession story, so how is it that different here?" Overall, I liked it but I guess at this point I expect more to more than just like an Erdrich book.