For most of my life, I have been fascinated by the culture and history of Native American tribes. My knowledge is very limited, but I'm always curious about their lives. Non-fiction books are a good place to learn the history of a subject, but I prefer to learn about a culture through novels. To achieve this, I have been turning to one of the best contemporary Native American storytellers -- Louise Erdrich.
Erdrich has been a published author for close to 30 years, and during that time, she has found a way to explore her roots as a Native American and share those experiences with a broader audience without alienating or offending anyone. Her books are usually stories of American Indians, but told in a way that all readers can identify with. Along the way, non-Native Americans might even learn a little about contemporary reservation life.
Her latest book, The Round House, is a perfect example of this. The story takes place in the summer of 1988, when young Joe Coutts, the son of a tribal judge and a tribal enrollment specialist, is just looking forward to the endless days hanging out with his friends. Unfortunately, it will not be that idyllic. This summer will shape the rest of Joe's life after his mother is brutally beaten and raped by an unknown assailant. Their comfortable, quiet life is now shattered. Joe struggles with how to help his mother through her depression and why it seems so difficult to figure out who the attacker is.
When Joe is not trying to figure out who hurt his mother, he spends his summer like any 13-year-old boy -- hanging out with his friends, sneaking beers, and talking about girls. We also get to meet his wacky extended family, which includes an ex-stripper aunt.
By the end of the summer, the family will figure out who attacked Mrs. Coutts, but it will take a few very tragic turns that no one could have foreseen. Along the way, we learn about the difficulties of prosecuting crimes committed against Native Americans. It all depends on who the accused is (white or non-white), and whether it took place on tribal land or not. And for young Joe, this is a very had concept for him to accept.
If you are at all interested in understanding how contemporary Native Americans live in our country, I would highly recommend this or any of Louise Erdrich's novels.
Click here to see all of Louise Erdrich's books available from the library.
-- Post by Tracy
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