Reviews
THE ROUND HOUSE is a stunning piece of architecture. It is carefully, lovingly, disarmingly constructed. Even the digressions demand strict attention., "Louise Erdrich's prose is spare, precise, smooth as polished stone. Her books are rich with literary muscle." -Austin American-Statesman, An artfully balanced mystery, thriller and coming-of-age story…this novel will have you reading at warp speed to see what happens next., 'A stunning and devastating tale of hate crimes and vengeance?Erdrich covers a vast spectrum of history, cruel loss, and bracing realizations. A preeminent tale in an essential American saga.' (Donna Seaman, Booklist, Starred Review of THE ROUND HOUSE), Erdrich skillfully makes Joe's coming-of-age both universal and specific…the story is also ripe with detail about reservation life, and with her rich cast of characters, Erdrich provides flavor, humor and depth. Joe's relationship with his father, Bazil, a judge, has echoes of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD., Erdrich threads a gripping mystery and multilayered portrait of a community through a deeply affecting coming-of-age novel., One of the most pleasurable aspects of Erdrich's writing…is that while her narratives are loose and sprawling, the language is always tight and poetically compressed…In the end there's nothing, not the arresting plot or the shocking ending of THE ROUND HOUSE, that resonates as much as the characters., THE ROUND HOUSE is filled with stunning language that recalls shades of Faulkner, Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison. Deeply moving, this novel ranks among Erdrich's best work, and it is impossible to forget., THE ROUND HOUSE is filled with stunning language that recalls shades of Faulkner, García Márquez and Toni Morrison. Deeply moving, this novel ranks among Erdrich's best work, and it is impossible to forget., The novel showcases her [Erdrich's] extraordinary ability to delineate the ties of love, resentment, need, duty and sympathy that bind families together…[a] powerful novel., …a powerful human story…By boring deeply into one person's darkest episode, Erdrich hits the bedrock truth about a whole community., Moving, complex, and surprisingly uplifting…likely to be dubbed the Native American TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Emotionally compelling…Joe is an incredibly endearing narrator, full of urgency and radiant candor…the story he tells transforms a sad, isolated crime into a revelation about how maturity alters our relationship with our parents, delivering us into new kinds of love and pain., The story pulses with urgency as she [Erdrich] probes the moral and legal ramifications of a terrible act of violence., A sweeping, suspenseful outing from this prizewinning, generation-spanning chronicler of her Native American people, the Ojibwe of the northern plains...a sumptuous tale., While Erdrich is known as a brilliant chronicler of the American Indian experience, her insights into our family, community, and spiritual lives transcend any category., Each new Erdrich novel adds new layers of pathos and comedy, earthiness and spiritual questing, to her priceless multigenerational drama. THE ROUND HOUSE is one of her best -- concentrated, suspenseful, and morally profound., Riveting…One of Erdrich's most suspenseful novels.... It vividly portrays both the deep tragedy and crazy comedy of life., Erdrich has given us a multitude of narrative voices and stories. Never before has she given us a novel with a single narrative voice so smart, rich and full of surprises as she has in The Round House…and, I would argue, her best so far., Erdrich's bittersweet contemplation of love and friendship, morality and generativity…result in a tender, tough coming-of-age tale., 'Riveting?One of Erdrich's most suspenseful novels.... It vividly portrays both the deep tragedy and crazy comedy of life.' (BookPage, Cover/Feature Review), A stunning and devastating tale of hate crimes and vengeance…Erdrich covers a vast spectrum of history, cruel loss, and bracing realizations. A preeminent tale in an essential American saga., The novel showcases her [Erdrich's] extraordinary ability to delineate the ties of love, resentment, need, duty and sympathy that bind families together…[a] powerful novel worth reading., A powerful human story…By boring deeply into one person's darkest episode, Erdrich hits the bedrock truth about a whole community., '?a powerful human story?By boring deeply into one person's darkest episode, Erdrich hits the bedrock truth about a whole community.' (Maria Russo, New York Times Book Review), 'A stunning and devastating tale of hate crimes and vengeance?Erdrich covers a vast spectrum of history, cruel loss, and bracing realizations. A preeminent tale in an essential American saga.' (Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)), Joe may be one of Erdrich's best-drawn characters; he's conflicted, feisty one moment, scared and disappointed the next. THE ROUND HOUSE will inevitably draw comparisons to Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD…, A gripping mystery with a moral twist: Revenge might be the harshest punishment, but only for the victims. A-, Wise and suspenseful…Erdrich's voice as well as her powers of insight and imagination fully infuse this novel…She writes so perceptively and brilliantly about the adolescent passion for justice that one is transported northward to her home territory.
