Friday, June 19, 2020

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN


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The Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich, HarperCollins, 2020, 444 pp
 
This is the best book I have read so far this year. Three of my reading groups chose it so I am having the experience of discussing it with a total of 14 women. In the two discussions I have had so far, everyone loved it and a common statement is, " I didn't want the book to end." This is a testament to how much Louise Erdrich gets the reader involved with her characters.
 
She based her story on her grandfather, a factory night watchman and resident of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. His fictional name is Thomas, he is a Chippewa, a man of great courage and intelligence but most of all persistence.

Thomas learns of a new "emancipation" bill on its way to Congress, a bill that will terminate the rights of his people to land "given" to them by a United States treaty that stated it was to last "for as long as the grasses grow and the rivers run." It is 1953. Should the bill pass not only will they lose their land but also their identity as Chippewa people.

Thomas spends his hours at night on the job, between regular inspections of the factory, reading the bill until he understands its words and its intentions. He then involves the people of the reservation in a bold plan to go before Congress and fight against the bill's passage.

Despite their poverty and the forces that have driven some to alcohol, have driven a daughter to run away to Minneapolis and become lost, the tribe includes characters who work against terrible odds to better their families and keep them together. One of these is 17 year old Patrice, who goes in search of her lost sister and sets in motion events that will affect the entire tribe, including a ghost!

Louise Erdrich writes with such smooth yet fiery storytelling. She shows how an oppressed people can use skills forced on them by the White man to their advantage in overcoming that oppression without losing the beliefs and understanding of their connection to their land and each other.

She gives new meaning to intelligence, compassion and courage. All the while she injects humor and a certain kind of magic trickster into this incredible tale of survival and triumph.

17 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fabulous read!! And a very timely read as well. I have yet to read a novel by Louise Erdrich.

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    1. I think you would enjoy her novels.

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  2. I had heard good things about this book.

    It sounds as if this would make a great film. I am thinking that we may very well see a movie version of this in a couple of years.

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    1. Interesting idea, Brian. I don't think any of her books have been made into movies so far.

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  3. I fully agree; it's a wonderful book. One of Erdrich's best, I think, and that is a high bar indeed.

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    1. Yes, a high bar. I read yesterday that she had been struggling to write her next book until she decided to write her grandfather's story.

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  4. This one sounds incredibly important and timely. Very thoughtful review.

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    1. I've just answered my own question over on my blog when I asked what your fave read of the year so far is - oops!

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  5. i worked with a Chippewa in the oil field... he was a smart person but he drank too much... plenty of reason to do that, i guess... one day he didn't show up: he'd gone back to the res...

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    1. As in all cases of imperialism the natives get a hard time.

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  6. This sounds really good Judy; thanks for sharing. It's on my ever growing TBR list.

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    1. I am happy to share it. I was so impressed.

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  7. Oh wow, such high praise! Years ago, I read a short story by Louise Erdrich (which I loved) and always meant to come back to her books but never did. Glad that this comes highly recommended.

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    1. She is one of the best authors in relating the Native American experience in present day America.

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  8. Wow I like that it is the best of the year you've read so far! That means I'm moving it up my TBR list. Glad your groups liked discussing it. Is this Erdrich's best? Or which one is your fav?

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    1. Truthfully, I have loved every book I have read of hers. This one is a special one though. I also loved her last one, LaRose.

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