The Round House
By Louise Erdrich
(Harper, Hardcover, 9780062065247, October 2012, 321pp.)

The Short of It:

The tension in this tightly written novel is subtle yet continues to build, leaving you exhausted in its wake.

The Rest of It:

Joe, a thirteen-year-old Ojibwe boy living on a reservation in North Dakota is forced to a grow-up quickly when his mother Geraldine is raped and nearly murdered. As the wife of a tribal judge, Geraldine realizes just how important jurisdiction is, but is unable to say exactly where the act took place. Was it on the reservation? Or not? She’s not sure, and as she slowly retreats into a world of her own, retreating not just from herself but from both her husband and son, no one is sure if they’ll ever find the answer. Frustrated by the pace of the investigation, Joe, along with the help of his friends slowly piece together the events of that day and what he finds puts him in a precarious position.

Although the pace of the story is a little slow, I was completely absorbed by the characters and never once doubted the realness of the story itself. It’s fiction, through and through but it felt genuine and plausible and I was touched many times by the love Joe felt for his mother. It’s not common for a teenage boy to show love for his mother so openly but her near death experience wakes something up within him that refuses to let him rest and it’s exhausting to go through it with him. The tension, the secretive nature of the case and the fact that Joe’s parents are trying to spare him the gritty details makes it all the more poignant.

I’ve heard that Erdrich is known for her poetic prose but I didn’t notice it so much here. Instead, I noticed the slow, skillful build of the story, her talent for character development and her ability to nail time and place. It’s set in the late 80’s on the reservation and every time I opened the book I felt as if I was there too.

In the end,  a satisfying read with some very memorable characters.

I have one copy to give away to one of my readers. To enter, check out the giveaway details below.

Louise’s TLC tour stops.

Source: Review and giveaway copy provided by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of  The Round House and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from the publisher. Only one entry per person.  Giveaway closes on December 21, 2012 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.

To enter the giveaway, please click here.