"The Round House" is, I believe the third Louise Erdrich book I have read, and of that trio, I think it is the best. A meditation on good and evil, the aftereffects of violence, the prosecutory issues of rape in the American Indian culture, even a veiled reference to the Sixties and the Kennedy assassination, the book is tremendous in scope for what is at heart a basic story--one's family's attempt to deal with the violent rape of its maternal figure in the Indian culture.
On a North Dakota reservation, in 1988, Geraldine Coutts, wife of the tribal judge, has gone missing. She is eventually found, behind the wheel in her car, beaten bloodily, and, when examined, sexually assaulted.
Who did this, and why? Her son, Joe, thirteen at the time, looks back on all this from the vantage point of his being a lawyer, years later (which may, understandably, lead some to compare it to "To Kill A Mockingbird," though Erdrich's writing style is distinctly different from Harper Lee's), with the remainder of the novel being the working out and resolving of this situation, which exposes some goings on within the community. And the resolution may be pleasing to some, not so to others.
Father Travis stands out as one of the story's great supporting characters. A priest who, from the way he is described, might be dubbed "Father-What-A-Waste," he is a man of action, as well as of God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like I said, I seem to be just reading my way through January. Whatever month it is, I suggest all you out there read this. If you have not experienced Louise Erdrich, this will give you the best sampling possible. She won the National Book Award for this! And it will get you to read other of Erdrich's works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But there is no Princess Tickle Feather here, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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