The Night Watchman

This is the second of Erdrich's novels I've now read. I loved The Sentence so much and was really looking forward to this one. The synopsis here and on the inside cover of the novel suggests that the story of her grandfather's life, fighting against the 1953 “Emancipation” bill, was going to be the backbone of the novel. It wasn't. There was a whole other story unfolding. I enjoyed the parallel plot of Patrice/Pixie and her coming-of-age type of struggles, but I found myself disconnected from what was supposed to be the focus. It seems like this could be two separate books, really. I will read more of Louise Erdrich's work. Her writing is beautiful and insightful, but this one made me feel impatient to finish.