The Round House

This was my first Erdrich book, and it was an interesting read. I almost put it down fairly quickly, because the entire book follows from a violent attack on a woman, and almost all of the central characters are men/boys. However, I think this is an example of how fiction can expose some serious societal problems, without being pedantic about the problems.

It's also about how men and boys deal with violence against the women in their lives, which is something worth reading and thinking about.

The book is an odd mix of a thriller (of a sort) and a deep dive into the emotions that come from violence. I think it works, but I never forgot that I was reading a book, because of the jarring mix of thriller genre tropes and a serious look at violence.

Plusses:
+ First Nations main characters, written by a woman of Native descent.
+ Great relationship stuff between father and son, against a lot of traditional masculinity.
+ quite good as a thriller for the most part
+ Star Trek: The Next Generation references throughout (it works, don't worry!)
+ Some great is-it-real-or-a-ghost-or-a-dream sequences

Minuses:
- we don't get enough of the mom character, or any of the female characters. I am certain this is a conscious choice on Erdrich's part. It's just a choice I don't like.
- a couple of Very Amazing Coincidences to drive the plot forward. These can be fun, or they can be distracting. For me they were distracting.
- the violence is mostly left to the side, undescribed, which works well


Plusses: