Love Medicine: Newly Revised Edition (P.S.)

This is suppose to be about Native American culture, I believe. One of my special assignments is to do a biography of this author. The book does look interesting, but this is last book of the semester.

Louise' Erdrich's Love Medicine is an intricate story centered on two Chippewa families, the Kashpaws and the Lamartines, and the way the family members interact with each other. The story begins with June, a beautiful woman, down on her luck, whose sudden and accidental death has a profound effect on the lives of the people who knew her. Readers travel back and forth in time with multiple characters, experiencing their lives as they unfold, watching as they make mistakes, recover, and then stumble again. We see how the American government impacts their lives, how Christian missionaries abuse their culture, and how, over time, proud people become mistrustful and vengeful, falling into alcoholism, violence and dead ends.

Native American contemporary history is pretty bleak. It's a story of almost complete annihilation, isolation, broken promises and misguided compromises. Even using the phrase "Native American" in a way is defeatist- even 100 years ago, people knew tribes as being distinct, having very different ideas about life and how to live it. Now, there are so few of them left that we group them all together and are completely unaware of the nuances that separate one tribe from another.

Louise Erdrich writes about all this, but indirectly, through a series of short stories interwoven with each other to form a novel. We meet so many characters, all of them flawed, none of them very likeable and yet we can empathize with every one. There is so much sadness in this book- so much lost potential, so much despair, so much waste, often symbolized by bouts of extreme drunkenness and violence. The people in this story hurt each other, over and over again, and yet still readers cross their fingers and closer their eyes tight and wish that somehow, they'll all make it through okay in the end.

I didn't love this book, but I loved the writing. Erdrich writes like a poet, and while I had a lot of trouble while reading this book keeping characters separate in my mind, and understanding where in the timeline the plot was (it skips around a lot over 50 years), this was always very clear to me. Erdrich can write, and this is one of the most impressive first novels I've ever read. To do multiple points of views, all over the course of fifty years, is a very ambitious undertaking, but Erdrich manages it very well. It was me, with my stop-and-go reading habit, that made this read difficult. This isn't the sort of book you can pick up for twenty minutes a day, and then not read for four days, and then pick up again for another half hour. It requires concentration, organization and memory. Give it that much respect, and I think it will pay you back tenfold. Don't, and you may be left scrambling to understand what's happening, the way I did.

This is not a hopeful book. It details, starkly, life on a reservation. Its characters struggle with their lives, some sinking into despair on the reservation and others attempting to leave but finding that they are always somehow drawn back. Like Sherman Alexie described in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, being successful by American standards is not necessarily a positive thing to Native Americans. They hate and distrust the American justice system (understandably) and government, and so finding a way to balance personal ambition with cultural identity is a difficult path to navigate. Louise Erdrich's story was, to me, a companion novel to Absolutely True Diary, about the lives of the secondary characters many years in the future. I didn't love any of the characters- and in fact, disliked quite a few of them- but they were so mired in inevitability, in some sort of never-ending spiral, that it was hard not to feel compassion for them.

This was a great read, but it definitely requires commitment, engagement, and emotional strength. Definitely not a light summer read, but one I'm very glad to have read- and an excellent introduction to an author I'll be sure to look out for in the future.

Erdrich’s narrative style is unique, and seems like almost a mix of the lilting Western cadence of Ivan Doig and the measured, poetic prose of Amanda Coplin. The characters gather dings and scrapes like old cars, but are consequently more relatable. We skip from character to character and delve into their deepest desires and most destructive mistakes. A painstaking picture is painted of the careful line we draw between love and hate and the power of family.

Mysteries unveiled themselves slowly but assuredly, thrusting the story deeper into me with a poignant spear. There is a fantastical element of the plot that was unexpected but lovely, subtle and captivating. Most noteworthy is the character Lipsha and his propensity for love medicine. He demonstrates the magical and bewitching tint that stains Erdrich’s prose. The writing, for all it’s enchanting stylistic quirks, is easy to read. It’s tough to put this book down!

Keeping track of who was related to whom as Erdrich switched between characters is a rather difficult. The ever-changing last names of the members of these families, due to marriage or some unknown parent, made it hard to follow along at times. I constantly flipped back through the book trying to figure out who belonged to which family. In a book where families merge and break apart and develop rivalries, why not include a family tree?

If you’re looking for a happy-go-lucky read, this book probably isn’t what you’re looking for. It tackles some hefty issues, like alcoholism, abuse, abandoned children, murder, arson, and infidelity…I could go on and on. However, Erdrich tackles these issues with dignity and finesse, and her prose stings with the cold slap of honesty. I recommend this book wholeheartedly for readers with an interest in Native American culture and the ties that bind the generations together.

--Elise Hadden, Under the Heather Books ([...])

What a complete waste of time. Just finished (for Book Club) and have no idea what I read. Such rambling from one uninteresting character to another! I kept trying to understand what the author wanted readers to get out of the book but I got nothing. Again, I will avoid novels that win all kinds of awards and are on Best Seller Lists and go with my feelings if I decide on a novel. As this is what a good read should do, touch feelings, make you think, understand other cultures and ways of life, make you laugh, make you cry. No recommendations from me.

Was looking forward to reading this novel. However, the author introduced so many characters with so many plot lines in just the first part of the book, and the writing was so stilted and humorless,I lost interest. I resorted to going on Wikipedia, where they had a whole section on all the characters and their relationships and the storyline, etc. Other readers had the same problem I did.

However, by that time I had moved on to other books and decided to leave this one way up in the cloud.
I've found that if you can develop a relationship with the characters in a book that you care about, the reading goes much smoother. In Love Medicine. the characters, their relationships and lives did not add up to much, and it was difficult to develop any sympathy for them.

Reading a book by Louise Erdrich is like sitting down to enjoy a finely-crafted meal. I'm not talking about comfort food like your mom makes; I'm talking about that insanely expensive meal that you can only afford because it's a special occasion and you want to create a memory with this meal.

This is the second book I've read by Erdrich (I read Tracks before this one), and the marveling at the craftsmanship of her writing continued all the way through it. She mixes fantastical elements with some of the most gut-punching, matter-of-fact observations by characters who just cannot catch a break.

Tracks introduces several characters that appear in Love Medicine, and then Love Medicine takes over and tells what happens to those characters. The major issues of land rights being taken away, language being lost, and religion shifting to something new and foreign are all addressed. In fact, Lipsha Morrisey addresses the issue with this heart-breaking passage:

"Our Gods aren't perfect, is what I'm saying, but at least they come around. They'll do a favor if you ask them right. You don't have ot yell. But you do have to know, like I said, how to ask in the right way. That makes problems, because to ask proper was an art that was lost to the Chippewas once the Catholics gained ground. Even now, I have to wonder if Higher Power turned it back, if we got to yell, or if we just don't speak its language... Was there any sense on relying on a God whose ears was stopped? Just like the government? (p. 236-237)"

Can you imagine struggling with something like this? Wondering if the God of the Catholics, the one who you have been told is the all-powerful, cannot understand you or worse... simply doesn't care?

And how did the government treat the Chippewas?

"They gave you worthless land to start with and then they chopped it out from under your feet. They took your kids away and stuffed the English language in their mouth. They sent your brother to hell (War), they shipped him back fried. They sold you booze for furs and then told you not to drink (p.326)."

Talk about a punch in the gut. None of these things were foreign to me - at this point I've seen them talked about in several different novels by different authors. But concentrated in that small amount of space... it's horrifying.

While I recommend Louise Erdrich's books whole-heartedly, I want to warn those who pick one up. They will pull at your heart-strings, you will struggle to get through the story. There will be tears, but only if you take the time to invest yourself and get to what she is talking about between the lines. Overall, it's an experience that everyone should have... but one you will only have if you give yourself over to it.

Deep, dark, funny, sad. Erdrich packs all these emotions and more into her stories. I discovered this author when I went back to school in my late thirties. "The Red Cadillac" which is one of the chapters in this book & originally a short story was required reading. I fell in love with her haunting prose and multiple points of view. Her novels are not light reading. Descriptive details are sometimes morose, but her characters are so achingly real that you will be drawn into their plight - so be prepared. If you love Native American culture & history mixed with contemporary issues, she's a writer for you.

I rarely reread a book.

This one, I reread immediately. Because I knew I had missed the clues and foreshadowing when I read it the first time. This is one of the greatest writers we have. I am sorry I did not catch on to her earlier.

There is a lot going on in every plot turn. My favorite parts are the descriptions of how time passes, how the years go by, how feelings come and go, how changeable all things are.

The title is a disservice - to people who do not know Erdrich's work and her themes, the title gives a new agey, feel good, uncritical vibe.

It just does not seem fair that someone could claim this work as her first novel. It is so intricately woven, and the multiple narratives are so expertly spoken, that I find it very difficult to believe it came from a novice.
At this point, I have read approximately 15 Native American works/novels, including Momaday, Silko, Welch, Dorris, Alexie and Sa--and I think I must say that Erdrich's "Love Medicine" tops them all. It is well thought out...almost too well thought out.
It is funny and disturbing intermittently, but most of all, it is about families, rivals, and life. It is about connections.
Forget the fact that it is a "Native American Novel" and concern yourself only with the fact that it is one of the most engaging stories in contemporary fiction.
Warning: one must be on one's toes while reading this! Snooze for two paragraphs and you may be sorry. Much like Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich is a very deliberate writer...everything is written for a reason and you had best believe that every little detail is connected to something. This is a book you will insist upon reading at least twice.
P.S. Beware! There are two different versions of this novel out there...one of which is missing four valuable chapters. Before buying or borrowing, make sure your table of contents has "The Island," "Resurrection," "The Tomahawk Factory," and "Lyman's Luck." -Having read the more complete version of "Love Medicine," I absolutely cannot fathom doing without these four chapters. Avoid depriving yourself if possible.

My sister suggested I read this book. I found the author's style of writing did not appeal to me. I was lost in crowd of characters, too many, too soon and very confusing. I rarely give up reading a book I paid for on Kindle. I gave up on this one. It did not suit my taste.

There are some fine short stories in Love Medicine, and some wonderful phrases and passages, but as a novel it didn't really work for me. When you read a well-written single short story, you don't have to know what came before or what will come after. All that matters is what is in the story.

But when you read a book of stories all about the same people, your brain can't help but try to put the pieces together. I found this very distracting while reading Love Medicine. Even with a family tree of sorts at the front of the book, it was just too hard to keep the characters straight, and the nonlinear telling didn't help. The voices of the characters were not distinct enough for the most part. I spent a lot of time puzzling over who was who instead of getting absorbed into the stories.

It's an interesting book, and worth a read, but I think you could read a handful of the stories and it would be enough to understand the sense of the work.

Love Medicine tells a multigenerational story that spans many decades, lives, marriages, loves, and deaths. It is an ambitious novel that both attempts to provide a widescreen view of life as it interconnects across blood and generations while simultaneously reserving the right to zoom into quiet moments that, while they may seem insignificant at the time, blossom in import as author Louise Erdrich scales back her view to reveal the intricate nature of her story. The novel centers around the two poles of the Kapshaws and the Larmartines, two families who live on an Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. These families are not made up of traditional nuclear units, and Erdrich must provide an intricate and looping family tree just so the reader understands who is related to whom.

Each chapter of Love Medicine presents itself as a short story, a common technique for a first novel. However, what separates Love Medicine from other novels who have taken the same approach is the way Erdrich utilizes the shifting point of view to provide a multifaceted view of characters and events. Most chapters are written from the first person and provide an opportunity for Erdrich to play with tone and voice that depends on the character. For example, Lipsha Morrissey, a teenager growing up in the eighties, utilizes videogames for metaphors. The death of a veteran returning from Vietnam is treated as an accident or a suicide depending on the author. The technique, if a bit less experimental even if simultaneously more grand, is similar to Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.

By revisiting events, and even placing some events in non-chronological order, Erdrich's stories accumulate momentum and power as the novel progresses. As readers, we are aware that we are privy to only moments in a larger story that takes place off screen. In ways Love Medicine is like a collection of close photographs of a single skyscraper - a bird's nest on a ledge, an American flag, the sun reflecting off a window - without ever revealing the whole object. We recognize the whole from the aggregate because of our familiarity with both, and in the case of Love Medicine the whole is life from family.

Perhaps the single most impressive aspect of Love Medicine is Erdrich's prose. Her writing is just this side of magical realism, and while certain characters may believe in magic, Lipsha Morrissey believes he has a healing touch, because these very same characters are telling the story we are welcomed to doubt their powers. However, Erdrich's writing is often imbued with an effervescent mysticism. In the chapter "The Island" narrated by Lulu Nanapush, Lulu leaves her home to live in a cave on an island with Moses Pillager, perhaps a more surrealist chapter than the rest of the novel. Upon consummating her romance with Moses, Lulu, who would go on to father many children with many fathers, informs the reader: "I want to grind men's bones to drink in my night tea...I want to be their food, their harmful drink, to taste men like stilled jam at the back of my tongue." These moments of surrealism are equally matched by a prose that seems permeable and effervescent, as if the words can barely capture the events before us.

Erdrich is responsible for populating her novel with a myriad of characters whose lives bend and bounce off one another, and while we may not condone the actions of every one of them, there is a clear understanding that their actions rise from a shared pain. Because these characters are connected through a webwork of relations, their loneliness seems that much tragic.

Louise Erdich, the author, is of German and Chippewa descent. The story is about the Chippewa (aka Ojibwa) living on a fictional reservation in North Dakota and how one person's death affects so many lives. Lke a "dark twisting river - the bed is deep and narrow" as it meanders through the land and time.

The first chapter describes June Kashpaw, Chippewa mother and wife, off the Reservation walking down the boom-town of Williston, North Dakota, thinking of taking a bus home to the reservation. She meets a man at a bar, has a brief liaison, and then freezes to death walking home in a snow storm. The stories following cascade and are held together by her death, how her children, husband (Gordie Kashpaw), and others on the reservation are touched by the murder.

The story meanders in a unstructured way through short stories - interconnected - but could easily stand on their own. There are 18 Chapters in the expanded version. Characters from Chippewa and Mixed Blood families talk in mostly first person and connected through relatives or lovers over decades. Each chapter starts with a new character telling a piece of the interconnected story from their viewpoint. It takes awhile to understand which character is talking. The timeline is choppy and hops back and forth from the 1930's to the 1980's. It would have been good to have a "family tree" at the end of the book to see more clearly the interrelationships. However, I feel guilty saying that as the Chippewa don't believe in human measurement - of numbers, time, inches, feet, or quantification - as they are "all just plays for cutting nature down to size." The Chippewa feel the "grand scheme of nature is not ours to measure." The book has many ways to be interpreted and each reader has

There is a raw reality with the unique and eccentric tales of the families (Lammartines, Kashpaws, Lazarres and Morriseys). The reader pieces the complicated puzzle together. We realize that the basics of life are what we all need and want, territory, religion, culture, love, truth, forgiveness, family which are demonstrated in the tales - like the river of life mentioned in the book.

The title "Love Medicine" relates to the Chippewa belief that that geese mate for life - and if a couple eats their hearts, it will cure infidelity.

Louise Erdrich reveals and defends the culture as it clings to the past and clashes with the White Man's overwhelming culture, politics and laws. Like a fabric the weave of interconnectedness's of the tribe is key.

Love Medicine is an unusual book, a challenge to understand, but rewarding as a cultural eye-opener.

There are lots of good books, but there are some, like T.C. Boyles's "Tooth and Claw"Tooth and Claw and all his stories T.C. Boyle Stories that REALLY do grab you hard. I mean this in the sense of a visceral locking the reader in with scenes that blow the reader's mind: the conveyer line falling apart in "Zorba the Greek Zorba the Greek;" the near lynching in "Huckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Cambridge World Classics Edition) Special Kindle Enabled Features (ANNOTATED) (Complete Works of Mark Twain);" the protagonist closing his newly won black panther into a bedroom in his place, then realizing he'll have to open the door again in "Tooth and Claw."
Those scenes are what make books mind blowing rather than just some drip, drip, drip of prose. When the beaten down Native American girl dumps the viscious old nun into the hot oven, the reader must jump up out of their chair and scream for joy---is there actually poetic justice in the world of Homo sapiens.
One really does feel complete, and absolutely rivited in that moment, and it's those moments in literature that grab us readers and keep us searching for the page where the magic take hold.
Bravo, Louise Erdrich

One word: Sex.
Seems that's all Louise Erdrich can write about...even though she's supposed to be writing stories to help people understand and appreciate Native Americans...with the amount of sex, adultery, and other terrible things, I wondered why I should appreciate this culture. Which is VERY bad

This a stunning book. Its poetic prose at times soars so high it is rapturous; it is at one with the universe it describes.

At times in my life I have wanted to be an American Indian. This book, written by a woman of Chippewa and German-American descent reawakened those feelings so strongly that when the book was finished I felt at a loss as to how to re-enter my life; I wanted to come back to the world of the book.

And yet the book is at times wrenchingly sad; at times it describes failure and brutality.

But something about it is so true and so real.

This beautiful, eloquent look at American Indian family life rings too true to possibly be a work of fiction, yet that is what it is. Erdrich is a literary shaman, a magician of words. From the first page to the last, I never ceased to be astounded by her knack at conjuring the innermost ruminations of a wide mix of human minds. Love Medicine is a poetic, multi-layered, brutally frank portrayal of a people victimized by history and each other, and as such, not for young readers. Save this exquisite tour de force -- along with Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and Tolstoy's "War and Peace" -- for later in life. Louise Erdrich is a national treasure.

Love Medicine, along with many other of Erdrich's novels, is amazing. This book, however, is challenging, so if you don't want to have to work things out, it's not for you. There are 8 narrators within this novel and it is not told in a linear fashion. Additionally, this novel is part of a collection that Erdrich has written, so things are left out that the reader finds out when reading her other books. Yes this book "jumps around" and repeats things from different perspectives, but Erdrich does so to give the reader a more in-depth look at the situation. Having read this novel two times, I also feel that one gains so much more after reading it again.

This book is challenging, enlightening, and wonderful. There are so many nuances tied into Erdrich's words which are fun to discover.

A beautiful lucid dream kind of novel that takes you inside the minds and hearts of those connected to a recently and tragically deceased relation. Little by little the threads of their connections become illuminated and three and four dimensional. One of the best novels I've ever read. My introduction to Louise Erdrich was "The Round House" another knock-me-over novel. One of America's most talented novelists. Unparalleled.

Erdrich settings are non-chronological so they give us a good introduction to Indian story telling, indeed story telling in many cultures where time is not significant.
However, what I learned from the multigenerational stories is that Erdrich provides valuable understanding for what anthropologists are learning. Various parts of culture change at very different rates. Material culture and economy are usually the first to change in cultural contact while personality traits are more persistent. What seems to be most persistent is the way people view the world which is hard to describe, but Erdrich does an excellent job. Her work drives home the point that Indian cultures are changing, but they are also persistent. In anthropology we are finding ways to analyze these differendes in change; Erdrich offers us clues as to how we might do a better job.

"...maybe the camera Bonita held flashed like a mirror, blinding him, before she snapped the picture. My face is right out in the sun, big and round. But he might have drawn back, because the shadows on his face are deep as holes. There are two shadows curved like little hooks around the ends of his smile, as if to frame it and try to keep it there--that one, first smile that looked like it might have hurt his face." (190)

Love Medicine is Louise Erdrich's first and most well known book-length word of fiction. It is something in-between a collection of linked short stories and a novel. Although most often listed under novels, it's chapters often change narrator and time period. The story surrounds a 50-year love triangle between Lulu, Nector and Marie. Erdrich, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, draws on both her Ojibwe heritage and Catholic upbringing to investigate culture clash and the intergenerational loss of culture for two extended families on a fictional reservation in North Dakota. The progression of events can be hard to follow, as Erdrich's fragmented and shifting organization will have it. But the complex relationships between the plethora of characters is as rewarding as it is complicated and Erdrich's poetic way with words keeps you swimming right along with her as you parse out the specifics. A pen in hand to keep notes on the genealogy will come in handy. Erdrich engages a style where each narrator revises and illuminates the perspective of the narrator before. An added reward to sticking with this book is that this is the first book in an ongoing series of linked collections that continues the themes and characters lives from this one.

In Louise Erdrich's novel "Love Medicine," the reader is introduced to a rich and varied cast of native americans living on a Chippewa Reservation in the Dakotas. The novel is basically an inter-connected set of short stories, all of which deal with the trials and tribulations of the Kashpaw family,a well respected, well-connected family. The running theme is the way we all deal with life, death, and every mountain and hurdle in between. The central characters all learn the best way to cope with nearly any situation is to rely on the heart, to let love heal the wounds of the soul. Erdrich paints her characters in colors that are extremely believable and heartbreakingly true to the human form. At any rate, she certainly didn't deserve the critiscm that Leslie Silko slapped on her. If you are looking for examples of "noble savages" fighting the corrupting influences of the evil, outside world, then, reader, you should look somewere else. Erdrich's work has none of the high-minded, self-righteousness that Silko spouts from every page. In a sense, Erdrich's story is more real, warmer,and infinetly more enjoyable than Silko's.

This was difficult to get through, and quite depressing, but it is a book I think most adults should read. We need to know more about the culture of the reservations. I thought the part about the nun and Catholic school was greatly exaggerated and anti-Catholic, as I personally received an excellent education for 8 years at a Catholic elementary school in South Dakota taught by kind and educated nuns. None of my experiences even came close to what was described in this book, nor was the religion portrayed correctly. Nevertheless, the book is passionate, interesting and well written. I am sure much of the culture of reservations was correctly portrayed.

I love getting immersed in another culture, understanding the characters, feeling their pain and their triumphs. Ms. Erlich does this in all of her writing. When I SEE what the narrator or character is describing, I'm there. Never been disappointed

Being First Nations, and continuing to work with many First Nation communities, I can truly relate to this book. The enduring love affairs of my mooshums and kookums play out on each page.
Over the years, I must have purchased over 20 copies of this novel, which I eagerly pass along to my friends. Like all of Louise's books, there are moments of tenderness, soulful revelations, dibilitating sorrow and quirky humour, and when you are finished, it is reminiscent of the last round of a powerful cleansing sweat - you feel alleviated and reflective.

This book is full of gorgeous description and haunting prose. A work of art. It also feels like a real story about real people, moving in the real world and through their own psychic landscape as well. So good it's scary.

Many, many years ago, in a public library, on the prowl for a new novel, I saw the title "Love Medicine" on a spine on in the stacks. I pulled down the book, read the first paragraph, and have been a Louise Erdrich fan ever since. Quirky and quaint, the characters walk off the page and pull the reader into a world of raw Dakota realities and enchantments.

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich is a novel about a group of Chippawa Native Americans living on and off a reservation in North Dakota. It spans some three generations of characters who are largely members of two families. The novel apparently was composed after Ms. Erdrich had written several chapters as short stories. It consists of a series of chapters presented from the point of view of a particular character and does not have a clear plot or theme. Moreover the time frame keeps shifting and it is hard to know the relationship of one character to another. The result is a novel that is convoluted and difficult to follow. Moreover Ms. Erdrich presents the Chippawas in very negative terms, as drunkards, criminals and sexually promiscuous. Granted Native Americans living under such circumstances have difficult and often problematic lives, but the picture of a people with no redeeming characteristics or joy in their lives is unrealistic and unfair.

The best chapter in the book is told by Lipsha Morrissey in the year 1982 and relates to the title of the book. Love medicines are secret potions that supposedly give strength to people. Lipsha wants to help an elderly couple improve their marital relations and accordingly decides to make a love medicine. Initially he tries to shoot some geese so that he can obtain their hearts, but failing in this effort he buys two frozen turkeys and cuts out their heart and then goes to a priest to ask him to bless them. The priest and a sister refuse so Lipsha dips his hand in the holy water basin and blesses them himself. He then gives them to the female who eats hers and prepares the other one for her husband. But he becomes suspicious and refuses to eat it, finally putting the heart into his mouth but not swallowing it. His wife becomes angry and hits him which results in his choking on the heart and eventually dying. The point here is that love medicines are fake but their real power comes from our faith in them. Faith—the belief in something against the odds—is a powerful influence on behavior.

This chapter is the core of the novel. It is full of humor and pathos. It is significantly better than the rest of the book and it is my guess that it was written separately and then Ms. Erdrich was encouraged to turn it and other writings into the novel. It simply does not work. The final result is a mishmash that insults Native Americans more than it enlightens people to their life situation.

I loved how this novel was divided into chapters that could easily stand on their own as individual short stories. I also thought it literary genius of Erdrich to begin the book on a sort of middle note where the character of June Kashpaw is threaded throughout the book. She is entwined in some inextricable way with every other character.

Simply fantastic. It is a shame though, that she is not included in the canon of literary geniuses of American history. Her stories read beautifully and her artistic ability to paint a picture with words is amazing. Read all her books, they are all wonderful.

Tried to read this little "ditty" for a book club next month. Couldn't get past the first 10-20 pages. True to my beliefs: if a book doesn't suck me in in the first 10-20 pages I'm on to higher ground. Kathryn Stewart

I never got this text! I ordered four books, this one has yet to be delivered to me. I have sent emails to the seller and have never gotten a response, same thing when I emailed the store. I did check this book out of the library to read for a class...it is an excellent Novel-I highly recommend it, just not from this seller.