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The Night Watchman

Erdrich, Louise. Book - 2020 Fiction / Erdrich, Louise, Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Erdrich, Louise 1 On Shelf 2 requests on 13 copies Community Rating: 4.1 out of 5

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Call Number: Fiction / Erdrich, Louise, Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Erdrich, Louise
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It is 1953. Thomas Wazhushk is the night watchman at the first factory to open near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a prominent Chippewa Council member, trying to understand a new bill that is soon to be put before Congress. The US Government calls it an 'emancipation' bill; but it isn't about freedom - it threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land, their very identity. How can he fight this betrayal? Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Pixie - 'Patrice' - Paranteau has no desire to wear herself down on a husband and kids. She works at the factory, earning barely enough to support her mother and brother, let alone her alcoholic father who sometimes returns home to bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to get if she's ever going to get to Minnesota to find her missing sister Vera. In The Night Watchman multi-award winning author Louise Erdrich weaves together a story of past and future generations, of preservation and progress. She grapples with the worst and best impulses of human nature, illuminating the loves and lives, desires and ambitions of her characters with compassion, wit and intelligence.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

5 stars with an asterisk submitted by sushai on August 18, 2020, 9:34pm My 5-star rating comes with an asterisk: I stand by this rating with a hope that Erdrich will do with this novel what she has done with several previous novels and make it part of a series with the same characters so we can get to know them better. My only problem with this novel was with its breadth. There were too many subplots, but all of them so interesting that I wouldn't want to get rid of any of them. But, they were spread so thin that they were sometimes unsatisfying. I don't think making the book longer would have worked since it was already quite long. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope to hear more about how the Mormons affected Native Americans; why sex trafficking is allowed to exist on ships when everyone knows about it and how that affects the Native population disproportionately; what happens to Millie, Patrice, and their families. Each one could be its own book!

4.5 out of 5 stars submitted by CarolSeidl on August 28, 2020, 2:15pm As in her other books, Erdrich gives us a deeper understanding of the abuses, challenges, and achievements of Native American peoples. This book adeptly intertwines factual and fictional characters with true and imagined events of the 1950s.
It's been particularly interesting reading during the current Corona-virus lockdown, in part because the lives of the Native American characters sit in sharp contrast to the one that I'm living. As my family notes that we too quickly run out of ice cream and have gone without many of our favorite snacks, I've been reading about meager lunch pails supplied with a boiled potato and a dozen raisins, tea brewed from tree bark, and unleavened bread, slathered with a mixture of deer fat and dried berries.
Food is only one aspect of the poverty-stricken existence so many Native Americans have had to face. Erdrich is a masterful storyteller who weaves together the mundane rituals of ordinary life with multiple captivating storylines, all serving to keep you on the edge of your armchair while expanding your knowledge of history and native peoples.
Erdrich's narratives are replete yet concise. Here she creates an entire community, numerous characters with their own backstories, setbacks, desires, and motivations. The setting (the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota), and historical backdrop (a fight led by the author's grandfather to stop a proposed "emancipation" bill that would have stripped Native Americans of their last bits of land), are real. Even with so much happening simultaneously, Erdrich still chooses her words with artistry and precision. Nothing is belabored and if anything, she omits just enough for the reader to draw their own conclusions without feeling as if they're missing a piece of the picture.
This is the second of her books that I've read and if time and circumstance allow, it won't be the last.

Beautiful and Interesting - many stories packed into one submitted by TeacherN on July 20, 2021, 5:48pm This book rambles around a bit, but I still found it beautiful and interesting. I started by listening to the audio and got confused by all the switching from character to character. After reading the paper copy for a while and getting a feel for the characters I went back to the audio and enjoyed hearing the story told by the author. Well worth your time.

Lovely story submitted by kath on July 20, 2021, 9:21pm I wish the plot was tighter - but . . . it is a really good story. worth reading and learning aspects US policy used against native people.

4+ I’ll read anything by her! submitted by flemingj on July 24, 2021, 11:52am This can be an effort at times to get through, but I grew to feel like I was there with all of her characters and appreciated their stories.

Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction - 2021 submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 15, 2022, 10:46pm A solidly good book on several deeply difficult topics: the US government’s attempt to end its treaty obligations to indigenous people in the 1950s and the disappearance of indigenous women. Though fiction, this is based in truth, and it’s not a light read. On the other hand, people are people, with loves and cares, jokes and interests, ways of keeping awake through long work shifts, and memories of being prom queen. The hard takes are well balanced by good storytelling.

manght submitted by smr on August 8, 2022, 4:29pm manight

Two Stars submitted by sara on July 7, 2023, 6:53am As I was reading the book I kept thinking, I can't believe this book won an award. It was very disjointed. I didn’t enjoy reading it. The many horrible plights of the tribe were interesting and important to learn, but...it was simply scattered.

Wonderful submitted by Mtadams on July 14, 2023, 7:49am I felt transported to the time and location. I am always hesitant to start books over 400 pages but it moved quickly