LaRose

Sandy 4 - 4
Enjoyed reading Round House and Love Medicine but hated this book. Note to self, if ever writing a novel remove all pop culture references from story. Sandy can't stand them. They date the book for future readers. Neither can Sandy stand false, phony, teen dialogue, or the idea of giving your kid away to make up for one that you killed. What is wrong with these people? And don't give me that tradition stuff. They were all idiots. Except Romeo, he was both the smartest and dumbest character. Sandy hated these characters. They were all losers. Even the dog. What little girl would refer to herself as a broken animal, the way Maggie did? Honestly, I don't have anything good to say. I should have skipped to page 290 where there's a two paragraph summary of all the LaRosa's that ever were and been done with it. They were nothing but trailer trash at the reservation. So glad it's my book so I can trash it. 

K'Lynn 5 - 5
What a bleak, dismal, gloomy, depressing, novel. Deeply examining characters who all have scars, either obtained, given, earned or not. This book is not for the faint of heart.
If someone destroys your property, most laws would demand some sort of restitution. Damage a car or fence, replace or repair it. That's fairly easy for me to grasp. But when a child is hurt or worse, killed? A human being can never be compensated for it.
My heart never stopped grieving reading this book, not only looking at this as a parent looking at losing a child, but I don't believe a child could ever really comprehend, or recover from, his parents giving him to another family on any real level.
There is a lot more to this novel, and it is all worth reading, but there is a lot of trauma in the stories contained within - generations of drama, trauma and pain. Lots of pain, lots of sadness, no significant amount of happiness or joy to balance it out.
For me, where Erdrich shines in this novel is in her knowledge of Chippewa/Ojibwe culture and through her fine prose weaves through some of the culture and lore, the ancient stories of their origin. The way and times that Dusty's voice is heard after his death, among other instances, have a touch of magical realism to them.
Grief, how do we cope with it? How do we eventually find our way through it to function and then eventually just remember in bits and pieces, moments? Grief is so present throughout; it is as if it were another character. Redemption, how do we obtain it, is it something given to us by others or must we also learn to forgive ourselves? Nevertheless, there is beauty to be found. The weaving together of the story reminded me a bit of a crazy patchwork quilt, formed to become a lovely treasure, but only after all the pieces are joined together.

Pat 7.5 - 7.5
I liked how the story unfolded. LaRose was very much a character caught between worlds, both physical and spiritual. He was a natural ambassador. I loved how his interactions with Dusty and the ancestors were written so matter of factly. There was no hocus pocus, just LaRose playing in the dirt with Dusty, or hanging out with the elders at the party. I liked how she slowly revealed the story of Romeo's disability and how well he and Landreaux's escape from boarding school was told. I kept waiting for the house to become some sort of force in the story when it was revealed that it encompassed the cabin where the original LaRose lived. I would read more of her work.

Letiticia 7 - 7
Hard for me to get into despite a very dramatic beginning with the horrific hunting accident. Though the characters were interesting, the story felt too disjointed to me the way it hopped between the characters and generations. Landreaux was surprisingly one of the characters I didn't know quite as well, and the same with Emmaline. The characters I felt like I knew the best were Snow and Josette, whom I found delightful as they proved the necessary comic relief. Maggie was well developed and I'm happy she had Snow, Josette, and LaRose to overcome the dysfunction of both families.
There were themes of grief, loss, revenge, atonement, addiction, suicide. . . lot's going on!
It was hard for me to pick up the book at times, especially when I was in a Romeo chapter. Just imagining him in his chair and reading the description of his scavenging for drugs, food, gas, and information made my skin crawl. I was interested in the flashback to his youth and friendship with Landreaux and later betrayal. I wondered why Landreaux would not be his friend upon his return. LaRose was the healer who brought both families peace. I liked the stories of the earlier LaRoses and about how the native heritage and traditions were stifled in favor of the Anglican traditions. Sad to hear about tuberculosis in the past and how white men's maladies were such an addiction that Native Americans struggle with. I liked the old ladies in the nursing home and their teasing interactions and the trick they played on Romeo.

Maggie 4 - 4
I didn't like it at tall. Book opens with a dead child and absolutely no emotion. Writing was too spare and choppy with flat tones. Wouldn't have finished it if it weren't a book club book. Very confused with McKinnon's past story. Didn't like the spirit world stuff. Made more sense once she realized it was an origin story. Had trouble with the time frame. Didn't realize they weren't all Indian until very far along. Took long time to get into. Randall - who was that? Storyline seemed extremely familiar. Not so much appalled with those who gave LaRose away as with those who took him.  Romeo was the best developed character. LaRose was far too wise and special at age of 5 to be believable. Liked that everyone came together at the end and seemed to be headed toward healing. Would never recommend to anyone.

Carolyn 5 - 5
Forgot that the bullets had been taken out of Peter's rifle by Maggie, so had no idea that Landreaux would survive being 'shot' by him. Liked the line, 'Landreaux looked right through me.' Could have accepted Emmaline and Landreaux giving up LaRose if the story had taken place during the 1800's. Found it horrible that Nola and Peter actually took him in. Liked the story of the second iteration of LaRosa leaving the boarding school and stripping herself of her corset and feeling the ground beneath her feet as she walked away. Thought the struggle between Maggie and her mom was well written and that while Maggie acted out often she also was doing everything she could to keep her family together. Thought the kids were doing a better job of coming together than the parents were.

Miles 6.5 - 6.5
Described this as an emotional heavy wet blanket of hopelessness. Saw parallels between Father Travis and the traditions of the Ojibwe. Enjoyed the magical realism moments of the book. Many metaphors with the snake story and so many things thrown in with it. You would think that so many people would want to escape the reservation, but escape to what? The National Guard? How ironic. Did I really enjoy it? No. Did I get something out of it? Yes. 

Becky 7 - 7
Thought Erdrich did a good job intertwining the tensions between Romeo, Landreaux, and Peter. Landreaux had to live with the guilt of killing his friend's kid. Had to always question himself from then on. Some people try their best but the worst still happens. Becky didn't really follow or care about the all the different LaRose stories. When Landreaux came up with the solution of giving LaRose away, she  came up had to suspend disbelief this would be done in order to continue the book. Liked Landreaux's interactions with the old ladies and found their raunchy stories funny. Not a real well-developed character. Romeo's thought that Landreaux's had betrayed him never quite made sense. Lots of weight to put on the kids. Romeo tried to redeem himself by giving $3,000 to his son.