The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Well this looks like a good one doesn't it? Pulitzer Prize winning author and now this one showing a sticker for the long-list for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022. Bound to be a winner you would think? Well, maybe, but maybe not.

Stand by for me to embarrass myself by offering comments on a book written by Louise Erdrich.

The first chapter was brilliant. We meet Tookie, an American Indian with attitude and a firm belief in living life by her own rules. It's 2005 but she is partying like it was 1999. She describes herself as an ugly woman who enjoys lying and her main talent is selling people useless things for prices they can't afford. What's not to love? The writing is witty and irreverent and I started to congratulate myself on finding another great book.

Then I turn the page to chapter two. Tookie is a changed woman (fair enough, a stint in prison can do that to a person) but Erdrich is crashing through major life events to get us up to 2019. Now we have a chastened Tookie with a sensible job and the plot turns into a ghost story with an American Indian twist. Ok. I can deal with that but after the powerful opening chapter I felt a bit deflated.

Anyway, I prime myself for a spooky tale and I read slowly and carefully as my clock inches towards midnight (I have a lively imagination when it comes to ghost stories! Did you hear that?...), but there was no need for me to get nervous because the book started to change course again and we were jumping into politics: Unfair treatment (past and present) of American Indians, the Black Lives Matter movement, riots and civil unrest, the pandemic, mental health and motherhood. All of this held together by the ghost story that worked as a vehicle for an exploration of old tribal beliefs and practices.

I'm afraid this book just seemed to include too many topics for me. Having said that I am now reminded of how Emperor Joseph II commented to Mozart: Too many notes, dear Mozart, too many notes. And Mozart replied: Just as many as necessary, your Majesty.

What do I know?

Comments

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