Louise Erdrich's "The Night Watchman": A Gripping Tale of Love and Loss

E. J. Doshi: This story and those who lived in it held me in a tight embrace. It feels now to me like a critical American story. A must read for those who are willing to witness and be touched by Louise Erdrich’s semi autobiographical family history, told with a poetic and gut wrenching style.

United States on Nov 28, 2023

Kindle Customer: This book was an expansive read which I enjoyed. Relax and don’t try to overthink each page. Let it take you on a journey.

United States on Nov 25, 2023

Kindle Customer: Excellent fictional writing about Indians in North Dakota Their rejection of White American religion Kept me up at night to finish it

United Kingdom on Nov 08, 2023

Vicky: Eye opening read about treatment of Native Americans in this country. Never knew about the plan to integrate them into middle American society so that federal government could basically cut cost for managing services provided to the native community. During this fictional telling of the plan, the characters provide a glimpse of life on and around a reservation that pulls strongly at the heartstrings. It is a time when straddling the new and the old culture played out. The beliefs of the ancestors are definitely contrasted with Catholic and Morman teachings and provides complexity to the key players.

United States on Nov 06, 2023

Carol: Historical fiction from the point of view of a minority: this is a Pulitzer-winning, best-selling novel by a big-house publisher, by an acclaimed author, and "The Night Watchman" lives up to the acclaim.

Erdrich captures sensory details, family history, tribal traditions, politics, friends, neighbors, relatives, hardships, deprivations, resourcefulness, despair, and more. It's endless, the list of all that Erdrich does right as a writer.

Having survived a few years of fiction workshopping, I can attest that a lot of critics would complain about too many characters, POV (Point of View ) "violations," omniscient narration, some trivial syntax issues (involving commas + and in a series, but I may be the last editor on the planet who cares), perhaps excessive use of sentence frags (at some point, incomplete sentences became trendy and acceptable), but the vast majority of readers do not care how well a novel is written. Do we like the characters? Do we care about them?

Thomas is 100% lovable. Patrice ("not Pixie!") is harder to love, but she earns our respect, she who can chop wood and verbally eviscerate men. Wood Mountain, the young boxer, is endearing. Every...

United States on Oct 25, 2023

June Cruickshank: An excellent book based on fact and the steps taken by American Indians living on a reservation to prevent being 'moved on' and losing their rightful homes. Alongside this are the usual happenings of ordinary people so the atmosphere isn't too intense but highlights the constant struggle of ordinary people against bureaucracy. Would recommend.

United Kingdom on Sep 26, 2023

mrs j a reilly: Ok. It took me some time to get into this book and the people. I almost gave up but I kept going and I’m so glad I did. I think it was me not reading enough of the book in the evening because I was tired - rather than the book itself. I’ve been so interested in looking into the Native American people and their unique way of thinking. Their attitude towards nature and other people. Their kindness and compassion. It’s just a beautiful way to look at life. Thank you to the author for telling me thru a story about their history and the harmful way they have been treated. It’s just terrible and we do have to acknowledge that these things happened. I’d like to say a big thank you to the author in educating me in so many ways.

United Kingdom on Sep 09, 2023

J. P. Fuller: This book follows a range of characters on a 1950s reservation (some short chapters choose some very quirky ones). Without being preachy or dull it quietly advocates for the tribe and their disappearing way of life, in the face of bureaucratic hostility or indifference.

The many characters are well drawn and the reader is certainly invested in their lives and their struggle for recognised status.

It’s well written and at times, has the capacity to surprise. The author doesn’t always follow the expected narrative path, the book is richer because of this.

United Kingdom on Aug 06, 2023

J. Ang: This Pulitzer-winning novel is an engaging read. The brisk and concise writing is also paired with short and sharp chapters, but the story (and its telling) is neither rushed nor abrupt. Instead, it flows with a soft fluidity and it is really to Erdrich’s credit that she is able to meld successfully mysticism of Chippewa Indian folklore and traditions with the hard truths about the injustices faced by Native Americans. In semi-fictional fashion, and through the characters of the novel, Erdrich documents how the Indian Termination Policy threatens the residents of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in 1950s America.

The central and titular figure is Thomas Wazhashk, a night watchman at a jewel bearing plant. He is especially susceptible to visitations of spiritual and ghostly persuasion, and becomes sort of an activist and leader to challenge the bill to relocate and assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society.

Thomas’s story is interlaced with his niece, Patrice (Pixie) Parenteau, who works at the plant and is caught in a love triangle between a fellow Chippewa, boxer Wood Mountain, and his trainer, the very blond (Hay Stack) Barnes. The tussle between the...

United Kingdom on Mar 02, 2023

Laura: Writing: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 5/5

I’m grasping for words to express how much I loved this book but all the good words — profound, brilliant, amazing, etc. — have been rendered meaningless through overuse. So just think about what they used to mean and apply here.

The novel is based on the experiences of Erdrich’s grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, in his determined fight against the proposed termination of his Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa named in House Concurrent Resolution 108 passed in August of 1953. Gourneau is fictionalized as Thomas Wazhashk.

While that is the overarching plot line, the story is told as a set of short chapters from various character viewpoints. While the termination fight touches everyone, much of the content covers the progression of individual lives in the community. Pixie Paranteau supports her family with earnings from a job at the new jewel bearing plant; her sister, Vera, has disappeared in the Cities and has been caught in the underbelly of the beast; Wood Mountain is becoming a top boxer, training with Barnes, a local white coach with eyes glued on Pixie; Millie Cloud is in Minneapolis and has authored a study of...

United States on Jul 05, 2021