Book Review: The Round House

 I have wanted to read a book by Louise Erdrich for quite awhile as her books tend to be set in or around my home state of North Dakota.  So, when I saw her newest release on the list of books I could review for TLC Book Tours, I jumped at the chance.  While Erdrich doesn't explicitly state where her newest book, The Round House, is set, I could tell that it was close to the area I grew up based up on the towns mentioned in the book.  Like Erdrich's many other books, this book is also set on an Indian Reservation.  When the book opens, we quickly learn that the mother of the main character, Joe, has been violently assaulted on or near the grounds of a sacred Ojibwe site, The Round House.

 

The identity of the attacker is uknown, so Joe and his father, a tribal judge, seek to find to the attacker on their own.  The author weaves in information about the history of the tribe, The Round House, and the background of the other characters amidst the story of the search for the attacker. 

 

I really enjoy the elements of the story related to figuring out who the attacker was, but found the parts regarding the history of others in the book sort of distracting.  I tended to lose focus during those parts until the the author returned to the investigative aspect of the story.

 

All in all, it was a well-written book, but not something that really grabbed me.  That said, it is National Book Award Finalist, so clearly it is a piece of fiction that has received accolades. 

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review, and the opinions are my own.