Book Review: LaRose

By Gabriel Morley

Is love invincible?

The question seems to swell around the heart of all of Louise Erdrichs novels, especially LaRose.

When Landreaux Iron is out hunting in the late North Dakota summer, he sees a deer. He takes his shot. But its not a deer he has killed; its his neighbors five-year-old son. The dead boy also happens to be Landreauxs nephew. And if that werent enough, the dead boy was also Landreauxs sons best friend.

Erdrichs books can also make your stomach hurt.
 
Is family invincible?

In LaRose, Erdrich seeks to explore the boundaries of family. As a member of the Turtle Mountain Clan of Ojibwe Indians, Erdrich infuses her novels with a Native American culture not many Americans are familiar with. This is never more apparent than when Landreaux and his wife give away their own son, LaRose, to the relatives whose son was killed.

Imagine that for a moment. Consider what such an act, such a decision, does to a family to two families. Therein lies the tangled commonalities of the human experience laid bare to either draw us together or split us apart: the hatred and despair, the longing and sorrow, the frustration and hopelessness. But also therein lies LaRose, a perfect boy to navigate the awkward terrain of forgiveness and healing.         

If you havent read all of Erdrichs books you should. Spend this fall with The Antelope Wife, Love Medicine, The Round House, The Painted Drum, or The Plague of Doves. Start with LaRose. Let Erdrich introduce herself to you. Her writing is lyrical and plain at the same time. It will uplift you, but it will also make you hold your breath. When you finally breathe again, you will be glad to be alive.       

Erdrich won the national Book Critics Circle Award for LaRose in 2016.