Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich

She writes about Native American Indian tribes, about which I've discovered a recent fascination given some of my legal work.  Mumsie read The Roundhouse and loved it, and let's face it, the woman knows her books, so I added this to the list after I read the back cover.

"'But when Neve Harp said that she was going back to the beginning of things and wanted to talk about how the town of Pluto came to be and why it was inside the original reservation boundaries, though hardly any Indians lived in Pluto, well, both of the old men's faces became like Mama's - quiet, with an elaborate reserve, and something else that has stuck in my heart ever since.  I saw that the loss of their land was lodged inside of them forever.  This loss would enter me, too.  Over time, I came to know that the sorrow was a thing that each of them covered up according to their character - my old uncle through his passionate discipline, my mother through strict kindness and cleanly order.  As for my grandfather, he used the patient art of ridicule."

No comments:

Post a Comment