Most Popular Books by Louise Erdrich

An epic study in the varieties of love from one of America’s greatest story-weavers, and winner of the National Book Award for Fiction 2012.

A powerful new novel of from one of America''s most important and entertaining writers In 1918, Fidelis walks home from the Great War to a Germany broken and defeated. He finds himself inexplicably drawn to the fiancee of his dead best friend and they marry but, knowing he cannot make his fortune here, Fidelis heads for America. When he leaves, ''The inside pockets of his father''s suit held all he needed.'' He leaves behind his family of master butchers, but not the skills he has learned from them and in America his sausages gradually become legendary... Moving to small-town America, he is soon joined by his wife and son, opens a deli and life seems to be perfect. But there are always the locals to contend with and when they meet Delphine and Cyprian, two eccentric travelling circus performers, things begin to get interesting. There is the problem of the unresolved dead bodies discovered rotting in the basement of Delphine''s father''s house, for one. And then there is the rivalry over the local singing groups -- will Fidelis be able to prove his superiority? Spanning two continents, this epic look at post-war immigrants'' America is Louise Erdrich at her engrossing best. Warm, human, fu

“These molten poems radiate with the ferocity of desire, and in them Erdrich does not spin verse so much as tell tales—of betrayal and revenge, of hunting and being hunted.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune A passionate book of poetry from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louise Erdrich. In this important collection, Erdrich has selected the best poems from her two previous books of poetry, Jacklight and Baptism of Desire, and added 19 new poems. In an entirely unique fashion, Original Fire unfolds the themes and introduces the characters of some of Erdrich’s most acclaimed fiction. The beloved storyteller Nanapush, most recently seen in The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, appears in these poems as the questing rascal Potchikoo. And a series of poems called “The Butcher’s Wife”—dating from 1984—contains, in embryo, the story of her novel, The Master Butchers Singing Club.

In a cabin in the Turtle Mountains of South Dakota, the woodburning stove provided warmth, cooking heat, a glowing screen for a young girl''s imagination. It was the true heart of the home, which the girl didn''t realize until electricity came to the cabin and the stove was replaced.

Passenger pigeon hatchlings, thought to be extinct, are discovered in Grandmother''s room after she departs on a voyage to Greenland.

Continuing the series that began with The Birchbark House, The Game of Silence and The Porcupine Year, Chickadee follows a brand new character, Omakayas''s grandson Chickadee. It''s 1866 and just like the bird that is his namesake, Chickadee is small and clever. When Chickadee''s twin brother pranks Shigaag, the tribe''s ne''er-do-well, Shigaag''s unruly, bumbling sons kidnap Chickadee as revenge. He''s taken farther from home than he''s ever been. But Chickadee is not afraid because he remembers the saying his grandmother taught him: small things have great power. To find his way back to his home and his family, Chickadee must make a daring escape, forge unlikely friendships and set out on the most exciting and dangerous journey he''s ever taken. This story of Chickadee and his family is based on Louise Erdrich''s own family history.

This updated edition of National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Louise Erdrich’s 1998 novel now features fascinating new content, a new title, and a new foreword by the author—a riveting story that explores tensions between Native American and white cultures. “Audacious and surprising. . . . One of America’s most distinctive fictional voices.”—Boston Globe When Klaus Shawano abducts Sweetheart Calico, the seductive Indian woman who has stolen his heart, and takes her far from her native Montana plains to his own Minneapolis home, he cannot begin to imagine the eventual ramifications his brazen act will entail. Shawano’s mysterious Antelope Woman has utterly mesmerized him—and soon proves to be a bewitching agent of chaos whose effect on others is disturbing and irresistible, as she alters the shape of things around her and the shape of things to come. The Roy and Shawano families have been inextricably intertwined for generations and, unbeknownst to them, the mysterious Antelope Woman is a part of their fierce and haunting history. Antelope Woman ingeniously illuminates how that history affects the contemporary descendants of these families who are the products of two cultures, Ojibwe and white, which sit in uneasy relationship to one another. In this remarkable novel, Erdrich weaves an unforgettable tapestry of ancestry, fate, harrowing tragedy, and redemption that is at once modern and eternal.

What happens when the Old World meets the New -- in the person of Delphine Watzka, a daughter of Argus whose origins are a mystery, even to her -- turns out to be one of the great adventures of Fidelis''s life. Delphine meets Eva and is enchanted; she meets Fidelis and the ground trembles.

The American Civil Liberties Union partners with award-winning authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman in this “forceful, beautifully written” (Associated Press) collection that brings together many of our greatest living writers, each contributing an original piece inspired by a historic ACLU case. On January 19, 1920, a small group of idealists and visionaries, including Helen Keller, Jane Addams, Roger Baldwin, and Crystal Eastman, founded the American Civil Liberties Union. A century after its creation, the ACLU remains the nation’s premier defender of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. In collaboration with the ACLU, authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman have curated an anthology of essays “full of struggle, emotion, fear, resilience, hope, and triumph” (Los Angeles Review of Books) about landmark cases in the organization’s one-hundred-year history. Fight of the Century takes you inside the trials and the stories that have shaped modern life. Some of the most prominent cases that the ACLU has been involved in—Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Miranda v. Arizona—need little introduction. Others you may never even have heard of, yet their outcomes quietly defined the world we live in now. Familiar or little-known, each case springs to vivid life in the hands of the acclaimed writers who dive into the history, narrate their personal experiences, and debate the questions at the heart of each issue. Hector Tobar introduces us to Ernesto Miranda, the felon whose wrongful conviction inspired the now-iconic Miranda rights—which the police would later read to the man suspected of killing him. Yaa Gyasi confronts the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, in which the ACLU submitted a friend of- the-court brief questioning why a nation that has sent men to the moon still has public schools so unequal that they may as well be on different planets. True to the ACLU’s spirit of principled dissent, Scott Turow offers a blistering critique of the ACLU’s stance on campaign finance. These powerful stories, along with essays from Neil Gaiman, Meg Wolitzer, Salman Rushdie, Ann Patchett, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Louise Erdrich, George Saunders, and many more, remind us that the issues the ACLU has engaged over the past one hundred years remain as vital as ever today, and that we can never take our liberties for granted. Chabon and Waldman are donating their advance to the ACLU and the contributors are forgoing payment.

Louise Erdrich''s first major work of nonfiction, The Blue Jay''s Dance, brilliantly and poignantly examines the joys and frustrations, the compromises and the insights, and the difficult struggles and profound emotional satisfactions the acclaimed author experienced in the course of one twelve–month period—from a winter pregnancy through a spring and summer of new motherhood to her return to writing in the fall. In exquisitely lyrical prose, Erdrich illuminates afresh the large and small events that every parent will recognize and appreciate.

Couronné par le National Book Critics Circle Award, ce livre a imposé la voix singulière d’une romancière aujourd’hui reconnue et saluée comme un écrivain majeur. De 1934 à nos jours, Love Medicine retrace les destins entrelacés de deux familles indiennes, isolées sur leur réserve du Dakota, à qui les Blancs ont volé non seulement leur terre mais ont aussi tenté de voler leur âme. Mêlant comédie et tragédie, puisant aux sources d’un univers imaginaire riche et poétique qui marque tous ses livres, de Derniers rapports à Little No Horse à Ce qui a dévoré nos cœurs, ce premier roman de Louise Erdrich est présenté ici dans sa version définitive, reprise et augmentée par l’auteur. « Un livre d’une telle beauté qu’on en oublierait presque qu’il nous brise le cœur. » Toni Morrison, Prix Nobel de Littérature « Ses livres ont imposé Louise Erdrich comme l’une des grandes voix de la littérature américaine, mais elle est l’une des rares à construire un édifice romanesque d’une complexité comparable à celle de Faulkner. » Le Point

Nella riserva di indiani ojibwe, resa familiare dai precedenti romanzi di Louise Erdrich, serpeggiano i timori per l’approssimarsi della fine del secondo millennio. Le famiglie di due sorelle si preparano ai festeggiamenti natalizi. Tutto sembra andare normalmente, a parte le paure ossessive del bug che tormentano Peter, uno dei due capifamiglia, quando una tragedia ben più reale della prevista fine del mondo si abbatte sulla riserva: un giorno, andando a caccia di un cervo di cui ha seguito le tracce per tutta l’estate, il cognato di Peter, Landreaux, vede finalmente sbucare da un bosco la sua preda, spara, e quando si avvicina scopre di aver ucciso non l’animale ma Dusty, suo nipote. Con questo inizio fulminante Louise Erdrich entra a spron battuto in un vasto labirinto. L’uccisione del bambino getta nella disperazione i suoi genitori e pone l’altra coppia davanti a un dilemma: secondo le antiche tradizioni indiane, chi aveva privato una famiglia di un figlio poteva riparare affidandole un ragazzo equivalente. Chi meglio del figlio dell’assassino potrà alleviare in qualche modo il dolore dei genitori del cugino? Detto, fatto: LaRose viene “ceduto” a Peter e Nola, nella speranza che questo valga anche a placare ogni sentimento di vendetta che covi nel loro animo. Potente e toccante, “LaRose” è la storia di due famiglie straziate dal dolore, e della capacità morale della comunità ojibwe di trasformare questo sentimento.

Autoare distinsă cu Premiul Pulitzer Carte finalistă la Women''s Prize for Fiction 2022 Tookie e forțată să privească în interiorul ei pentru a-și înțelege propriul trecut și a-și ispăși greșelile. Condamnarea la integrarea într-o cultură înlocuitoare, care doar se vrea înfloritoare, se plătește scump. Într-o societate dominată de ură și cruzime, personajele din Sentința se regăsesc și supraviețuiesc prin iubire, prietenie, cărți, familie și moștenire culturală. Lupta pentru păstrarea propriei memorii și identități nu e ușoară, însă resentimentele și disperarea fac loc în cele din urmă compasiunii și solidarității.

Sélection Les 100 livres de 2022 - Lire magazine littéraire PRIX PULITZER 2021 Dakota du Nord, 1953. Thomas Wazhashk, veilleur de nuit dans l’usine de pierres d’horlogerie proche de la réserve de Turtle Mountain, n’est pas près de fermer l’œil. Il est déterminé à lutter contre le projet du gouvernement fédéral censé « émanciper » les Indiens, car il sait bien que ce texte est en réalité une menace pour les siens. Contrairement aux autres jeunes employées chippewas de l’usine, Pixie, la nièce de Thomas, ne veut pour le moment ni mari ni enfants. Pressée de fuir un père alcoolique, insensible aux sentiments du seul professeur blanc de la réserve comme à ceux d’un jeune boxeur indien, elle brûle de partir à Minneapolis retrouver sa sœur aînée, dont elle est sans nouvelles. Pour « celui qui veille », n’ayant de cesse d’écrire aux sénateurs dans le but d’empêcher l’adoption de la loi, quitte à se rendre lui-même à Washington, comme pour Pixie, qui entreprend le premier voyage de sa jeune existence, un long combat commence. Il va leur révéler le pire, mais aussi le meilleur de la nature humaine. Inspirée par la figure de son grand-père maternel, qui a lutté pour préserver les droits de son peuple, Louise Erdrich nous entraîne dans une aventure humaine peuplée de personnages inoubliables. Couronné par le prix Pulitzer, ce majestueux roman consacre la place unique qui est la sienne dans la littérature américaine contemporaine. " Magnifique. " Le Monde " Coup de coeur. " Marie-Claire " Capital. " Causette " Une voix magistrale " Le Monde des Livres " Un puissant récit choral." Les Echos " L’émotion nous étreint." Le Figaro littéraire " Un texte habité " Le Parisien " Une histoire bouleversante, pleine d’humanité" La Croix " Un mélange d’amour, de réalisme et d’empathie" L’OBS

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2021. Kann ein Einzelner den Lauf der Geschichte verändern? Kann eine Minderheit etwas gegen einen übermächtigen Gegner, den Staat, ausrichten? »Der Nachtwächter«, der neue Roman der mit dem National Book Award ausgezeichneten Autorin Louise Erdrich, basiert auf dem außergewöhnlichen Leben von Erdrichs Großvater, der den Protest gegen die Enteignung der amerikanischen UreinwohnerInnen vom ländlichen North Dakota bis nach Washington trug. Elegant, humorvoll und emotional mitreißend führt Louise Erdrich vor, warum sie zu den bedeutendsten amerikanischen Autorinnen der Gegenwart gezählt wird - und zeigt, dass wir alle für unsere Überzeugungen kämpfen sollten und dabei manchmal sogar etwas zu verändern vermögen. »Mir stockte der Atem, als ich begriff, was meinem Großvater von seinem Nachtwächter-Schreibtisch aus gelungen war.« Louise Erdrich. »Ein meisterhaftes Epos. Nach der Lektüre ist man tief bewegt und vermisst diese Figuren, als wären sie echte Menschen.« New York Times Book Review. »Mit diesem Roman ist Louise Erdrich auf der Höhe ihrer genialischen Schaffenskraft angelangt.« Washington Post.

Récompensé par la plus prestigieuse distinction littéraire américaine, le National Book Award, élu meilleur livre de l''année par les libraires américains, le nouveau roman de Louise Erdrich explore avec une remarquable intelligence la notion de justice à travers la voix d''un adolescent indien de treize ans. Après le viol brutal de sa mère, Joe va devoir admettre que leur vie ne sera plus jamais comme avant. Il n''aura d''autre choix que de mener sa propre enquête. Elle marquera pour lui la fin de l''innocence. « Si ce livre est une sorte de croisade, galvanisée par la colère de l''auteur, c''est aussi une oeuvre littéraire soigneusement structurée, qui une fois encore rappelle beaucoup Faulkner. » The New York Times

« L''un des écrivains américains les plus importants. » Philip Roth Finaliste du National Book Award, classé parmi les meilleurs livres par le New York Times, ce roman lyrique et baroque a valu à Louise Erdrich d''être comparée par la presse américaine à Faulkner et à Garcia Marquez. Dernier rapport sur les miracles à Little No Horse nous entraîne dans l''univers à la fois familier et étrange d''une réserve indienne du Dakota du Nord. C''est là que le père Damien, un prêtre quasi centenaire, a passé toute sa vie. Il y a été témoin de nombreux événements ordinaires et extraordinaires qu''il a fidèlement rapporté aux papes successifs sans que cela suscite la moindre réaction. Et lorsque enfin le Vatican lui envoie un émissaire, il hésite à révéler la vérité tant celle-ci la menace dans sa propre identité... S''il est ici question de secrets et de rédemption, c''est avant tout d''amour qu''il s''agit : amours humaines, amours divines, que l''écriture de Louise Erdrich transcende avec émotion et sensualité. « Parcouru par un souffle exalté, ce roman impose Louise Erdrich comme une romancière accomplie, de la trempe de Toni Morrison. » Laurent Sagalovitch, Libération

Num domingo em 1988, Joe Curtis, um menino de 13 anos, descobre que sua mãe foi vítima de um crime brutal na reserva indígena em que vivem, em Dakota do Norte. Ela fica traumatizada após o ataque e, com medo, se refugia em seu quarto, onde se recusa a falar sobre o que aconteceu. O pai de Joe, um juiz tribal, se empenha em descobrir e processar o criminoso, apesar de todos os problemas legais para fazê-lo. Ao lado de seus melhores amigos, Joe se coloca então em busca de pistas que os levem até o criminoso, esperando, assim, retomar sua antiga vida. Mas as descobertas o levarão a um caminho perigoso, e Joe, que está apenas descobrindo o mundo, será obrigado a lidar com difíceis questões morais e emocionais. "A casa redonda" é um romance sensível, ao mesmo tempo uma história de mistério e arrependimento, que coloca Louise Erdrich entre as grandes narradoras da literatura norte-americana atual.

»Eine abenteuerliche Literaturreise in das bibliophile Herz Amerikas.« Die Welt Ojibwe Country: eine magische, nahezu unberührte Seenlandschaft mit Tausenden Inseln, darunter auch die legendäre Bücherinsel, die aus kaum mehr als einer Bibliothek mit über 11.000 Bänden besteht. Hierher reist Erdrich mit ihrer kleinen Tochter und deren Vater, einem Ojibwe-Medizinmann. Dabei entdeckt sie die spirituelle Heimat ihrer Ahnen noch einmal ganz neu, erkundet deren Geschichten und versteht immer besser, warum sie sich von Büchern – jedes von ihnen ist ihr eine Insel – so unwiderstehlich angezogen fühlt. »Ein hinreißendes Buch über die Kultur und Geschichte der Ojibwe, über jahrhundertealte Felsmalereien, über Geister und die magische Insel der 11.000 Bücher.« Brigitte Woman »Es gibt kaum eine so gefühlvolle und zugleich scharfsinnige Autorin wie Louise Erdrich.« Anne Tyler

Irene America e suo marito sono logorati da un rapporto d''amore ormai degenerato. Gil è un pittore affermato, Irene l''ossessivo soggetto dei suoi quadri. Coronata dalla nascita di tre splendidi figli, l''unione di Irene e Gil dovrebbe rientrare nello schema del Sogno Americano. Invece, dopo molti anni di matrimonio, la loro vita sta precipitando in una spirale distruttiva, percorsa da tensioni e litigi. La spiegazione è in questa frase di Irene: "Tu vuoi possedermi. E io ho commesso un errore: ti amavo e ti ho lasciato credere che potevi farlo". Così la donna, sapendo che il marito legge di nascosto il suo diario, decide di servirsene per manipolarlo e comincia a tenerne due: uno per i pensieri che non vuole confidargli e l''altro in cui lo mette continuamente fuori strada e gli insinua gravi dubbi sulla propria fedeltà. Dalle sue note Gil ricava l''impressione di avere perso la sua presa su di lei. Irene non lo ama più. Irene si nasconde. Irene ha deciso di lasciarlo. In un crescendo di egoismi e meschine vendette, sempre morbosamente attuate in una cornice di complicità, si arriva al drammatico ma inevitabile finale. Passo nell''ombra è la storia di un amore devastante ma nello stesso tempo unico e indissolubile."Il nuovo romanzo di Louise Erdrich è un piccolo intenso capolavoro sul conflitto coniugale."Washington Post"Il ritratto di un matrimonio iconico in via di dissoluzione... l''urgenza a briglia sciolta della Erdrich dà luogo a una scrittura sorprendentemente originale, come a lampi di accecante lucidità."New York Times Book Review"La Erdrich offre un ritratto molto convincente... Passo nell''ombra è meravigliosamente leggibile e rivelatore."Minneapolis Star Tribune"Chiaro, urgente, profondo... compie il miracolo letterario di rendere il lettore vorace nel finirlo, per poi rimpiangere di averlo divorato."San Francisco Chronicle

"L’homme répara le fusil et la balle glissa en douceur dans la chambre. Il l’essaya plusieurs fois, puis se leva et se tint au-dessus du berceau... L’homme épaula le fusil. Autour de lui, dans la pièce close, l’odeur du sang frais montait de toute part." Considérée comme l’une des grandes voix de la littérature américaine contemporaine, Louise Erdrich bâtit, livre après livre, une œuvre polyphonique à nulle autre pareille. Dans ce roman riche et dense, elle remonte le fil de l’histoire collective et individuelle, explore le poids de la culpabilité et le prix de l’innocence. Depuis toujours, la petite ville de Pluto, Dakota du Nord, vit sous "la malédiction des colombes" : les oiseaux dévorent ses maigres récoltes comme le passé dévore le présent. Nous sommes en 1966 et le souvenir de quatre innocents lynchés cinquante ans auparavant hante toujours les esprits. En écoutant les récits de son grand-père indien qui fut témoin du drame, Evelina, une adolescente pleine d’insouciance, prend conscience de la réalité et de l’injustice... "Un chef-d’œuvre éblouissant." Philip Roth

Mehr als ein halbes Jahrhundert hat Vater Damien Modeste sich ganz in den Dienst seines geliebten Stammes der Ojibwe im abgelegenen Reservat Little No Horse gestellt. Nun da sein Leben zu Ende geht, muss er fürchten, dass das große Geheimnis seines Lebens doch noch ans Licht kommen könnte: er ist in Wahrheit eine Frau. In ihrem bislang nichts ins Deutsche übertragenen Meisterwerk erkundet Louise Erdrich das Wesen der Zeit und den Geist einer Frau, die sich gezwungen fühlte, sich selbst zu verleugnen, um ihrem Glauben dienen zu können. Ein Buch mit Herz, großartig erzählt. »Lustig und elegisch, absurd und tragisch.« New York Times

“È il suo capolavoro” Philip Roth L’ambiente è quello descritto così bene da Louise Erdrich ne La casa tonda e nei suoi romanzi precedenti: le riserve indiane degli stati settentrionali americani, quelli al confine con il Canada. Il North Dakota. Qui il romanzo si apre, all’inizio del Novecento, con la breve descrizione di una strage. Una famiglia viene sterminata: sopravvive, aggrappata alle sbarre del suo lettino, solo una bambina. Questo delitto – mai risolto nel corso del tempo – è soltanto la prima di una lunga serie di vicende, drammatiche e comiche in giusta misura, che ci vengono raccontate di volta in volta da Evelina Harp, controfigura dell’autrice, dal nonno, il vecchissimo Mooshum, grande affabulatore di aneddoti e tall stories nella antica tradizione pellerossa, e dal giudice Antone Bazil Coutts, un sanguemisto che dopo aver diretto per anni un cimitero occupa lo scranno di magistrato, ed è delegato a dirimere le piccole controversie locali secondo le leggi tribali in vigore. Un libro emozionante come pochi altri.

Il mondo come lo conosciamo sta finendo. L’evoluzione ha invertito marcia e ne risentono tutti gli esseri viventi sulla Terra. La scienza non riesce a opporsi e i nuovi nati sembrano appartenere a specie umane arcaiche. Cedar, la giovane narratrice e protagonista, di origine ojibwe ma adottata alla nascita da una coppia di bianchi “liberal” e generosa, non è solo turbata e confusa come il resto degli americani intorno a lei, ma è ancora più profondamente preoccupata e inquieta perché porta il mutamento dentro di sé, nella sua pancia: infatti è incinta, al quarto mese. L’atmosfera che si respira è pesante, presa dal panico la società inizia a disgregarsi. Si parla in giro di leggi marziali, del congresso che sequestra le donne gravide. Di un registro e di ricompense per chi le consegna. Quando cambiano i nomi delle strade del suo quartiere in versetti della Bibbia, Cedar capisce che deve fuggire e nascondersi. Louise Erdrich fa il ritratto di una donna che lotta per la propria vita e per quella del suo bambino ancora non nato contro le forze oppressive che si manifestano alla vigilia di un cataclisma e ci consegna un romanzo avvincente e importante sulla condizione femminile, l’autodeterminazione, la biologia e i diritti naturali.

The Antelope Wife extends the branches of the families who populate Louise Erdrich''s earlier novels, and once again, her unsentimental, unsparing writing captures the Native American sense of despair, magic, and humor. Rooted in myth and set in contemporary Minneapolis, this poetic and haunting story spans a century, at the center of which is a mysterious and graceful woman known as the Antelope Wife. Elusive, silent, and bearing a mystical link to nature, she embodies a complicated quest for love and survival that impacts lives in unpredictable ways. Her tale is an unpredictable ways. Her tale is an unforgettable tapestry of ancestry, fate, harrowing tragedy, and redemption, that seems at once modern and eternal.

A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store''s most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls'' Day, but she simply won''t leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading with murderous attention, must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning.

"Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant, the first factory located near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a Chippewa Council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new ''emancipation; bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. It is 1953 and he and the other council members know the bill isn''t about freedom; Congress is fed up with Indians. The bill is a ''termination; that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity. How can the government abandon treaties made in good faith with Native Americans ''for as long as the grasses shall grow, and the rivers run? Since graduating high school, Pixie Paranteau has insisted that everyone call her Patrice. Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Patrice, the class valedictorian, has no desire to wear herself down with a husband and kids. She makes jewel bearings at the plant, a job that barely pays her enough to support her mother and brother. Patrice''s shameful alcoholic father returns home sporadically to terrorize his wife and children and bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to follow her beloved older sister, Vera, who moved to the big city of Minneapolis. Vera may have disappeared; she hasn''t been in touch in months, and is rumored to have had a baby. Determined to find Vera and her child, Patrice makes a fateful trip to Minnesota that introduces her to unexpected forms of exploitation and violence, and endangers her life. Thomas and Patrice live in this impoverished reservation community along with young Chippewa boxer Wood Mountain and his mother Juggie Blue, her niece and Patrice''s best friend Valentine, and Stack Barnes, the white high school math teacher and boxing coach who is hopelessly in love with Patrice." --

When his mother, a tribal enrollment specialist living on a reservation in North Dakota, slips into an abyss of depression after being brutally attacked, 14-year-old Joe Coutz sets out with his three friends to find the person that destroyed his family.

This novel presents the story of Irene America, who is a smart, beautiful, introspective woman of Native American descent. Too distracted to finish her doctoral degree, she musters the emotional resources needed to keep two journals. The "Red Diary" is bait, filled with adulterous scenes that Irene uses to push volatile artist husband Gil close enough to the brink that he''ll leave her. She unleashes all her rage and frustration in the "Blue Notebook," which she keeps in a bank deposit box. Meanwhile, Gil believes that his obsessive graphic paintings of Irene will somehow lure her back to him. Caught in the crosshairs of their parents'' cruel, messy unraveling are 13-year-old Florian, a genius who models his mother''s excessive drinking habits; Riel, 11, who believes that only she can hold her disintegrating family together; and sunny little Stoney. The result is a cautionary tale of the shocking havoc that willfully destructive, self-centered spouses wreak not only upon themselves but also upon their children.

Designed to provide interesting reading material with skills exercises to help students improve their reading comprehension.

Gil est peintre, Irène écrivain. Ils ont trois enfants. Irene a souvent servi de modèle à son mari. Trop souvent, sans doute. Irene tient son journal intime dans un agenda rouge. Lorsqu''elle découvre que Gil le lit, elle décide d''en rédiger un autre, un carnet bleu qu''elle met en lieu sûr et dans lequel elle livre sa vérité. Elle continue néanmoins à écrire dans l''agenda rouge, qui lui sert à manipuler son unique lecteur. Une guerre psychologique commence. En faisant alterner les journaux d''Irene et un récit à la troisième personne, Louise Erdrich témoigne, une fois de plus, d''une prodigieuse maîtrise narrative.