84 - The Plague of Doves; Louise Erdrich

The Plague of Doves: A Novel was recommended to me by a friend, and since I enjoyed (2) of Louise Erdrich’s previous books: The Painted Drum: A Novel (P.S.) and The Master Butchers Singing Club (P.S.)

I was anxious to get to this one. After listening to this audio book for about a week, I was sorry to see it come to and end. The readers: Kathleen McInerney and Peter James were fabulous. It was one of those rare books where the main characters were very engaging, and my only complaint was that the story does go back and forth, and there are a lot of characters so at least some parts of the audio book were a bit confusing. The audio book was named as one of the top audio books for 2008 in Audio File Magazine.

The story opens when five family members of a white family are murdered in a remote town in Pluto, North Dakota located near an Indian Reservation in 1911. When some Indians find the white family dead, but that a little baby has been spared, they want to protect the baby but are afraid they will be suspected as the murderers. The Indians decide to leave a note for the sheriff, but then something dreadful happens to these innocent Indians, they become the victims in a vigilante lynching.

The story goes back and forth in time from the late 1800’s is told through multiple characters whose recollections differ about the events that transpired. The author tells an incredibly painful tale of a small town torn apart by violence, and how future generations are affected by the cruelty of others.

Louise Erdrich is a masterful story teller who is able to capture so beautifully the effect that racism has on generations to come, and that children sometimes not only inherit the good traits of their parents, but the terrible traits as well. An unforgettable story, probably the best yet by this author.

RATING - 4.5/5 - COMPLETED - 6/7/09

WHERE FROM: Library