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The Plague of Doves: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Louise Erdrich
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $13.75
You Save: $12.20 (47%)
New (49) Used (26) Collectible (4) from $10.90
Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 1987
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0060515120
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060515126
ASIN: 0060515120
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Louise Erdrich's mesmerizing new novel, her first in almost three years, centers on a compelling mystery. The unsolved murder of a farm family haunts the small, white, off-reservation town of Pluto, North Dakota. The vengeance exacted for this crime and the subsequent distortions of truth transform the lives of Ojibwe living on the nearby reservation and shape the passions of both communities for the next generation. The descendants of Ojibwe and white intermarry, their lives intertwine; only the youngest generation, of mixed blood, remains unaware of the role the past continues to play in their lives. Evelina Harp is a witty, ambitious young girl, part Ojibwe, part white, who is prone to falling hopelessly in love. Mooshum, Evelina's grandfather, is a seductive storyteller, a repository of family and tribal history with an all-too-intimate knowledge of the violent past. Nobody understands the weight of historical injustice better than Judge Antone Bazil Coutts, a thoughtful mixed blood who witnesses the lives of those who appear before him, and whose own love life reflects the entire history of the territory. In distinct and winning voices, Erdrich's narrators unravel the stories of different generations and families in this corner of North Dakota. Bound by love, torn by history, the two communities' collective stories finally come together in a wrenching truth revealed in the novel's final pages. The Plague of Doves is one of the major achievements of Louise Erdrich's considerable oeuvre, a quintessentially American story and the most complex and original of her books.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 32 more reviews...
Beautiful stories, not a novel November 29, 2008
The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health and Well-being When You Have a Chronic Illness
I have loved Louise Erdrich for years, ever since I found Love Medicine in the 80s. She tells amazing stories about her overlooked people, the Indians of the North Plains. She writes with stunning attention to detail that makes every scene and character come alive. She faces terrifying history and powerful emotions without flinching.
Over the years, I have really liked The Crown of Columbus and many of her others. Lately, she seemed to have lost something, or maybe I was finding some of the stories repetitious. But The Plague of Doves, to me, contains her best stories in years. Reading this book, you will spend equal amounts of time crying, laughing, and imagining the vivid worlds she unfolds.
Unfortunately, you will also spend time trying to figure out who the characters are and how they relate to each other, and even in what time period each story takes place. Plague of Doves really isn't a novel; it's a collection of loosely connected stories. The characters who are central at the end are completely different from the ones you grab onto at the beginning. You want to find out what happens to Evelina and Corwin and others, but you won't, really.
But if you treat it as a collection of stories, I feel confident you will love it. These are truly powerful, some of the best I've ever read.
 Surrendering to a Skilled Author November 23, 2008
My first time reading Louise Erdrich, well, second if I were to count starting over with the same book: by the fire in the afternoon, instead of just before bed. This was a lovely experience to share, told like a series of meetings between complex friends, the way we get to know our own histories and assocoiates.
The author was in total control of my impressions, sympathies, and prejudices. The sexuality, vivid in its personal and interpretive nature caused me to blush, to feel joy, to squirm, to laugh and to feel restfulness. Look for the sound of humanity played by a violin, but heard through the author's mastery of words.
I thoroughly enjoyed the critical and highly intuitive look at an upstart rural religion, as if the religion itself were one of the many literary characters. Every part of the book: the landscapes, the town, the stores, the coffe shop, were knowable in their own right, but not overdone.
The Plague of Doves November 11, 2008
A very powerful writer although book was at times hard to follow and got mired down in sexual content. Still all in all a good read.
Erdrich has outdone even herself October 24, 2008
I have always been a huge fan of Louise Erdrich, ever since she started out as a "local author" in my hometown area. Now I live in Europe and enjoy her books about where I grew up. This book is one of the best books I have ever read, hands down, by any author, and I am a very avid reader. She deftly manages several intertwining story lines, with well-developed characters and time settings - all without losing the reader; and for those who are paying attention it is a most satisfying and pleasurable read. Well done, Louise Erdrich, this book deserves a huge prize!
 Not what I was told this book was going to be October 22, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This seemed to be a series of short, disjointed stories, rather than an easy to follow novel. Too many characters to keep track of. Interesting Native American history though.
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