LOVE MEDICINE

I loved this book, which was assigned to me in a Native American literature course focusing on oral tradition. The book, itself, is a series of separate, yet intimately intertwined first-person narratives that combine to tell a story of life--family life, reservation life, and the struggles those engender for the people of the Chippewa tribe. One doesn't have to be of Native American descent, however, to connect with the book and its characters.While the order in which the narratives are told is key to the story as literature, one could read them in any order and still recognize the story that's being told. Again--this mimics life. We each have shared experiences (with family members, friends, co-workers, etc.) and we can pick our shared experiences/stories up at any point and understand where we are in the narrative. Life is linear only in the sense of time -- memories and experiences are non-linear, especially those that really shape us. They happened at one point but they pop up in many aspects of our lives forever.To me, "Love Medicine" is, at its core, a wonderful telling of life -- like life. It is simultaneously sad, inspiring, thought-provoking and hard to get through, but--also like life--worth every single moment.

The dilemma of the colonized in search for an identity which is neither static and backward-facing, nor imposed by the worldview of the colonizer is the subject of Erdrich's Love Medicine. Her winding, free-flowing storyline mirrors her endorsement of the fluidity of family connections, one of the most significant difference between Euro-American and Ojibwa cultures. Defying the strictures of the novel, the anthology, or any other established writing style, Erdrich refuses to abide by the rules of Western traditions of fiction. A slap in the face to any notions of the superiority of such traditions, Erdrich's tales demand attention by being undeniably honest, and evoking empathy for even those characters who represent everything which is in opposition to Western culture, and zeroing in on the painful truths of America's imperialist history without subjecting the reader to a history lesson. One of the most important books on the Native American experience I've ever encountered.

Plot is nebulous. Very slow moving

Loved this book! It tells the stories of two families, the Kashpaws and the Lamartines, from the perspectives of many family members. The novel starts in the present, then jumps back many many years and follows both families back to the present through the perspectives of different family members. At times, the novel reads like a series of connected short stories, yet the stories all advance the narrative of the two intertwined families. The writing is lyrical and, at times, quite beautiful. The main themes are love, family, betrayal, and perseverance. Highly recommended.

I was recommended this book by someone I know, after we were talking about the two awesome books by another Indigenous author (Tommy Orange). This book was recommended to me after discussing Tommy Oranges two amazing books about modern Indigenous people living in Oakland, CA (Books are "There There", and "Wandering Stars". I enjoyed those books, and I enjoyed this book as well.

I liked this book. At times it could be written in kind of a poetry type of way, but it was easy to figure out the authors meaning of the words she was writing. There are a lot of people to keep track of, but the story was good and kept my interest.

This author is excellent I’ve read several of her books. She gives historical context, and addresses a traditional culture adapting, and shifting in present society and culture.

I don't normally read books like this, I'm more of a fantasy fan (Eddings, Jordan, LeGuin...and yes Tolkien!). However, I ended up reading several chapters from this book in a literature class I was taking in school. I was intrigued by it because it initially reminded me of Red Grass River, by James Carlos Blake and I thoroughly enjoyed that book. I liked it so much that I bought a copy.I was going to write a review pointing out the fact that Louise Erdrich is a Native American woman, and how valuable she is to our culture. But then I thought that would be silly considering how talented she is as an author. After I read a few chapters of this book in class I liked it so much that I would have read the whole thing regardless of who wrote it! Although her gender and cultural background provide the necessary insight into her characters that makes this story so genuine.Love Medicine's bland, non-hollywood world is full of rich descriptions and realistic characters. The story is brought to life by Erdrich's talent for painting vivid emotional landscapes through character interactions and by delving into their thoughts and feelings. She does this extremely well. This story is a unique experience for the average American like myself and I highly recommend reading it!