Book Review #12 - The Round House

Having only read Erdich's book, Shadow Tag, previously, my expectations were low and cautious as I began her National Book Award winner The Round House.  I'm glad I tried again because The Round House is pretty worthy of its hype. I didn't love it because I felt it unnecessarily crude at times as well as curiously infuriating but there is no denying the craftsmanship of the writing - from the weaving of a mystery, coming of age and folklore - to its scope of highlighting the unique problems of the Native American tribal justice. Even though it fell short of becoming a favorite of mine, reading this book brought light to ignorance and made me care about fictitious characters, hallmarks of worthy books, in my opinion.

As for my gripes, the protaganist, Joe, is a 13 year old boy who sometimes seems 13, sometimes 8 and sometimes 20. I know that age can be difficult to capture.  Heck, I have a 13 year old so I get it. But his behavior was so peculiar and unpredictable. Still, his world was ripped apart with the violent crime against his mother and the stress and tension it created within his once peaceful home. There were many times throughout the novel that I felt irritated and impatient with Erdich for taking me on another teenage escapade filled with all the language and crassness of boys in groups. Those events eventually contribute to the heartbreaking finale but it was not very pleasant to be repeatedly treated to what a boy thinks about breasts, dirt bikes, beer and food. Maybe I'd have given this book five stars had Erdich's 13 year old been a bit more virtuous:-)

This is compelling literature about contemporary Native American life. It corrected more than one stereotype of mine. Rich with symbolism, this is the kind of book that should be read.