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MATILDA BOOKSHOP BOOK CLUB WRAP UP MARCH
Thank you to all those who were part of the generous & revealing chat at our March book club.
Please read our wrap up of the chat below. Follow the links to some of the articles, reviews and books mentioned by me and others during our discussion of The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich.
Molly
In March at Matilda Bookshop Book Club, we discussed the fertile and compassionate story of a small farming town in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, during the financial crisis of 2008. In Louise Erdrich's The Mighty Red, beside the mighty red Colorado river, the lives of local farmers, sugar beet haulers, factory workers, bookshop owners, and young lovers play out in the aftermath of a tragedy. Kismet, an 18-year-old with First Nations heritage, fends off several proposals of marriage from the handsome jock, Gary, but as Kismet & Gary's lives become more entwined, darker histories unravel to do with hauntings, environmental annihilation, and systemic poverty. And yet this book is funny, vibrant, and rich with character and place. We marvelled at Erdrich's ability to casually embed significant topics such as land theft and the destruction caused by chemical farming to native plants and foods, while investing her characters with agency and imagination. Many of us fell in love with the humanity of the characters, while others thought there were perhaps too many people to keep track of & a bit too much going on generally. We discussed form, tension, love triangles, bank robberies, generosity on the page, and the stunning writing of a mother and daughter relationship. MOLLY
Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, is the award-winning author of many novels as well as volumes of poetry, children’s books, and a memoir of early motherhood. Erdrich lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore.
Articles, reviews and interviews referenced/mentioned in the sessions:
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich review – a multifaceted rural tale by Michael Donkor in The Guardian
A tale of unhappy families summons the fierce politics of Louise Erdrich’s The Mighty Red by Patrick Flanery in The Conversation
A Conversation with Louise Erdrich by Sterling HolyWhiteMountain in The Paris Review
Talking Volumes: Louise Erdrich on ‘The Mighty Red’ (MPR news YouTube)
Birchbark Book Blog by Louise Erdrich (vital perspective on First Nations writing)
Other books by Louise Erdrich Mentioned:
Thank you to all the recent newcomers to book club, and of course, our longtermers: you all contribute in making this a diverse celebration of books and shared reading.
Just beautiful books | matildabookshop.com.au
