CLEVELAND RIGHTS READERS BOOK DISCUSSION

The Round House, by Louise Erdrich

A woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as the victim is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband and thirteen-year-old son. In one day, the son's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, he finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared. While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, the son becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out to get some answers of this own. His quest takes him first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

A National Book Award Winner, The Round House is a brilliant and entertaining novel, a masterpiece of literary fiction. Louise Erdrich embraces  tragedy, the comic, a spirit world very much present in the lives of her all-too-human characters, and a tale of injustice that is, unfortunately, an authentic reflection of what happens in our own world today.

*Books purchased at Mac's Backs are eligible for a 20% discount. Future CRR book selections are voted on by discussion attendees.