The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist
Genre: Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults, Teens
What is the book about?: A mildly eccentric ex-convict has forged a quiet life for herself working at an Indigenous bookstore in Minneapolis. Now happily married to the man who arrested her, Tookie doesn’t ask for much more than to be left alone with her books. But then her most irritating customer dies and audaciously decides to haunt her, and Tookie’s forced to confront and explore the pain of past transgressions (personal and collective), traditions, relationships, community, and more – as the haunting intensifies amidst the unfolding chaos of the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd.
My Review: I haven’t encountered a character I love as much as Tookie in a very long time, and she haunts me still. Louise Erdrich is an author I’ve long heard of but just never got around to, and now I definitely have to read the rest of her work. This weird little plot may not sound that appealing, but it merely sets the stage for deep thematics and an ode to the transformative power of literature, and Erdrich’s mastery will hook you. She crams so many seemingly disconnected themes into the story (marriage, colonialism, incarceration, the pandemic, police violence, literature, parenting, etc.), but the disparate plotlines work because her main character is so fiercely funny and endearing, and her observations are entirely on point. While slyly bordering on autofiction, it perfectly captures the surrealism that 2020 unleashed upon us and the chaos of everyday life, how we experience a multitude of crises big and small, internally and externally, all at once and endlessly, as we plod along within our own sentences. Plus, Erdrich narrates the audiobook, and I cannot recommend the warmth of her natural storytelling enough.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Relevant, Layered, Endearing
Give This a Try if You Like… The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Rating: 5/5
