Ed's Reviews > The Sentence

This is at least my third Louise Erdrich read (think one or two more, but that was pre-Goodreads ... so who knows!), but for sure this is my favorite so far. Erdrich always provides an excellent read, but again in my limited sample size I am not sure I've read one with such heart and humor. Yes, humor -- I didn't know she could do that! Erdrich also gets a bit messy here. I lost count the number of times I found myself thinking pretty much right from the get-go "This isn't the novel that I was expecting" or "I didn't expect it to take this turn/go there." But alas, this is also very much a novel about 2020 and we know what a messy year that was!

I have to admit I have some PTSD in wanting to read about this particular time in our history, especially since as of this reading in January 2022 we still find ourselves well in the middle of it. I read another novel recently where the blurb was "the pandemic novel you didn't know you needed" and while that particular one didn't fit the bill for me, this one certainly was. While still "too soon" in parts, it was just the right amount of reflective for me. And to top it off, the book is very much a love letter to books, reading, and bookstores -- which has certainly been my go-to comfort spot for the last several years. And in a meta moment, one of the primary settings of the novel is Erdrich's own bookstore in Minnesota with Erdrich herself as peripheral character. But a friendly warning to my fellow Goodreaders - you will very likely add to your TBR pile with the book suggestions along the way and a pretty comprehensive list/summary of them in the appendix.

An unofficial 4.5 stars with a Goodreads round-down to 4 stars. I was teetering between 4 and 5 stars along the way, but again there were some diversions/detours that didn't quite work for me, but the closing chapter was simply divine locked in that 1/2 star bump -- definitely felt a swell of emotion and, after I read the closing lines, I let out a sigh which is typically the sign of a really fine novel.

(Also my 8th read for the 2022 Tournament of Books -- hopefully this survives the play-in round. I still plan to try to read a couple more of this year's ToB book, but right now I'd put it at the top of the list.)