It would be easy to call The Plague of Doves Louise Erdrich's masterpiece; indeed, no less an expert than Philip Roth does just that in his promotional blurb on the book's back cover. Erdrich has written so many terrific novels, though, it's tricky. Can it really be better than the brilliant The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse?
But does it have to be? Of course not. I've been reading Erdrich's rich, resonant work since her debut of Love Medicine, and I have to say that The Plague of Doves is certainly one of her best novels, by turns funny and melancholy and heartbreaking, about the inhabitants of Pluto, North Dakota, which sits on the edge of an Ojibwe reservation and is haunted by two terrible acts of violence.
Click here to read my review. The novel is in stores Tuesday; judge it for yourself then.
I'm sad to say I haven't kept up with Louise. I read all her earlier stuff, but she dropped off my radar somewhere along the line. I'll have to check her out. Good book group book?
Posted by: Amy | April 27, 2008 at 03:27 PM
Definitely worthwhile for a book group. There's a lot in this book to discuss...lots of different stories to talk about . And you don't need to know anything about her other books to enjoy it.
Posted by: Connie | April 27, 2008 at 04:05 PM