Fiction
In reply to the discussion: What are the BEST BOOKS you've read in 2016? [View all]womanofthehills
(9,281 posts)The story is told first person by a 13 yr old boy - about the rape of his mother on an Indian Res in North Dakota. When a native women is raped by a white man on pueblo land, she usually has no recourse because of jurisdiction problems. Because of this sad state of affairs, a child is forced to take control. (A new law passed by Obama, but severely limited by the Republicans in 2014, now allows for Indian tribes to prosecute white rapists who live on the pueblo but not white rapists who live outside of the pueblo.)
You really get the feeling of reservation life in this novel as the boy and his friends travel around the res trying to solve the crime.
There is a sex obsessed foul mouthed Grandma Ignatia Thunder who is quite a character. The boys say religion never took with her.
I love Louise Erdrich's book and feel this is one of her best. Another good book of hers to check out is "The Last Report on the Miracle at Little No Horse".