7.8 /10 1 Votes
Cover artist Aza Erdrich Language English Publication date 10 May 2016 | 3.9/5 Goodreads Country United States Publisher Harper (publisher) Originally published 10 May 2016 Genre Novel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Media type Print (Hardcover, Paperback) Nominations National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Similar Louise Erdrich books, Other books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LaRose is a novel by the author Louise Erdrich. It was published in 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. The book was reviewed by multiple publications, including The New York Times, The Kansas City Star, Winnipeg Free Press, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, The A.V. Club, The Sydney Morning Herald, USA Today, and The Chronicle Herald. It features the setting of Erdrich's earlier work, The Round House.
Contents
Plot summary
LaRose is set in North Dakota, on a Ojibwa reservation in the "era of George W. Bush and 9/11." The protagonist of the novel is LaRose Iron, a young boy. His father, Landreaux Iron, accidentally shoots LaRose's best friend and neighbor, 5-year-old Dusty Ravich, in a hunting accident, mistaking him for a buck. Dusty's parents, Peter and Nola, become devastated; to compensate for their loss, following an ancient custom, LaRose's parents, Landreaux and Emmaline, give him to Dusty's family after visiting a sweat lodge and speaking with a priest to find a way to resolve their guilt. While Peter and Nola are initially reluctant to accept LaRose into their family, perceiving it as an act of betrayal towards their own dead son, they soon warm to him. LaRose later helps protect Nola as she deals with suicidal ideation.
The story also introduces the stories of several of LaRose's ancestors, who were sent to residential schools and endured many traumatic experiences. The first person in the family to be named LaRose, an Ojibwe woman, was a young girl in 1839 when she was abandoned by her mother at a trading post. She is raped and later participates in the murder of her rapist; after her death, her remains are stolen by "white 'scientists.'"
Critical reception
The book received primarily favorable reviews. USA Today gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, while The Sydney Morning Herald described it as a "page-turner," The Kansas City Star described it as "brutally beautiful," and The A.V. Club described it as "everything you want a novel to be." LaRose was described by The Washington Post as a "masterly tale of grief and love" and by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a "brilliant, subtle exploration of tragic histories."