The Round House (novel)

Plot summary

In the spring of 1988, 13 year-old Joe Coutts, the only son of older parents, learns that his mother has been brutally raped. At the hospital his father Bazil, a tribal judge on the reservation, quickly enlists the county, federal and tribal police to take statements from Geraldine as she was raped near the round house, a spiritual place that is on reservation land but is surrounded by several different areas where different authorities have the ability to prosecute. Joe and his friends go to the round house to see if they can find more evidence that the police might have missed and are able to locate an empty gas canister in the lake.

After Geraldine returns home she falls into a deep depression. Bazil confides in Joe that he believes that Geraldine's rape might have had something to do with a case he presided over. He shows Joe the case of Linda Wishkob a white woman who had been abandoned by her family because of her birth defects and was adopted into the Wishkob family and lived on reservation land. Joe is confused as to what this has to do with his mother but gradually learns that Linda's birth mother later re-established contact with her in order to procure her kidney for Linda's twin brother Linden Lark who grew up to be a racist violent drunk.

As Geraldine sinks further into a depression Joe begins to spend more time with his uncle Whitey and his aunt by marriage Sonja, an ex-stripper, whom he lusts after. Sonja treats him almost as an adopted son and the two grow close. When one day Joe is out looking in the water he notices a doll. Picking it up out of the water he removes the head and discovers forty thousand dollars in cash stuffed in the doll. Bringing the money to Sonja she helps him distribute the money amongst various banks making him promise he will use it for his education. However shortly after Sonja begins to use the money to buy herself presents.

Meanwhile, Geraldine begins to finally talk about her rape after she learns that there is a man trying to adopt an orphaned Native American baby of unknown provenance. Geraldine reveals that a woman named Mayla Wolfskin contacted her the day she was raped telling her that she was being pursued. The woman asked her to meet her at the round house where they were both attacked by Linden Lark. Linden told Geraldine that he would murder both Mayla and the baby if she told anyone or attempted to save herself. However Geraldine was able to save herself and feels guilty over what might have happened to Mayla. Based on the details she shares Joe realizes that the money from the doll belonged to Mayla.

Based on Geraldine's testimony Linden is arrested and for a time the Coutts slowly begin to rehabilitate themselves. However Joe accidentally comes across Sonja giving a birthday present to his grandfather and after refusing to leave witnesses the fact that the birthday present is a lap dance. Sonja rebukes Joe for being another man only interested in bullying her and staring at her body. She leaves the reservation and takes most of the money from the doll with her.

Shortly after Linden Lark is freed. Though Geraldine tries to stay strong it becomes clear that Linden is interested in harassing her. When Bazil sees him at the grocery store he and Joe attack Linden but Bazil suffers a heart attack as a result. While Bazil is recovering in a hospital in Fargo friends and family of the Coutts round Linden up and beat him as a warning. Linden is not shaken by the beating and goes to Whitey telling him that he knows where Sonja is and will get her money. After Geraldine learns that Linden is unlikely to be stopped she tells Joe that she will protect the family. Joe realizes that trying to stop Linden will kill Geraldine. He resolves to murder Linden himself, knowing that if he is caught he will be punished as a juvenile offender. Joe tells his best friend Cappy of his plan and Cappy supports him, teaching him how to shoot and coming up with a plan on how to procure a gun. Joe plans to murder Linden while he is out golfing in the early morning. After waiting for him for days he finally sees him and shoots him twice, non-fatally. Ultimately Cappy, who Joe had not told his specific plans to, appears in the golf course and delivers the fatal shot to Linden.

Though Joe's parents, uncle Whitey and Linda all suspect that Joe was the murderer they are careful not to ask Joe too many questions and go out of their way to protect him from the police. Later Cappy receives a letter from his girlfriend Zelia's parents in Montana asking him not to contact her anymore. Cappy steals a car and he and Joe go to see Zelia. They have a car accident where Cappy is killed and Joe's parents come to take him back home.

Reception

The novel was positively reviewed. In 2015 it was included in The Oyster Review's list of "100 Best Books of the Decade So Far".

Awards and honors