Louise Erdrich „The Night Watchman“, 9781472155368, Little Brown UK, paperback
(German: Der Nachtwächter, gebunden,  Aufbau Verlag)

 

Ever since the publication of “Love Medicine”  I have been a big fan of Louise Erdrich’s writing,  loving her ability to tell unique stories, weaving in Native American beliefs, dreams and traditions reminding me often of Magical Realism.  I was so thrilled when she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2021 for “The Night Watchman” but only bought a copy recently.

What a pleasure to read her prose again, to immerse myself in her strong main characters:  feisty, determined Pixie “Patrice” Paranteau  who supports her entire family with a rare  job at a factory on the Turtle Mountain Reservation and  Thomas Wazhushk, the night watchman  at the same factory who is based on Erdrich's grandfather,  who like Thomas was also a Chippewa Council member and  successfully  fought a seemingly hopeless case against  the US government in the 1950ties over the so called “Emancipation Bill” , a fancy word  and effort in trying to justify stealing Native American tribal land and to erase their very identity,  introduced interestingly by a Mormon senator.  

I particularly liked how Eldrich structured her novel, breaking it up into very short chapters with the effect that whatever she has to tell stands out that much more:   

Patrice searching for her lost sister after her mother's
dream, her wondrous trip to the city, Wood Mountain, a boxer on the reservation who has a crush on Patrice and Thomas trying to figure out how to beat his opponent by studying  the bill at night during his shift, two Mormon missionaries appearing on the reservation .....

It is a beautifully written book; and wow, what an incredibly rich story, from a literary point of view way at the top on my shelf of favorite books of the year!