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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

A new direction for Louise Erdrich?

I don't know if it's the first time but certainly one of the few times that Louise Erdrich has written a story that's not centered on Native Americans, nor the tribal lands she has so powerfully created and depicted in the Northern Plains - always good to see a talented and mature writer stretch and grow and take risks. I liked her story The Big Cat in last week's New Yorker very much - this story focused on a divorced (and reuniting) couple in the professional and arts communities of Minneapolis, where I think Erdrich has lived for some years now. The story has her characteristic humor - running motif is how all the women in the family snore, which has led to various marital problems - the guy in the story describes their snoring as if each of the sisters is some kind of industrial machine - his wife is the "polisher" - also a great comical description of the poorly built house in which the snoring sisters were raised and in which they convene at insomniac holidays. The husband has made do in various accommodations, such as mattress shoved into closet, to escape the noise and get a good night's sleep, but we sense that this guy is just totally exhausted. The best part of the story, for me, was one long paragraph in which Erdrich describes the video tribute the wife has made of the clips from her husband's acting career - all walk-on parts or very minor parts or commercial gigs - which in a weird way takes us on the entire course of his life - from a man in a crowd, to a hero, to a suffering and wounded victim, to the end. This is better than the 7 ages of man speech in AYLI! Story itself pretty simple - couple divorce, he remarries, he and ex continue to meet amicably to deal with daughter issues, then less amicably, then tearfully reunite for year-long affair, then, when caught in the act by daughter, decide to remarry, as he leaves a very wealthy wife behind (and after some tribulation, decides to take a settlement, leaving him comfortable enough to build a sleeping room). But now that he sleeps, he has nightmares, one including the eponymous cat. Wonder if this story is a one-off or if it marks a new direction for Erdrich's writing.

1 comment:

  1. I need to read this. I've read about eleven of her novels - some more than once - but I wasn't aware of this story. Can't think of any novel that doesn't centre around Hoopdance or Argus her fictional towns so a new direction is an interesting thought.

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