A Reader's Guide to the Novels of Louise Erdrich - Softcover

One of the most widely read and prolific contemporary Native American writers, Louise Erdrich is highly praised for her experimental narratives and richly complex characters. Interweaving plots, characters, locations, and perspectives, Erdrich's writing carries readers into a fictional maze that is both compelling and entertaining, yet sometimes confusing. Bringing together for the first time information from all six of Erdrich's novels, A Reader's Guide to the Novels of Louise Erdrich pilots readers through the maze of her interlocking worlds. Erdrich's first five novels, beginning with the award-winning Love Medicine and concluding with Tales of Burning Love, are largely set on or near the same fictional Indian reservation in North Dakota and share many of the same characters. The Antelope Wife, her sixth novel, has a different setting but features an equally complex cast of characters. These interconnections between individuals and families, along with the multiple overlapping stories within and among the novels, are exactly what Beidler and Barton resolve in their guide. Divided into two main sections, the guide provides insight into the geography, genealogy, chronology, and characters of the six novels. In Part I, Beidler arid Barton provide a skeletal outline of each family included in the novels. They have sorted familial relationships into genealogical charts and placed each book's most important events in chronological order. A map of Erdrich's North Dakota, both actual and fictional, is also included in this chapter. Part II, the dictionary of characters, forms the heart of the book. The dictionary includes all major and most minor players and provides, in chronologicalorder, the events in each character's life. It also serves as an index to Erdrich's many characters by listing every chapter in the novels where each character appears. Finally, a bibliography is provided, citing the most significant critical responses to Erdrich from the past fifteen years. A Reader's Guide to the Novels of Louise Erdrich will be an invaluable tool for scholars, students, and general readers alike. Any reader of Erdrich will want to keep a copy close at hand.