TLC Book Tour: Round House

The Round House
By Louise Erdrich
Review copy from TLC Book Tours


The Round House, takes place in 1988 on a Indian reservation in N. Dakota. This is a coming age story of Antone Bazil Coutts, known as Joe, a pre-teen.

He is forced to grow up fast, one fateful day things will not be the same for Joe, and his mother and father.

He's mother, Geraldine leaves to go to her office to pick up a file.  She doesn't return for several hours.  Joe, and his father, a lawyer for the reservation, starts searching for her.  Hours later, she is at their home in their driveway, just staring.  She immobile, with scratches, and bruises all over her body.  She is unable to discuss it.  Geraldine isolates her self from everyone, including her family.  But, as we turn the pages we find out what happened to Geraldine.

It takes alot of research, and detective work of father and son to discover what happened to Geraldine. Joe involves his best friend, Cappy and his other two friends in the detective work.
It takes a lot of digging since he's mother wouldn't speak about it at first.  They eventually discover what happened, why? at Round House.  The book unravels like a detective story, but it is much more than that.

Finally, Joe does the unthinkable, and time can not be reversed.

We, the readers that have not been exposed to the native Indian culture we learn about the culture, Indian mysticsm, community, the conflict of white man vs. tribal laws, learns more about his family, and the social problems of alcohol, drugs, assault, etc in 1988.

We learn about the importance of Star Trek to Joe and his friends. Remember what is was like growing up as a pre-teen, with sexual awakening, looking at girl's body's etc.   The importance of his friendships of his four buddies.  They help Joe, discover by accident what happened to his isolated mother.

The friendship helps him deal with the frustration of not being able to help his mother, and reach her.  With the problems at home escalating, and the silence of his mother, and not dealing with daily life is frustrating to Joe, he reaches out to his friends, and his large extended family to learn to deal with family and learning to grow up fast.

The mysticsm of the land, the relationship to the people to the land, and why it is important.  For instance if you don't have any knowledge about the formation of the United States. Not knowing how the land was taken from them by the United States. I suggest you do some research.  This is a shameful part of history.

I like how the story is narrated. Because as we learn about Joe, it is told by the adult Joe, through his eyes, and voice. Through the narration we learn that Joe, went into his father's foot steps, and became a lawyer. We learn a great deal about what happens to his life later, what is said and unsaid, but we presume because of the adult narration.

Thank You TLC Book Tours for my chance to review. I want to apologize to TLC Book Tours.  This is the first time I had to ask to postpone my post for the book tour.  With the holidays approaching, and getting ready for school, I had so much on my plate.


Happy Holidays everyone.