In a mere week, I completed Louise Erdrich's The Round House, and now I find myself missing some of the characters. Wondering what happens next. How Joe fares after the final trauma of the novel. The moment I began reading the book, I fell into the world that Erdrich created, this time recognizing characters from The Plague of Doves and even a few names here and there from her earlier novels. That's how she always hooks me -- she plays on my desire to see how everyone ends up after the last page of the last book I read, how everyone becomes even more intertwined than before. Perhaps it's my small town heritage that feeds this desire; perhaps I just like maintaining the friendships she fosters. Regardless of why, I have a desperate hope that Louise someday tells us more about Joe and Margaret. About Geraldine and Bazil.
The novel is undoubtedly Joe's coming of age story, a story of how a summer that really wasn't about him at all became the most defining months of his life. It is about his mother and, more importantly, his family as a whole. The string of violence and trauma that Joe's family endures is horrendous, but his family shows how strong we can be in the face of such atrocities. How we can make some sense of complete and utter nonsense, and cope with the lingering nonsense that is never resolved. How we justify our actions, yearn for justice, for peace. How we want back what we knew before, and how we cope with knowing that nothing will ever be that way again. Coping, even transforming through coping -- both are vital threads of the story.
Between the award Erdrich has received for the book and its themes of gender, native, and justice issues, I foresee professors including this book in their syllabi soon. I hope this happens, at least -- it has the potential to open serious discussions about rape, tribal and non-tribal politics, justice, morals, religion, and the basic process of uncovering one's identity. I could only imagine the classroom discussions we could have when Joe and Cappy find themselves asking one another, "What are we?...What are we now?" Comparing their struggling, shaky sense of identity to Linda's strong understanding of who she is, despite her convoluted history. This is why I hope someday Louise writes more about Joe's life -- to find out just what he becomes, who he becomes, what good he does in the world. Whether or not Father Travis was right, that God does "draw good from any evil situation," even the evil that seemed to compound in Joe's life up until the final pages of the book.
If you love Erdrich and the world she has created, you'll love The Round House, too. If you don't know her yet, this would be an excellent way to get to know her, and then I highly recommend reading more of her works to see how all of these people are connected.
