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[[File:Exterior, Wassama Round House.jpg|thumb|right|Exterior, Wassama Round House]]
[[File:Exterior, Wassama Round House.jpg|thumb|right|Exterior, Wassama Round House]]


'''''The Round House''''' is a novel by [[Louise Erdrich]] first published in 2012. It is her 14th novel. Some critics considered it a thematic sequel to [[Louise Erdrich|Erdrich]]'s 2008 novel ''[[The Plague of Doves]]'' due to its themes of revenge.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=John|title=The Burden of Justice: Louise Erdrich Talks About ‘The Round House’|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/the-burden-of-justice-louise-erdrich-talks-about-the-round-house/|accessdate=24 August 2015}}</ref> Like most of [[Louise Erdrich|Erdrich]]'s other works it is set on an unnamed fictional [[Indian reservation]] in [[North Dakota]].
'''''The Round House''''' is a novel by [[Louise Erdrich]] first published in 2012. It is her 14th novel. Some critics considered it a thematic sequel to [[Louise Erdrich|Erdrich]]'s 2008 novel ''[[The Plague of Doves]]'' due to its themes of revenge.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=John|title=The Burden of Justice: Louise Erdrich Talks About ‘The Round House’|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/the-burden-of-justice-louise-erdrich-talks-about-the-round-house/|accessdate=24 August 2015}}</ref> Like most of [[Louise Erdrich|Erdrich]]'s other works it is set on an unnamed [[Indian reservation]] in [[North Dakota]].


It won the [[National Book Award for Fiction]] in 2012.
It won the [[National Book Award for Fiction]] in 2012.


==Plot summary==
==Plot summary==
In the spring of 1988, 13 year-old Joe Coutts, the only son of older parents, learns that his mother has been brutally raped. At the hospital his father Bazil, a tribal judge on the reservation, quickly enlists the county, federal and tribal police to take statements from Geraldine as she was raped near the round house, a spiritual place that is on reservation land but is surrounded by several different areas where different authorities have the ability to prosecute. Joe and his friends go to the round house to see if they can find more evidence that the police might have missed and are able to locate an empty gas canister in the lake.
In North Dakota in the spring of 1988, 13 year-old [[Ojibwe]] Joe Coutts, the only son of aging parents, learns that his mother has been brutally raped. At the hospital his father Bazil, a tribal judge on the reservation, quickly enlists the county, federal and tribal police to take statements from his wife. Geraldine was raped near the round house, a spiritual place on reservation land that is surrounded by land under multiple jurisdictions. Joe and his friends go to the round house to try to find evidence that the police might have missed. On this mission Joe locates an empty gas can that had been tossed into the lake at the bottom of the hill.


After Geraldine returns home she falls into a deep depression. Bazil confides in Joe that he believes that Geraldine's rape might have had something to do with a case he presided over. He shows Joe the case of Linda Wishkob a white woman who had been abandoned by her family because of her birth defects and was adopted into the Wishkob family and lived on reservation land. Joe is confused as to what this has to do with his mother but gradually learns that Linda's birth mother later re-established contact with her in order to procure her kidney for Linda's twin brother Linden Lark who grew up to be a racist violent drunk.
Geraldine falls into a deep depression after the rape. Bazil confides in Joe that he believes the rape might have had something to do with a case he once presided over. Among other cases, he shows Joe the case of Linda Wishkob, a white woman who had been abandoned by her family because of her birth defects. Linda was subsequently adopted into the Wishkob (Ojibwe) family and lived with them on reservation land. Joe cannot make a connection between this case and his mother's rape, but he gradually learns that Linda's birth mother later re-established contact with her in order to procure her kidney for Linda's twin brother, Linden Lark, who grew up to be a violent racist drunk.


As Geraldine sinks further into a depression Joe begins to spend more time with his uncle Whitey and his aunt by marriage Sonja, an ex-stripper, whom he lusts after. Sonja treats him almost as an adopted son and the two grow close. When one day Joe is out looking in the water he notices a doll. Picking it up out of the water he removes the head and discovers forty thousand dollars in cash stuffed in the doll. Bringing the money to Sonja she helps him distribute the money amongst various banks making him promise he will use it for his education. However shortly after Sonja begins to use the money to buy herself presents.
As Geraldine sinks further into depression, Joe begins to spend more time with his uncle Whitey and his aunt (by marriage) Sonja, a former stripper, for whom Joe lusts. Sonja treats him almost as an adopted son, and the two grow close. When one day Joe is out looking in the water he notices a doll. Picking it up out of the water, he removes the head and discovers forty thousand dollars in cash stuffed inside the doll. He takes the money to Sonja, and she helps him distribute the money amongst various banks, making him promise he will use it for his education. However, shortly after this exchange, Sonja uses the money to buy herself presents.


Meanwhile, Geraldine begins to finally talk about her rape after she learns that there is a man trying to adopt an orphaned Native American baby of unknown provenance. Geraldine reveals that a woman named Mayla Wolfskin contacted her the day she was raped telling her that she was being pursued. The woman asked her to meet her at the round house where they were both attacked by Linden Lark. Linden told Geraldine that he would murder both Mayla and the baby if she told anyone or attempted to save herself. However Geraldine was able to save herself and feels guilty over what might have happened to Mayla. Based on the details she shares Joe realizes that the money from the doll belonged to Mayla.
Geraldine begins to finally talk about her rape after she learns that there is a man trying to adopt an orphaned Native American baby of unknown provenance. She reveals that a woman named Mayla Wolfskin (Ojibwe) contacted her the day she was raped, telling her that she was being pursued. Mayla asked to meet at the round house where they were both attacked by Linden Lark. Linden told Geraldine that he would murder both Mayla and the baby if she told anyone about the attack or attempted to save herself. However, Geraldine was able to run away from him, and now feels guilty about what might have happened to Mayla. Based on the details Geraldine shares, Joe realizes that the money from the doll belongs to Mayla.


Based on Geraldine's testimony Linden is arrested and for a time the Coutts slowly begin to rehabilitate themselves. However Joe accidentally comes across Sonja giving a birthday present to his grandfather and after refusing to leave witnesses the fact that the birthday present is a lap dance. Sonja rebukes Joe for being another man only interested in bullying her and staring at her body. She leaves the reservation and takes most of the money from the doll with her.
Based on Geraldine’s testimony in court, Linden is arrested, and for a time the Couttses slowly work toward restoring their lives. But Joe accidentally comes across Sonja giving a birthday present to his grandfather, Mooshum, in the form of a lap dance. Joe confronts her, and Sonja rebukes him for being another man interested only in her body. She leaves the reservation and takes most of the money from the doll with her.


Shortly after Linden Lark is freed. Though Geraldine tries to stay strong it becomes clear that Linden is interested in harassing her. When Bazil sees him at the grocery store he and Joe attack Linden but Bazil suffers a heart attack as a result. While Bazil is recovering in a hospital in [[Fargo, North Dakota|Fargo]] friends and family of the Coutts round Linden up and beat him as a warning. Linden is not shaken by the beating and goes to Whitey telling him that he knows where Sonja is and will get her money. After Geraldine learns that Linden is unlikely to be stopped she tells Joe that she will protect the family. Joe realizes that trying to stop Linden will kill Geraldine. He resolves to murder Linden himself, knowing that if he is caught he will be punished as a juvenile offender. Joe tells his best friend Cappy of his plan and Cappy supports him, teaching him how to shoot and coming up with a plan on how to procure a gun. Joe plans to murder Linden while he is out golfing in the early morning. After waiting for him for days he finally sees him and shoots him twice, non-fatally. Ultimately Cappy, who Joe had not told his specific plans to, appears in the golf course and delivers the fatal shot to Linden.
Shortly after this, Linden Lark is freed from jail. Though Geraldine tries to stay strong, it becomes clear that Linden is interested in harassing her. When Bazil sees him at the grocery store, he and Joe attack Linden. In the commotion, Bazil suffers a heart attack. While Bazil recovers in a hospital in [https://href.li/?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo,_North_Dakota Fargo], friends and family of the Couttses find Linden and beat him as a warning. Linden is not shaken by the beating and tells Whitey that he knows where Sonja is and will get her money. After Geraldine learns that Linden is unlikely to be stopped, she tells Joe that she will protect the family. Joe realizes that trying to stop Linden will kill Geraldine. He resolves to murder Linden himself, knowing that if he is caught he will be punished as a juvenile offender. Joe tells his best friend Cappy of his plan, and Cappy supports him. Cappy teaches Joe how to shoot and comes up with a plan to procure a gun. Joe plans to murder Linden while he is out golfing in the early morning. After waiting for Linden for days, Joe finally sees him and shoots him twice, non-fatally. Ultimately Cappy, who Joe had not told his specific plans to, appears in the golf course and delivers the fatal shot to Linden.


Though Joe's parents, uncle Whitey and Linda all suspect that Joe was the murderer they are careful not to ask Joe too many questions and go out of their way to protect him from the police. Later Cappy receives a letter from his girlfriend Zelia's parents in Montana asking him not to contact her anymore. Cappy steals a car and he and Joe go to see Zelia. They have a car accident where Cappy is killed and Joe's parents come to take him back home.
Though Joe’s parents, uncle Whitey, and Linda (the deceased’s biological sister) all suspect that Joe killed Linden, they are careful not to ask Joe too many questions. They go out of their way to protect him from the police. Later Cappy receives a letter from his white girlfriend Zelia’s parents in Montana asking him not to contact her anymore. Cappy steals a car, and he and Joe go to see Zelia. They get into a car accident in which Cappy is killed, and Joe’s parents come to take him back home.

==Themes==
* [https://href.li/?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojibwe Ojibwe] Family/Community Dynamics

* [https://href.li/?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribal_sovereignty_in_the_United_States Tribal Sovereignty]
* [https://href.li/?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice Restorative] vs. [https://href.li/?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice Retributive Justice] 
* [https://href.li/?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Country_Jurisdiction Jurisdiction Discrepancies] on Native Land
* Sexual Violence Against Native Women ([https://href.li/?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_Against_Women_Act VAWA])


==Reception==
==Reception==
The novel was positively reviewed. In 2015 it was included in ''The Oyster Review'''s list of "100 Best Books of the Decade So Far".<ref>{{cite web|title=100 Best Books of the Decade So Far|url=https://review.oysterbooks.com/p/CsJZWweDo3pnr3cFHXfu9k/100-best-books-of-the-decade-so-far|accessdate=24 August 2015}}</ref>
The novel was positively reviewed. In 2015 it was included in ''The Oyster Review'''s list of "100 Best Books of the Decade So Far".<ref>{{cite web|title=100 Best Books of the Decade So Far|url=https://review.oysterbooks.com/p/CsJZWweDo3pnr3cFHXfu9k/100-best-books-of-the-decade-so-far|accessdate=24 August 2015}}</ref>

The ''New York Times'' review can be found [https://href.li/?http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/books/review/the-round-house-by-louise-erdrich.html here].


==Awards and honors==
==Awards and honors==

Revision as of 19:27, 6 April 2017

The Round House
AuthorLouise Erdrich
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenrePolitical
PublisherHarper
Publication date
2 October 2012
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages336 (hardcover edition)
ISBN978-0062065247
OCLC778314690
Exterior, Wassama Round House

The Round House is a novel by Louise Erdrich first published in 2012. It is her 14th novel. Some critics considered it a thematic sequel to Erdrich's 2008 novel The Plague of Doves due to its themes of revenge.[1] Like most of Erdrich's other works it is set on an unnamed Indian reservation in North Dakota.

It won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2012.

Plot summary

In North Dakota in the spring of 1988, 13 year-old Ojibwe Joe Coutts, the only son of aging parents, learns that his mother has been brutally raped. At the hospital his father Bazil, a tribal judge on the reservation, quickly enlists the county, federal and tribal police to take statements from his wife. Geraldine was raped near the round house, a spiritual place on reservation land that is surrounded by land under multiple jurisdictions. Joe and his friends go to the round house to try to find evidence that the police might have missed. On this mission Joe locates an empty gas can that had been tossed into the lake at the bottom of the hill.

Geraldine falls into a deep depression after the rape. Bazil confides in Joe that he believes the rape might have had something to do with a case he once presided over. Among other cases, he shows Joe the case of Linda Wishkob, a white woman who had been abandoned by her family because of her birth defects. Linda was subsequently adopted into the Wishkob (Ojibwe) family and lived with them on reservation land. Joe cannot make a connection between this case and his mother's rape, but he gradually learns that Linda's birth mother later re-established contact with her in order to procure her kidney for Linda's twin brother, Linden Lark, who grew up to be a violent racist drunk.

As Geraldine sinks further into depression, Joe begins to spend more time with his uncle Whitey and his aunt (by marriage) Sonja, a former stripper, for whom Joe lusts. Sonja treats him almost as an adopted son, and the two grow close. When one day Joe is out looking in the water he notices a doll. Picking it up out of the water, he removes the head and discovers forty thousand dollars in cash stuffed inside the doll. He takes the money to Sonja, and she helps him distribute the money amongst various banks, making him promise he will use it for his education. However, shortly after this exchange, Sonja uses the money to buy herself presents.

Geraldine begins to finally talk about her rape after she learns that there is a man trying to adopt an orphaned Native American baby of unknown provenance. She reveals that a woman named Mayla Wolfskin (Ojibwe) contacted her the day she was raped, telling her that she was being pursued. Mayla asked to meet at the round house where they were both attacked by Linden Lark. Linden told Geraldine that he would murder both Mayla and the baby if she told anyone about the attack or attempted to save herself. However, Geraldine was able to run away from him, and now feels guilty about what might have happened to Mayla. Based on the details Geraldine shares, Joe realizes that the money from the doll belongs to Mayla.

Based on Geraldine’s testimony in court, Linden is arrested, and for a time the Couttses slowly work toward restoring their lives. But Joe accidentally comes across Sonja giving a birthday present to his grandfather, Mooshum, in the form of a lap dance. Joe confronts her, and Sonja rebukes him for being another man interested only in her body. She leaves the reservation and takes most of the money from the doll with her.

Shortly after this, Linden Lark is freed from jail. Though Geraldine tries to stay strong, it becomes clear that Linden is interested in harassing her. When Bazil sees him at the grocery store, he and Joe attack Linden. In the commotion, Bazil suffers a heart attack. While Bazil recovers in a hospital in Fargo, friends and family of the Couttses find Linden and beat him as a warning. Linden is not shaken by the beating and tells Whitey that he knows where Sonja is and will get her money. After Geraldine learns that Linden is unlikely to be stopped, she tells Joe that she will protect the family. Joe realizes that trying to stop Linden will kill Geraldine. He resolves to murder Linden himself, knowing that if he is caught he will be punished as a juvenile offender. Joe tells his best friend Cappy of his plan, and Cappy supports him. Cappy teaches Joe how to shoot and comes up with a plan to procure a gun. Joe plans to murder Linden while he is out golfing in the early morning. After waiting for Linden for days, Joe finally sees him and shoots him twice, non-fatally. Ultimately Cappy, who Joe had not told his specific plans to, appears in the golf course and delivers the fatal shot to Linden.

Though Joe’s parents, uncle Whitey, and Linda (the deceased’s biological sister) all suspect that Joe killed Linden, they are careful not to ask Joe too many questions. They go out of their way to protect him from the police. Later Cappy receives a letter from his white girlfriend Zelia’s parents in Montana asking him not to contact her anymore. Cappy steals a car, and he and Joe go to see Zelia. They get into a car accident in which Cappy is killed, and Joe’s parents come to take him back home.

Themes

  • Ojibwe Family/Community Dynamics

Reception

The novel was positively reviewed. In 2015 it was included in The Oyster Review's list of "100 Best Books of the Decade So Far".[2]

The New York Times review can be found here.

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Williams, John. "The Burden of Justice: Louise Erdrich Talks About 'The Round House'". Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  2. ^ "100 Best Books of the Decade So Far". Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Louise Erdrich, The Round House - National Book Award Fiction Winner". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Winners & Finalists". Minnesota Book Awards. Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  5. ^ Bill Ott (June 30, 2013). "Richard Ford and Timothy Egan Win Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction". Booklist. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  6. ^ Annalisa Pesek (July 3, 2013). "2013 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction". Library Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  7. ^ "ALA Unveils 2013 Finalists for Andrew Carnegie Medals". Publishers Weekly. April 22, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
Preceded by National Book Award for Fiction
2012 		Succeeded by

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