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I’d been anticipating reading LaRose since I first saw saw it on a list of coming-soon recommendations, and the wait to get it from my library seemed interminable. I’ve seen some great reviews but I have to be honest and tell you that I wasn’t as enamored of it as I would have liked. To my mind there are two conflicting aspects when considering this book: the writing (lovely) and the story (mediocre).

Let’s start with the good stuff. I really enjoyed Louise Erdich’s style, her ability to blend the literal and figurative so well that sometimes I couldn’t distinguish them. The beauty in this is that you can interpret these elements in your own way and they still maintain their contribution to the story as intended. Erdrich also displays a deep familiarity with Ojibwe culture and spiritual practices, and it’s skillfully woven throughout their everyday lives as well as the generational stories going back to the first LaRose.

To add to her unique writing style, she clearly knows the addict/alcoholic mind. It’s a pretty f**ked-up state, pardon my language, and she’s nailed it. Booze nearly destroyed my life once upon a time and so I tend to be very critical of the way authors portray alcoholics in their stories. This book has the feel of either extremely thorough research or personal knowledge on the part of the author because I found myself able to relate to many of those insane behaviors. I also found myself weeping for the one person that I should, and whom most readers probably do, despise.

As for the story, I won’t write a synopsis other than to say I was drawn by the idea of one family essentially giving their child to another as a way of helping that family recover from the loss of their own child. I couldn’t imagine how any parent could do this in the modern world or how it would play out - that was the hook for me. I don’t feel like that story was fully delivered because there were too many offshoots relating to the other children in these families and, for some reason I can’t explain, I wasn’t able to really connect with them. The standout story that truly shines is that of the original LaRose and her descendants, a fascinating tale that is but a small portion of the book.

Please don’t let my three stars deter you from reading LaRose. There is a lot to be discovered here. The characters are complex, imperfect people struggling every day to navigate the waters of their despair, fears, aspirations, loyalties. There is an authenticity to these family dynamics, both white and Ojibwe, which you don’t find in every author’s work.