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The Mighty Red
By Louise Erdrich

The Mighty Red is a river in North Dakota and home to a rural community where sugar beet farming is the dominant way of life. Set during 2008/9, the financial crash has left many in economic jeopardy, and everyone feels the pain, scraping to get by.

This is the story of a girl who is torn between two lovers, but her choice, while made in haste, confirms the old marriage adage that she can repent at leisure. The novel is structured around the stages of her nuptials, but actually it is the story of several marriages, including her mother's, her mother in law's, and the sacrifices women make to support their husband's frail egos.

I love Erdrich's characters. They are the salt of the earth, decent folk, who don't always make great decisions, but are full of heart and soul. There are strong themes of life and the afterlife, the various guides of the spirit world, and of the relationship between humans and the earth we live on, how farming practices have impacted on soil and how we eschew more sustainable and nutritious foodstuffs in place of monoculture.

This is my favourite from this author so far.

Publishes today, 30th September 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and #LittleBrownBooks for the ARC