Customer Reviews

Love Medicine

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Published in 1984, this stunning collection of interrelated short stories won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction. Focusing on the lives of several Chippewa Indian families, and the white families with whom they interact and/or marry, author Louise Erdrich depicts their traditional culture through some of the early characters, and, through later characters, the way the old ways change or become compromised through education, the introduction of religion by missionaries, and contact with modern society. The stories are set in North Dakota on or near a remote reservation, not far from the Canadian border, similar to the place where Erdrich grew up and where her parents worked as teachers for the Bureau of Indian Affairs

The stories reveal fifty years in the lives of the Kashpaw and Lamartine families from the 1930s to the 1980s, as they interact, intermarry, and ultimately try to figure out who they have become. Through her selection of details and her often lyrical descriptions, Erdrich creates vibrant local settings within which her characters tell their stories in lively, colloquial voices. Emotional, matter-of-fact, tormented, and sometimes angry, the characters are equally well drawn for both men and women.

The separate stories of Marie and Nector Kashpaw, which come together when they marry, occupy much of the very early years covered by the collection, but their stories also involve Lulu Lamartine, with whom Nector has a long affair. In the 1980s, Marie and Nector's grandson, Lipsha Morrissey, tries to create a "love medicine" for his elderly grandparents in an old age home, a story filled with ironies and, ultimately, dark humor. Between these stories time flashes forward and back as other generations, other children and parents from the same families, try to deal with the immediate aftermath of war, the harshness of the prison system, unemployment, and poverty.

As the characters overlap and interact throughout the stories, the author conveys Chippewa culture, the families' resistance to and acceptance of change, the roles of strong women in holding families together, the hostility towards the federal government, and the sometimes overwhelming despair of those who live on the reservation. The characters' sense of pride and endurance elevate even the saddest and most wrenching stories, however, while the bleak humor keeps them from becoming morbid or sentimental. Dramatic, thoughtful, and powerful, Erdrich's collection creates an unforgettable portrait of two families who represent a changing Chippewa nation. Mary Whipple

Colorful characters, vivid detail, and a whole range of emotion await the reader that embarks on a journey through Louise Erdrichs' 1985 book Love Medicine. Those who have no prior knowledge of life on an Indian Reservation will come away with a better understanding of Native American life in the twentieth century, while those who are familiar with life on "the res" will certainly find many things to relate to. Erdrich has managed to weave what may at first seem to be unrelated chapters into a colorful history of the lives of the Kashpaw and Nanapush families spanning five decades. Intertwined in the story are many other reservation residents all of whom add their unique contribution to this literary tapestry.

Each chapter is written in the style of its' primary character and reflects the individuals' point of view. Family alliances and feuds are played out, relationships become evident, and secrets are uncovered with each turn of a page. Events are often retold elsewhere in the book from another persons' perspective and the plots continue to thicken. Hopes and dreams often give way to stark reality. Some characters remain on the reservation accepting their lots in life and triumph despite personal tragedies, dysfunctional families, and adversity. Other characters don't cope as well and attempt to escape to the city only to find out that no matter where they go they cannot escape themselves or their destinies. Then, there are those that are so tortured by their life experiences that they see no other way out but the ultimate escape from life itself. Yet, despite tragedy and hardship, life endures. Each character has unique coping mechanisms and skills, and philosophy about life. As the book progresses the reader gets to know all the key characters very well.

Remarkable throughout the book is the connection and sense of extended family that exists in this community. Especially poignant is the way the matriarchs hold all aspects of reservation life together through good times and bad. Children are fostered as needed without question and raised alongside natural children, frailties accepted, those in need are cared for, eccentricities are tolerated, and indiscretions either forgiven or ignored. Doors are always open to friends and relatives, commodities shared, and family loyalty is a way of life. The community is interdependent on all its' members, as is clearly demonstrated when all the families in the community are included as employees of the short-lived Tomahawk Factory, and reap from both the success and failure of this trailblazing endeavor. The ways and superstitions of the Old World weave their way throughout the book adding interest, and sometimes mystery.

Using the personal experiences as a German-Native American and her keen insight into all aspects of life Erdrich brings to light the challenges of everyday life for this marginal population; those that live both in the old world and the new, and sometimes don't fit into either. With her skill at presenting a total picture of modern Native American lifestyle on the reservation the author brings to the readers' consciousness various socio-political messages. The presence of alcohol abuse and its' consequences resurfaces throughout the book both from the abusers' point of view and that of the victims. After an intimate look inside the lives of these fictional characters the root causes of what are often looked upon as hereditary traits become apparent. People need to feel valued, productive, and that there is hope for something better in their lives. Historically, reservation life has encouraged dependency on the government rather than self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. The effects of parental alcoholism on children in the form of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome also cannot be ignored as a cause of this unfortunate cycle that clearly needs to be broken.

Come, spend some time at the "res", and if you aren't ready to leave when you turn the last page don't despair - this need not be the end. Step into the books' sequel The Bingo Palace. One can only wonder and imagine what further adventures and mysteries await within the walls what used to be the infamous Tomahawk Factory!

Native Americans have not been treated well in fiction. Too often, authors merely fall back on old stereotypes (such as Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales), but authors also risk the danger of reverse racism, in which a minority group is portrayed as so noble and godlike that they insult the human traits of the group (Dances With Wolves, for example). A realistic portrait of Native Americans is desperately needed, and Louise Erdrich fills this void impressively.

This is a deep, complicated book, encompassing many years and characters, jumping back and forth through time, alternating viewpoints with every chapter. Faulknerian in scope, the book is also blessed with a rich sense of humor, which lightens the mood and rounds out the characters. Yes, these people suffer in the book, and the plight of reservation life is presented without romance or any softening of the blow. Yet we laugh as much as we cry throughout "Love Medicine," because Erdrich is a gifted enough author to replace pathos with witty perserverence. This book requires patience and time, but has rich rewards. For an uplifting look at Native American life, and an insightful view on human nature in general, try Louise Erdrich.

First off, this is not an easy read, so if that is your favorite fare, look elsewhere. This is the first Louise Erdrich book I read, and it hooked me so that I've read every one since this. Having originally read the book about 10 years ago--I think when I was a senior in college--I have just finished re-reading it. If you follow through the rest of the books, you'll probably want to do that, too, because all the stories turn back in on themselves, and someone who's a minor character in one book shows up as a major character in another book. I see a lot of negative reviews from students who have read the book, and honestly, if I had read this book when I was in high school or early college, I probably wouldn't have gotten it. So I hope those who got frustrated with this book while young will give it another chance later. This book will resound with people who have had sufficient life experience to appreciate the darkness and suffering that goes on throughout the stories. Although there is a lot of darkness, I found Love Medicine to be overwhelmingly uplifting. Louise Erdrich finds the light, humor, and irony in situations so that in spite of all the suffering, we are left with an air of possibility that transcends the grim resignation that would be plausible. While some characters do succumb to that resignation, they are definitely a slim few. Most of the characters triumphantly ply their fates despite the sometimes onerous obstacles before them. This book is woven with such rich threads of such universal themes - love, lust, loss, unfairness, redemption, revenge, second chances, family, arrogance, regret - there's too much to go on about each one. You just have to read it yourself.

I am but only a 14 year old girl and currently read the whole "Tracks" series. I read before this a review that criticized the whole series; it was written by a 16 year old girl who was forced to read it. In my class, we were asked to find a book that has a Native American theme to it, and after carefull consideration, I chose to read this peice after hearing great praise of the author, Louise Erdrich, from my literature teacher. It is indeed a challenging peice of literature, but I found it unique. Its constant changing of narrators leaves you wanting to read and find out what happens to all of the charaters in the end. I first read "Tracks," and I was fascinated with the character Fleur Pillager, she is the type of person that I see in myself, the kind that I would like to play in a movie. She is seen in two narrative forms throughout the book. The first, Nanapush, is a spirtual man whom has a wild heart, and a love for woman. The second is the ignored Pauline, whom is jealous and sick. Fluer is described by Nanapush as a wild-hearted woman who does what she can to survive. Pauline sees her with eyes of jealousy, and sees her as compition for men, and attention period. This novel is the tragic tale of these characters and there life on the Chippewa reservation. Having Chippewa blood myself, I believe that this novel is an accurate account of what happened long ago to the Native Americans, and if all eles, it is a good read. But I must warn you, you must have some intelegence to read this book, for to say the truth, it is one of the harder peices of literature that I read.

LOVE MEDICINE is a book about forgiveness and grace. Erdrich creates stunningly real characters who struggle, lie, cheat, fight, love, and forgive. There are triumphs and tragedies aplenty. The underlying themes of stubbornness and survival are beautifully portrayed in the title story in which the human condition is compared to the vulnerability and toughness of dandelions: "The spiked leaves full of bitter mother's milk. A buried root. A nuisance people dig up and throw in the sun to wither. A globe of frail seeds that's indestructible." Haunting the minds of the characters in this book is June, who dies in the first story on Easter, a day typically associated with renewal. Driven by physical and psychological hunger, June, a Native American, gives herself to a stranger, a white man she meets in the Rigger Bar. The cause of her death is left to the reader to decide--accident or suicide? This is a question that drives the other stories, as well as the reader's heart. Indeed, these stories are about learning to think with the heart. I've read these stories many times and gain new appreciation for them and new clarity with each reading. "The Red Convertible," a much-anthologized piece, is truly a gem--heartbreaking and unforgettable.

Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine is a powerful book about two Native American families the Kashpaws and the Lamartines and their need for spiritual healing. Erdrich's has an uncanny ability to poetically illustrate emotions like: "Her clothes were full of safety pins hidden in tears", or "Punished and alone I slept in a room of echoing creeks." Her clear fluid writing style enables her stories to be very powerful and moving. In the first chapter Erdrich illustrates the story of June Kashpaw's death. The book then consists of the different perspectives within the families and their response to June's death. Erdrich allows June to be the main character which is removed from the story. June floats in an out of the story while the different characters deal with tribal issues. Love Medicine refers to the healing process which the characters are working toward. The characters Erdrich develops are so easy to relate to that you may end up reflecting on your own family and friends and all their drama. Erdrich's book speaks trans-culturally. It does not feel as if you need to be Native American in order to relate with the stories. Love Medicine is an issue relevant to many painful topics across the globe. This book can be a good route which relates with a lot of different issues, such as death, divorce, love, and spirituality. Many of the Native American characters are dealing with identity crises and feel disenfranchised. I would recommend this book to be read along with books like the Poisonwood Bible by Barbra Kingsolver. There are a few subject matters that may prohibit this book from being read by high school classes but I feel any mature audients would benefit greatly from Erdrich. Over all I find this book provocative and heart wrenching at the same time.

As the Kirkus review suggests, Love Medicine is best taken as a series of stories--it is not exactly in chronological order, and the stories are related only in that they all deal with characters from two sides of a large and complex family. In fact, the family relations are so complex that at times they're downright confusing, and you might want to make a family tree--in pencil. Nonetheless, it is a powerful and compelling book with a sly wit about it; and sometimes it's so beautiful it's painful, as in "Scales," "The Red Convertible," and "Wild Geese." In all honesty the book is probably a masterpiece, as--in the best of van Gogh--it leaves you pondering nuances of what you've witnessed for days afterwards

Love Medicine chronicals the relationships between two Chippewa tribe families in North Dakota. Over a 50 year period the lives of the members of these families are intertwined through love, hate, lust, greed, honor and tradition. Love Medicine is much more than a historic chronical of two families.
In reading Love Medicine the reader is drawn into the lives of the families. There is much rich symbolism in the book, which seems even more fitting in the traditional Indian setting. Many questions are left unanswered in Love Medicine, questions that may or may not be answered in subsequent books.

Love Medicine also had four additional chapters inserted ten years after it was first released. The additional chapters were strategically placed within the book. To understand their significance, one needs to read both editions of Love Medicine.

In my English class, we were required to read a book written by great women authors. Because I am very indecisive, I did not know which one to choose. I picked "Love Medicine" because I am of a Native American heritage, and I wanted to see if this was just another stereotypical book devoid of any real truths whatsoever. I must admit I was taken aback by the quality of this book. "Love Medicine" is a story of two Chippewa families, the Kashpaws and the Lamartines, whose lives interlace throughout the entireity of the story. The three main characters find themselves caught in a love triangle that lasts through most of their adult lives, and it has a major influence on the lives of their family members. In trying to heal this plight with a love medicine, a plan which goes sour in the end, Lipsha realizes that true love cannot be forced upon another; it is felt deep within the soul. Erdrich's style of writing is what makes this novel interesting. Her attention to detail brings her characters to life, and each story gives the reader insight into the individual's life and feelings. This is truly a great work and a pleasure to read. After really getting into it, I found myself not able to put it down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.