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Book Review
Jul. 16th, 2019 08:53 pmThe Master Butchers Singing Club
by Louise Erdrich
This intimate and lovely novel starts just after WWI with Fidelis Waldvogel who has just returned from the fighting. He marries Eva, his friend's pregnant widow, and then emigrates to the small town of Argus, North Dakota. There he and Eva build a butcher shop into a thriving business and have four sons. Delphine Watzka, motherless daughter of the town drunk, then returns to Argus with Cyprian, her partner in an acrobatics act and not-quite-boyfriend. When Delphine meets Eva, they strike up a deep and true friendship that indelibly binds Delphine and the Waldvogels together.
Delphine and her relationships with the Waldvogels, Cyprian, and her father Roy are the focus of the narrative. Each relationship is rich and beautifully developed over the course of the book. They are what drives both the plot and Delphine's life. Erdrich also combines elements of family saga, small-town life, and midwestern gothic together with great subtlety and warmth. It's a very full and satisfying read.
by Louise Erdrich
This intimate and lovely novel starts just after WWI with Fidelis Waldvogel who has just returned from the fighting. He marries Eva, his friend's pregnant widow, and then emigrates to the small town of Argus, North Dakota. There he and Eva build a butcher shop into a thriving business and have four sons. Delphine Watzka, motherless daughter of the town drunk, then returns to Argus with Cyprian, her partner in an acrobatics act and not-quite-boyfriend. When Delphine meets Eva, they strike up a deep and true friendship that indelibly binds Delphine and the Waldvogels together.
Delphine and her relationships with the Waldvogels, Cyprian, and her father Roy are the focus of the narrative. Each relationship is rich and beautifully developed over the course of the book. They are what drives both the plot and Delphine's life. Erdrich also combines elements of family saga, small-town life, and midwestern gothic together with great subtlety and warmth. It's a very full and satisfying read.
