The Plague of Doves

Written by Louise Erdrich

Narrated by Peter Francis James and Kathleen McInerney

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, The Plague of Doves—the first part of a loose trilogy that includes the National Book Award-winning The Round House and LaRose—is a gripping novel about a long-unsolved crime in a small North Dakota town and how, years later, the consequences are still being felt by the community and a nearby Native American reservation.

Though generations have passed, the town of Pluto continues to be haunted by the murder of a farm family. Evelina Harp—part Ojibwe, part white—is an ambitious young girl whose grandfather, a repository of family and tribal history, harbors knowledge of the violent past. And Judge Antone Bazil Coutts, who bears witness, understands the weight of historical injustice better than anyone. Through the distinct and winning voices of three unforgettable narrators, the collective stories of two interwoven communities ultimately come together to reveal a final wrenching truth.

Bestselling author Louise Erdrich delves into the fraught waters of historical injustice and the impact of secrets kept too long.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 6, 2008
• ISBN: 9780061632525

Louise Erdrich

Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, is the award-winning author of many novels as well as volumes of poetry, children’s books, and a memoir of early motherhood. Erdrich lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore.

Reviews for The Plague of Doves

[gwendydd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Plague of Doves tells the interconnected stories of several white and Native American families in a small town. In the early 20th century, a group of white people lynched a few Native Americans because they suspected them of murder. Three generations later, the tensions and feuds created by that event still play out in the community. The book shifts points of view to explore the fallout among both whites and natives. Erdrich's writing is rich and skillful. She is very good at creating vivid characters, but there are so many characters in the story that I sometimes got them confused - it would have been really helpful to have a family tree or a chart of how the characters are connected.The subject matter can be grim at times, particularly in the chapters about a charismatic Christian cult. The book is still engaging and enjoyable nonetheless.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really, really enjoyed reading this book! The pace, the writing style, really just everything about it fit me just right! I liked how all of the stories carried threads from each other, both events and familial relationships. And I loved the secret or two revealed at the end! The book starts with a bang of a page, then lets up to tell the tales of the people and their lives. My favorite "chapter" was "Evelina" by far! I'm kind of sad that's it's over. I loved Mooshum, the violin, the priest and the salamander, and the Godzilla nun, maybe too much! This book, combined with the two that followed, are definite must reads for me and I'll be sure to recommend them whenever I can!

[novelcommentary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another wonderful Erdrich novel, set in North Dakota, bringing to light the history of the town of Pluto, a violent incident whose killer is not revealed until the end. Erdrich uses her masterful style of multiple narrators and shifts in time to demonstrate how this incident, the hanging of innocent Native Americans, has effected generations of families. Evelina tells the story of her Grandfather Mooshum when he ran away with his love during the plague of doves, Judge Coutts tells the tale of how John Wildstrand convinces Billy Peace to kidnap his wife so that the ransom money can go to Billy's sister who Wildstrand has impregnated. Marn Wolde tells of her love for Billy who becomes the leader of a cult religion. The tales intertwine to form a wonderful narrative of the paths of justice, a theme that resonates with Erdrich's companion novels, Round House and LaRose. This is some of the best writing out there. Highly recommend all three and many more of her works.

[donna828 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another winner by one of my favorite authors. This epic spans over a hundred years beginning in the late 1800's. The pivotal event was the massacre of a farm family near Pluto, SD in 1911 which was blamed on some of the local Native Americans who were promptly lynched. The repercussions of this frontier justice was felt by the kaleidescope of colorful characters. In fact, there were so many names and convoluted relationships to remember that I have a jumble of post-it notes to decipher!Erdrich is a masterful storyteller who utilizes a series of individual narratives to recount the tale. The viewpoint is always changing depending on the perspective of the current narrator. Through the different voices, we experience countless memorable events in the lives of the inhabitants of Pluto, "a town dwindling without grace." My only regret is that this is an entire new slate of characters. I was hoping to meet some old friends from previous works. As in most of her books, one may feel lost along the way, but perseverance pays off as the bits and pieces fall into place in a satisfying design.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A family is brutally murdered in 1911 and a lynch mob hastily hangs several Ojibwe Indians living nearby. Decades later the descendants of those involved have intermarried and the stories of what happened have become distorted over time.

Erdrich published sections of this novel previously as magazine short stories. Different sections of the book are narrated by different characters. Unfortunately this does result in a somewhat disjointed story line, jumping back and forth in time between 1911 and 1970s. There is a huge cast of characters and some are known by more than one name. But please, do not let these elements deter you. Erdrich’s prose is lyrical and flowing. I was intrigued and interested in the lives of the inhabitants of this small town just outside the reservation in a corner of North Dakota. The novel deals with issues of identity and self-worth, of knowing and appreciating one’s background and family history, of love and passion, of forgiveness and revenge.

The audio book is well performed by the duo of Kathleen McInernery and Peter Francis James. They are able to differentiate the many characters, whether a young girl or an aging grandfather.

[mont1ms · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic book - the stories and personalities weave themselves in so beautifully in these rich tales, that upon finishing the book I had to start all over again, skimming it to see all the references that had flown past me on first reading. Highly recommended...

[brenzi_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have to say, right from the start, that I have loved Louise Erdrich's writing since I was first introduced to her in the early 1990's when I read her collaboration with Michael Dorris in "The Crown of Columbus." Having read most of what she's written, I didn't think she could ever out-do her work in "Love Medicine," my favorite until now. However, Erdrich's pece de resistance has got to be this novel, a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize.The story is told through the voices of Evelina Harp, Marn Wolde, Judge Antone Bazil Coutts and Dr. Cordelia Lochren. The stories intermingle the lives of the tellers as well as the lives of other memorable characters, all around Pluto, North Dakota and the adjoining Ojibwe reservation, during the early 1900's until about the 1970's.The story centers on the murder of a farm family (all except for an infant in a crib) that takes place in 1911. To solve the mystery, which she does by book's end, Erdrich relates the stories of the town and reservation residents through fable, myth and resident memories. Almost every chapter could stand alone as a short story, but they are building towards the climax and denoument in the last few pages and I just never saw it coming.I cannot say enough about this work. The author's use of lyrical language combined with the story she weaves are an incredible combination. We use the word "mesmerizing" so much that its meaning is sometimes trivialized and so, I don't have a word to describe what Erdrich has created here. You just HAVE TO read this book!

[chancemaree · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the rare occasions where I enjoyed the journey without much concern over where the novel was heading. The characters, dialogue, and ambiance, along with skilled writing, made reading more of a pleasant book cuddle which I looked forward to each evening. That said, the surprise final wrap up which drew together all the strings was a cherry on the Sunday. This review sounds like literary comfort food, and perhaps it is. Multiple narrators voice their experiences within an Indian reservation, where intercultural mixes of life, love, poverty, religion, and other influences of society are stretched and pounded in ways, sometimes comical, yet universally human.

I held back one star, which is puzzling since I clearly enjoyed and highly recommend the novel. The reason is perhaps the wrapping at the end, which felt like I was going through a bit of a hustle. The pieces fit together, and resolved several puzzles, but somehow, by then, it didn't matter much. So, 4.5 stars, and I look forward to reading more by Louise Erdrich, and giving her a true 5 star rating.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Plague of Doves is a set of connected stories, peopled in the most part by characters of mixed Indian-White blood. Set on and around a reservation in North Dakota, concerning two communities, one Indian, one White. We read of their differences and their similarities, the various truths of living in a small, isolated area where mistrust and suspicion is the norm.At the heart of this book, outlined at the very beginning, is a story of the terrible murder of a white farming family. The survival of a baby and the immediate outlash at the Indian community. These deeds set the tone and echo on through the generations to come. We eventually learn who the murderer was and who the baby grew up to become.The stories jump around from person to person, backwards and forwards in time, You would think they would be a bit disjointed but Louise Erdrich is able to use language like an artist uses paint. She develops and enhances the pictures she is showing us. Her marvellous writing makes the whole book cohesive and real. These pages breathe life..A fully populated, ultimately humane story, A Plague of Doves was a entertaining read about how entwined fates shaped the destiny of Pluto, North Dakota.

[kidzdoc_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This semi-autobiographical, semi-historical novel is set in the fictional town of Pluto, North Dakota, which sits on the edge of a Native American reservation and is dying a slow death due to its isolation and lack of well paying jobs. Pluto contains a blend of German-Americans descended from 19th and 20th century settlers, Ojibwe (Chippewa) people, and the mixed race offspring of both groups. An underlying tension is present between the older members of the white and Native American residents, as the Ojibwe hold a longstanding resentment over the land that was taken from them by the settlers, and stories about Pluto's history and its former occupants hover nearby like ever present ghosts. The town's families have lived there for generations, and disagreements from decades past lie just beneath the surface and are not easily forgotten or forgiven.Evelina is a teenage girl of mixed descent, with a German-American father and an Ojibwe mother, who lives with her parents, younger brother and grandfather Mooshum, a fantastic storyteller whose tales have at least some basis in truth. She attends the local Catholic school, and her agreeable and obedient nature belies her rebeliousness and lustful nature. One day when her father is away and her mother is conversing with her sister, Mooshum tells Evelina and her brother about a tragic event that took place in 1911 that still haunts the town nearly a century later. A family of white farmers were slaughtered in their home, save for a baby who managed to survive thanks to a group of four Ojibwe who rescued the child. A group of prominent men in Pluto learn that the young men were the first ones to discover the massacre, and they accuse them of the murders. They are taken into custody by the town's sheriff, but the townsmen overcome him and take the four into their own hands. They are all strung up to be hung for their crimes, despite their protests of innocence. Three of them are lynched, while a fourth manages to escape. Later the townspeople realize that the Ojibwe youth were not the culprits, but the identity of the actual killer is never discovered.The novel consists of a series of chapters, in which past and current residents of Pluto provide first person accounts that cover the century from the period just prior to the massacre and subsequent lynching to the current day. In the process, the history of the town and its people are laid down like pieces of a complicated puzzle, although some of the pieces remain missing at its conclusion.The Plague of Doves is based in part on the 1897 massacre of the Spicer family in North Dakota, and the subsequent lynching of several innocent Ojibwe, and the character of Evelina is heavily but not entirely based on Louise Erdrich's childhood, family and education. Some of its chapters were initially published in The New Yorker, and perhaps as a result this novel for this reader felt disjointed and lacked a smooth flow from one segment to the next. The middle third was the weakest segment by far, but overall this was a very good novel, filled with elements of magic realism and interesting characters, and I look forward to reading more of Erdrich's work in the near future.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

How does the past affect the present? How long is its reach? Where is the line between past and present? Louise Erdrich explores these questions and more in The Plague of Doves. The small town of Pluto, North Dakota, and the reservation community it borders, seems to have moved on long ago from the unsolved murders of a farming family. Yet that event and its immediate aftermath has shaped later generations in ways that are either unrealized or unacknowledged. The multiple narrators of the story are no more than acquaintances, yet their stories gradually reveal the history that binds them all together.Erdrich understands her characters, and the voice of each narrator rings true almost to the end. I had a sense that one narrator, the child and then young woman Evelina, is at least somewhat autobiographical, and this was reinforced by the end material. In the book, Evelina leaves for college in 1972; in the biographical information at the end of the book, the author mentions going to Dartmouth in 1972.I was disappointed with the end of the novel. Each prior section of the novel contained surprises, so it was a let-down when I was able to predict what was revealed in the last section of the novel. Also, I didn't care for the explicit sexual references in the book. Although there are only a few passages with graphic content, it was enough to mar my full enjoyment of the book.A Plague of Doves would make a good book club read. It touches on several themes that would be great topics for discussion, such as family, religion, guilt and innocence, sin and absolution, cultural identity, and race. It would be interesting to pair this book with To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel that explores some of the same themes in a different cultural setting.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book that is very hard to summarize; there are many characters, many plot lines and at times they seem unrelated. It starts in North Dakota in 1911 when a terrible crime is committed on the outskirts of a white town, Pluto, that is on the edge of a Cherokee reservation, both sparsely populated. From that point on the story progresses forward to the present and we see that the whites and the natives intermarry and their descendants are all related to each other through blood, whether directly or once or twice removed. The narrative is not linear; it jumps back and forth through the decades working its way to the present in the final chapter. Each chapter is narrated in a different voice. We are slowly introduced to the myriad of characters through the eyes of various narrators and we learn of their relationship to each other in an offhand manner many times. While I enjoyed the many voices it did become confusing at times as I would become disoriented and not know who was narrating at times.There are also no dates given throughout the story nor any political or social events to hang a time period on which could also be confusing to some readers. It did not bother me so much as I felt that the story itself gave me a feel for the time, never exact but I'd feel we were in the 60s/70s or 20s/30s. The characterization is wonderful, I really got to know and care for these people. The writing is tremendously rich and almost lyrical at times. This is not a fast read, I did find my normal reading speed was slowed down as I read this book which demands to be read slowly and savoured. The final reveal at the end was a brilliant twist I did not see coming. While the book does deal slightly with race issues (whites, Native Americans and those of mixed-blood), racial tension doesn't figure significantly as a theme. Ultimately this is a saga of a small town (Pluto and the reservation combined) and the relationships of the people, where everyone knows everyone and are likely to be related to them somewhere down the line, and the secrets that are kept for generations until in the end all is revealed. A quiet, beautifully written story about people with dark undertones but also light and humorous at times. Recommended.

[bridget770 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a book I will read again, and I have never said that. It was intense and detailed and a gripping story with incredible characters.This novel details how a small town's residents' lives are entertwined by a family's murder and the lynching of a group of Native Americans who are innocent of the crime.Loved it.

[pandalibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Louise Erdrich is a master storyteller and if you’ve read any of her other novels, I’m sure you know that. Set in the town of Pluto, North Dakota just outside a reservation The Plague of Doves tells the story of a brutal murder and the lynching that followed. In one sense, this is a mystery as the purpose of the narrative is to discover the truth – but it’s not your typical who-done-it story with detectives or private investigators. It's much more complicated than that - in addition to the mystery, the following topics play a part in the narrative in some fashion: stamp collecting, collecting local and oral histories, Catholic schools, evangelical preachers, infidelity, psychiatric institutions, and lesbianism - just to name a few. And they're all important and vital to understanding the story.The real purpose of this story, I think is the discovery of truth - whether it's in history, in yourself, or in your relationships.The discovery of truth in this novel is told through the eyes of three narrators – Evelina, Judge Antone Bazil Coutts, and Marne Wold. The main narrator is Evelina and her story begins when she’s about 10 or 11 years old in the 1960's. Her grandfather, Mooshum, tells Evelina and her brother stories of his past (they do this instead of watching TV). While many of the characters and scenes are funny, Erdrich also writes with depth and feeling about the murders and lynchings. One summer day basketweavers, Asiginak and Holy Track, are out selling their baskets door to door (or farm to farm). Mooshum and his friend Cuthbert Peace are up to no good and are attempting to steal or beg the basketweavers money to buy whiskey and come across a horrifying, brutal murder scene. The four men rescued a baby, milked the desperate cows and decide what to do next. Later, the four men were tracked down by a posse of towns people (who assumed they committed the murders) and hung from an oak tree on Wolde's land - but notice that Mooshum is the one telling the story to his granddaughter Evelina - he survived the lynching. Evelina finds out the truth about that part of the story a few years later - but I'll let you read the book to find out his secret.There's a lot to take in and keep track of in this excellent book - Family ties and lineage play an important part in this book - as Judge Antone Bazil Coutts says, Nothing that happens - nothing - is not connected by blood.

[jepeters333 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In 1911, a terrible blood-chilling crime was committed at the edge of the Ojibwe Reservation, east of the predominantly white town of Pluto, ND. As time exerts its indomitable will, families change and grow, and eventually the memory of that time is all but forgotten in the minds of the long since intermarried. But destiny, as much as love and blood, is a powerful force on these stark plains. Soon, the younger generation will be forced to confront the reality that sins of the past still dwell in the hearts of some.

[stevesmits · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Erdrich crafts a marvelous, complex story that spans generations and interweaves characters living on the Ojibwa reservation and the adjacent dying town of Pluto, North Dakota. She uses multiple first person narrators who interconnect over time and though events that touch them all. The story begins with a desperate attempt by people of the region to chase off a plague of doves that is devouring the crops. Mooshum, a young Indian, encounters Junesee who is the daughter of a white man and Indian woman. They run off and eventually live with a tough cow girl on her ranch. They marry and return to the reservation where Mooshum and acquaintances come across a homestead where the entire family, except the baby, have been just murdered. The group flees, fearing that they will be accused of the murders. Someone informs on them and a posse catches them and lynches them, all but Mooshum who is spared by one of the posse. (It is later revealed that Mooshum probably informed on the whereabouts of the witnesses.) The baby is adopted by a couple. A young man from a neighboring farm who had left at the time of the murder was long thought to have committed the crime. He was killed in WWI so the truth of his involvement was never entirely certain.The time shifts forward to the 1960's and the voice of Evelina, who is Mooshum's granddaughter. Evelina has school girl crush on Corwin Peace, whose great uncle Cuthbert was among the Indians lynched. Mooshum's half-brother Shamengwa is a virtuoso violinist. Despite Evelina's mother's intense Catholicism, the two brothers are sharply anti-religious and their debates with Father Cassidy are hilarious. Evelina's father, Edward, is a science teacher whose rabid avocation is stamp collecting; the collections will have a place in the story later.Judge Anton Bazil Coutts is a tribal judge whose grandfather was a founder of the town. He was among a party of speculators who staked out land for the town in the 1880's in the hope of realizing profit if or when the development occurred. Their expedition into the plains was brutally difficult and Coutts narrowly escaped starvation. The plot eventually became the town of Pluto, which the Indians know was taken from their land. Anton is a lonely man who began a long-term affair with the town's female doctor, a woman considerably older than him. She will figure in the final chapter of the book. John Wildstrand, whose grandfather was one of the lynchers, is married to Neve, who through her family owns the town bank. John is having an affair with Maggie Peace and impregnates her. The child of this union is Corwin Peace. Because of the pregnancy, Maggie's brother, Billy, confronts John and together they concoct a plot kidnap Neve so that ransom money can be taken from the bank and given to the support of Maggie. The plan succeeds, but Billy, fearing exposure, departs by enlisting the in army.Marn Wolde has grown up on a farm with parents who hated each other and a crazy uncle, Warren. Marn meets Billy who, after his time in the army, has fallen in with a traveling preacher. Billy becomes a preacher on his own and through his charismatic style has attracted a cult of followers. Marn turns to snake handling and suffers with abuse meted out Billy, eventually killing him via injection of snake venom.Corwin, now a young man, got caught stealing Shemengwa's violin, hoping to fence it. As punishment, Judge Coutts sentences Corwin to taking lessons from Shemengwa. He develops a passion for the instrument and become quite skilled at it.Evelina grows up and enters college. She spends a semester working at the state hospital where she meets Warren Wolde who's been committed as insane. Evelina starts a romantic relationship with a female patient that causes her to question her sexuality. Corwin comes to visit her and brings his violin. While playing in the day room for the patients, Warren suddenly collapses and dies. There is a connection revealed later about the playing and his death.Judge Coutts continues his affair with Dr. Lochren for many years, even after she married, Ted, a local real estate developer. Desperate for funds to pay for his mother's care in a nursing home, Coutts sells his family home to Ted, knowing that he'll rip it down to build cheap apartments. While witnessing the demolition, Ted rips into a colony of bees that Coutts knows is there and dies.Dr. Lochren and Neve Harp are among the town's longest residents and have seen the decay of the town over their years there. They have determined to write the history of the town and its people. Neve reveals to Lochren that her uncle had an obsession with stamp collecting and accumulated a valuable collection, some of which, after his suicide, ended up with Evelina's father who had planned on using it for his retirement, but lost it after he crashed his car.After Warren Wolde died so suddenly, Dr. Lochren received a large sum of cash, the bills being folder in a peculiar way known to be Warren's method. We understand that Lochren was the baby spared from the murder. She realizes that it was Warren who killed her family and that a song heard by Warren on the family's Victrola at the time was the same tune played by Corwin in the hospital, the shock of which induced Warren's heart attack.The interweaving of these narratives and the interconnections of the characters over time and through relationships makes this a fascinating story. There is at first a sense that the narratives are only loosely connected, that the reappearance of characters is only marginal to the narrators' stories. As the stories interweave, one realizes that the people are deeply connected with one another on many levels. Across generations and blood and non-blood relationships the characters form almost a tapestry that depicts the people, the land and the history of the region. The land is also a major character of the book. The place and meaning of the land, to the Indians and the whites, is a motif that permeates their history and personal ties. The horrendous murder and its aftermath of frontier justice will cast a dark influence on all that follows over decades.

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 1911, a horrific murder of a farm family occurs in a small North Dakota town. Rather than actually find justice, a posse of vigilantes scapegoat a number of Native Americans and lynch them. The Plague of Doves follows the lives of the generations that follow, hearing from descendants of the murdered family, those responsible for the murder, those responsible for the lynching, and those who were lynched.I've read some of Erdrich's books before and thought she was a wonderful writer, so I was excited for this book. It's a hard book to explain -- the plot is difficult to sum up as the throughline sometimes gets murky and as the multiple narrators go backwards and forwards in time and discuss stories within stories. I was not surprised to learn that Erdrich wrote and published several sections as short stories first, and that seems to explain some of the choppiness of the book. For instance, Marn seemed to be plopped into the book out of nowhere; eventually her connections to the rest of story came through, but not until after her narration was over. As a result, I found her section to be the weakest in the book as I was reading it.That being said, however, Erdrich did write some marvelous anecdotes, created memorable characters (some of which I wish we got to hear more about), and has an absolute beautiful writing style in terms of sentence structure and painting pictures with words. For these reasons, I mostly enjoyed reading the book, but there seemed to be very little payout in terms of any type of climax to the central plotline (i.e, the murders and lynchings). Following the family connections between the characters is a difficult task and I gave up on that early on (having read other Erdrich's works, I knew this would be tricky and not particularly necessary), although at the end I did make myself a messy chart of the family lines and interconnectedness and that was sort of fun to see how many things did come together ultimately.This book is apparently part of a loose trilogy with the follow-up books being The Round House and LaRose. Not knowing that, I had actually previously read The Round House, and it was interesting to have some backstory now on the characters in that book. I'm not sure that I'd rush out to recommend this book, especially considering that there are better Erdrich's books out there (in my opinion) and that most of the other members in my book club didn't really care for this book. I would say it's not for everyone, but fans of Erdrich should probably check it out.

[billpilgrim_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book alot. I was a bit disappointed when the narrator changed the first time, because I was enjoying the voice of the first narrator, but I overcame that quickly and found myself getting attached to all the characters chosed to speak to the reader.

[sean191 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book was hit and miss. Although it was told through a number of different characters and there was a unifying theme it almost could be read as a collection of short stories. You do of course gain more insight by reading as the author intended.Some characters had more interesting tales and some I felt had little to say. I'm still not exactly sure how I felt about this book, but I would say it's worth a read especially if you already like Erdrich.

[susanbevans · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Plague of Doves is easily the most beautiful piece of fiction that I've read all year. The unique voices of the narrators bring this haunting story to life, with dynamic characters that leap off the page and into the reader's heart. Using broad, bold strokes, Erdrich paints a vivid picture showing the way a single brutal act can echo through the generations, effecting everything and everyone in its path.The lives of the characters in The Plague of Doves entwine and weave together into a dazzling tapestry. Louise Erdrich is a master storyteller, blending the characters' stories together flawlessly. These parallel vignettes work in concert with one another to form an exquisitely well-written novel. As one might imagine, the story is both complex and grand in scope, but the end product is a remarkably well-developed and cohesive tale. The Plague of Doves is both lyrically written and delightfully intricate. When you open this book prepare to become lost within its pages, drawn into a different time and place. The sense of history, coupled with mystery and even a bit of humor makes The Plague of Doves a first-rate work of fiction. Erdrich takes her readers on a delicious journey - one that I am eager to repeat. I will definitely be looking for more of her books in the future.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think this book is more than a little difficult to describe. But, essentially, it's about the lives of various people living on an Indian reservation in North Dakota, and in a nearby small town. It's about a shocking murder that took place many decades before and the massive injustice that followed, in which three innocent Indian men were lynched. It's about the complex, tangled consequences of that act, reverberating down through the generations as the families of the victims and the perpetrators intertwine. But mostly it's about the people that were shaped by those events, directly or indirectly, and about their individual stories. It's beautifully written, in a slow, intricate, meandering sort of way, and I found it quite compelling, the sort of novel that lingers with you for a little while after you turn the final page.

[theageofsilt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The murder of a family and the lynching of three Ojibwe men in response form a defining scar that shapes relationships in the town of Pluto. The writing is outstanding and the characters are memorable. The story is carried by several narrators and the novel feels more like a string of short stories than a traditional novel. There is a lot that is very funny, like the visit of a priest to two old brothers who realized, sadly, that they have become too old to sin. A family tree would have been helpful with nicknames attached, too. I also had a difficult time coming up with an overarching theme which, for me, kept this book from greatness. I did, however, find it an engrossing read.

[fig2_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The grisly murder of a family starts off a chain of events that spans generations. An intricate web of relations and interconnections lead to a shocking final revelation. Deeply layered and complex.

[mariah2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“The Plague of Doves” by Louise Erdrich. Harper Collins, 2008. Not my favorite book by this author, but still a good read. Like a meandering brook, the plot slowly and quietly rounds the next bend to reveal another part of the mystery. Each character has their own personal mystery to figure out, but the one event connecting them all is a decades old murder of a family and a lynching that followed. It was discovered the people lynched were innocent of the terrible crime and the identity of the true murderer was never found, but as we learn more about the lives of the people in this story, we are given a little more insight to what really happened so long ago. The truth slowly finds its way out of the murky fog it has been in all those years. The story moves from person to person, from era to era, and at times I could not see the connection until late in their personal tale. It was during these times I would become a little frustrated and inpatient for what the author was really trying to say. These occasions were few and far between, and for the most part I am happy that I had to opportunity to take the journey with the characters in this book.

[brianinbuffalo · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I can't fathom how this book won such accolades. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seemed like a disjointed, sloppily executed patchwork of loosely-related vignettes. I agree with one LT reviewer who complained how tough it was to keep track of characters. I gave up about two-thirds into the book -- something I rarely do.

[pdebolt_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I have always enjoyed reading Louise Erdrich novels, especially The Master Butchers' Singing Club. She has a wonderful way of depicting characters and situations that make them clear to her readers. This book , however, seemed to be more a series of short stories with strong characterizations than her previous plot-driven novels. I really had difficulty keeping track of the characters and their relationships to their ancestors and other relatives. Perhaps I should have drawn a family tree as the novel progressed, but the nicknames of the characters and their real names were also confusing, so a family tree would have taken more time than I wanted to give to it. The book is interesting, but not engrossing as were her earlier novels. If she had not been the author, I probably would have abandoned it.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The violent murder of a family in the North Dakota plains brings out the worst in a small community and affects its residents for generations to come. The murders lead the community to accuse and lynch local Native Americans in an attempt to serve their own brand of wild justice. The story is told from multiple narrators; including Evelina Harp, Judge Antone Bazil Coutts, Doctor Cordelia Lochren and Marn Wolde. It touches on racism, religion, snake charming, kidnapping, murder, bullying, and more. The scope of the novel and the disjointed style make keeping the characters and timeline straight incredibly hard. Evelina hears about many of the events second hand through her grandpa Mooshum’s tales. Marn Wolde's character was one of the most interesting to me. She provides a unique religious perspective. Most of the characters deal with conflicts between their Native American spirituality and the idea of assimilating into Catholicism. However, Marn's husband, Billy Peace, is a religious fanatic and her view of religion is tainted by Billy’s controlling nature. My main problem with the novel lies in the structure. It jumps in time and point-of-view and is sometimes hard to follow. I felt like as soon as I had a chance to get to know a character a little bit and be interested in their story, we’d move to a different decade and a different person and I had to start all over again. BOTTOM LINE: It just wasn’t for me, but I’ve heard loads of praise for it. I would be willing to try another book by Erdrich, but I won’t be recommending this to anyone else.  

[mmignano11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What I enjoyed about this book was the intricate plot that plays out in quite uncomplicated ways. It seems to me that life is quite like that. While Erdrich brings us for a journey through many generations and ties in the initial incident, a brutal murder,her masterful writing controls the way the reader experiences each span of time for the character.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A horrific crime affects many in the small town of Pluto, North Dakota: first the murder of a family and second the murder of a group of Ojibwa accused of the crime. Now, as Evelina and her brother grow up and hear the story from their grandfather, a generation or two later families of the perpetrators and victims intertwine and are all affected, in some way, with the aftermath.Told in multiple perspectives and covering several years - not counting the stories we're told of a generation or two ago - this is a complex read and one I would reread with a pen in hand to tease out the chronology and genealogy of various characters. It's thought-provoking, excellent storytelling.

[librolindsay · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Argh! This took me so long to read--I nearly abandoned it, but I knew I couldn't because it's LOUISE ERDRICH. There are few authors I will power through to the final page if I'm not hooked. It was such a perplexing read...there were the typical moments of humor and sadness that feel so particular to her work, but the episodic nature left me feeling really disoriented throughout most of the book. I had a really difficult time keeping track of the characters and their relationships to one another, to the point that I just didn't care about these people I was learning to care about. Almost til the very end I contemplated scrapping it for another time. And as if she knew how I struggled with this, Erdrich completes the book on SUCH a whiz-bang note that a resounding "OHHHHHHH" echoes through my brain, and I know I will indeed be revisiting this in years to come.

I will just make a note to take notes as I read it the next time.