Thalia Book Club: Louise Erdrich's The Red Convertible: Selected and New Stories, 1978-2008

Written by Louise Erdrich

Narrated by Louise Erdrich, Amy Goodman and Sonia Manzano

Louis Erdrich sits down with Amy Goodman (Democracy Now) to discuss her short story collection, The Red Convertible. Sonia Manzano reads an excerpt from the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Symphony Space
• Release date: Jan 14, 2009
• ISBN: 9781467663854

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 Thalia Book Club

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although many of these stories are taken from her previous books, I enjoyed most of them. Some of the stories left me sad, some I felt were unfinished, some were so heavy with life that I would put the book down and not pick it up again for several days. This is one book I could not read in one sitting, not even over the period of a few days. In fact, it took me nearly 2 weeks to read this book.
The writing is lush and true to Native American voice and life. As always my favorites were about Fleur Pillager and the Antelope Wife which has me thinking that I will rummage through my book case and find the complete stories of these women and read them again.

[kmaziarz_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Erdrich’s collection of 36 short stories spans 30 years of her writing career. Most were previously published elsewhere, but the collection also contains 6 new stories. Covering the breadth of her career as they do, the stories reveal the development of her distinct writing style, as well as the evolution of her chosen themes, all set within her own distinctly realistic, though fictional, world. The majority of Erdrich’s characters are Native American, and many of the stories take place on or near an Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. Her vivid characters all struggle to endure life’s harshness, while finding small moments of joy and redemption in the quotidian things around them. Those familiar with Erdrich’s novels will rediscover old friends in these stories, and find in some of them the seeds that germinated into those full-length novels. Earthy, spiritual, and utterly mesmerizing, these stories are at once distinct and also part of the same interlocking whole. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted short story!