Don’t you love it when you have a couple of “go-to” authors you can always depend on? I’m all for trying something new but when your reading life hits a dry spell – several books in a row just don’t grab you – it’s a relief to turn to an author you know won’t let you down. I have half a dozen of these, but two I’ve been dipping into lately are Louise Erdrich and Alice Hoffman. I have read and re-read and never been disappointed (Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers is one of my favorite books of all time).

I like my books with some meat on their bones – serious subjects, beautiful language, and a fair amount of drama. And oh yes, if I can get all that and be immersed in a different culture, even better. Erdrich’s latest offering, LaRose, satisfies on all counts. Erdrich herself is part Ojibwe so she weaves Native American customs, language, and traditions through all her stories. This book opens with the unimaginable – a hunter accidentally shoots and kills his neighbor’s five-year-old son. The families are more than neighbors – the fathers are best friends, the mothers are half-sisters and the children, playmates. Following an ancient Ojibwe practice, the hunter’s family gives their young son to the neighbors to raise as their own. The ramifications of this heart-breaking “solution” ripple through the small town, leaving no one untouched. The child, named LaRose after several generations of healers, ends up shuttling back and forth between households, giving rise to situations that are laden with anguish and humor in nearly equal measures. While the extended families suffer, LaRose himself seems to tap into a well of peace and wisdom that eventually brings healing. Erdrich successfully weaves several narrative strands into a conclusion that, though unexpected, is completely satisfying.