The first book in Louise Erdrich's Native American series, which also includes The Beet Queen, Tracks, and The Bingo Palace, Love Medicine tells the story of two families—the Kashpaws and the Lamartines. Now resequenced by the author with the addition of never-before-published chapters, this is a publishing event equivalent to the presentation of a new and definitive text. Written in Erdrich's uniquely poetic, powerful style, Love Medicine springs to raging life: a multigenerational portrait of new truths and secrets whose time has come, of strong men and women caught in an unforgettable drama of anger, desire, and the healing power that is Love Medicine. Discover the writer whom Philp Roth called "the most interesting new American novelist to have appeared in years" all over again.
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, a moving saga of two Native American families.
Reviews
Chicago Tribune
A dazzling series of family portraits.... This novel is simply about the power of love.
Toni Morrison
The beauty of Love Medicine is the work of a tough, loving mind.
Anne Tyler
A powerful piece of work . . . Louise Erdrich is the rarest kind of writer; as compassionate as she is sharp-sighted.
Chicago Tribune
A dazzling series of family portraits.... This novel is simply about the power of love.
Chicago Tribune
A dazzling series of family portraits. . . . This novel is simply about the power of love.
Toni Morrison
The beauty of Love Medicine is the work of a tough, loving mind.
Anne Tyler
A powerful piece of work . . . Louise Erdrich is the rarest kind of writer; as compassionate as she is sharp-sighted.
Library Journal
This reissue of Erdrich's exquisite first novel includes five new sections that color and complement the original multigenerational saga of two extended families who live on and around a Chippewa reservation in North Dakota. Each chapter is narrated in a memorable voice like the one of Lipsha Morrissey, a young man who is believed to have "the touch,'' with which he attempts to bring his wandering grandfather back to his long-suffering grandmother with a love medicine made from goose hearts. By placing us right inside the heads of her remarkable characters, Erdrich allows us to feel the despair that insensitive government policies, poverty, and alcoholism have brought them. For those who have yet to discover this magical novel and for those who will have the pleasure of reexperiencing its heartbreak and its hope, this new version is highly recommended.-- Barbara Love, St. Lawrence Coll., Kingston, Ontario
Charles McGrath
Love Medicine is a brilliant debut. -- The New York Times Books of the Century