Louise Erdrich's Justice Trilogy: Cultural and Critical Contexts (American Indian Studies)

Louise Erdrich is one of the most important, prolific, and widely read contemporary Indigenous writers. Here leading scholars analyze the three critically acclaimed recent novels— The Plague of Doves (2008), The Round House (2012), and LaRose (2016)—that make up what has become known as Erdrich’s “justice trilogy.” Set in small towns and reservations of northern North Dakota, these three interwoven works bring together a vibrant cast of characters whose lives are shaped by history, identity, and community. Individually and collectively, the essays herein illuminate Erdrich’s storytelling abilities; the complex relations among crime, punishment, and forgiveness that characterize her work; and the Anishinaabe contexts that underlie her presentation of character, conflict, and community. The volume also includes a reader’s guide to each novel, a glossary, and an interview with Erdrich that will aid in readers’ navigation of the justice novels. These timely, original, and compelling readings make a valuable contribution to Erdrich scholarship and, subsequently, to the study of Native literature and women’s authorship as a whole. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction. Visions of Justice in Louise Erdrich’s Trilogy | Nancy J. Peterson and Connie A. Jacobs 10 The Aesthetics of Justice and Redress in The Plague of Doves | Debra K. S. Barker 24 Murder She Wrote, and Rewrote, and Rewrote: A Trilogy of Justices | Kenneth M. Roemer 40 Trauma and Restitution in Louise Erdrich’s LaRose | Aitor Ibarrola-Armendariz 66 Family Trees: Land and Kinship in Louise Erdrich’s Justice Trilogy | Ellen L. Arnold 90 You Aren’t a Regular Dog, Are You? Dog as Intermediary in Louise Erdrich’s LaRose | Connie A. Jacobs 110 We Can Wade Grief: Ethics, Politics, and Relationality in Louise Erdrich’s LaRose | Silvia Martínez-Falquina 130 Narrative Design in the Justice Trilogy | Nancy J. Peterson 158 Debwe, Onaakonige gaye Nanaandawi’iwe: Finding Justice in the Language of Louise Erdrich’s Novels | Margaret Noodin 182 Honoring Our Relatives | Gwen Nell Westerman 206 A Reader’s Guide to the Novels of the Justice Trilogy | Peter G. Beidler and Gay Barton 210 The Art of Fiction No. 208: Louise Erdrich, from the Paris Review, No. 195 (Winter 2010) 282 Selected Bibliography 306 Contributors 312 Index 316 "Louise Erdrich is one of the most important, prolific, and widely read contemporary Indigenous writers. Much of the growing body of scholarship on Erdrich analyzes earlier novels (especially Love Medicine, Tracks, and The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse). This collection of essays focuses specifically on the three novels that comprise Erdrich's justice trilogy-The Plague of Doves (2008), The Round House (2012), and LaRose (2016)-which are set in northern North Dakota, where small towns and reservation life bring together a vibrant cast of characters whose lives are shaped by history, identity, and community. The volume consists of an introduction and nine essays, and includes contextual materials (reader's guide chapters and a glossary of non-English words for all three novels, plus an interview with Erdrich)"-- Provided by publisher Louise Erdrich is one of the most important, prolific, and widely read contemporary Indigenous writers. Here leading scholars analyse the three critically acclaimed recent novels - The Plague of Doves, The Round House, and LaRose - that make up what has become known as Erdrich's ‘justice trilogy’.