The Sentence

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a b Alexandra Alter (March 17, 2015). "Louise Erdrich Wins Library of Congress Award". The New York Times . Retrieved March 18, 2015. The Sentence introduced me to Louise Erdrich’s writing, admittedly late in the game. I’m of two minds, in the end, and felt like I wasn't the right audience for this title, yet I can find countless ways to praise the book. Mild spoilers below. Comments on literature - the bookshop workers commonly recommending books to or discussing them with their customers

A rather unusual story that is multi-layered, haunting, and perceptive and combines a lighthearted ghost story with a woman rebuilding her life after being freed from prison. Then add a heavy dose of Covid reality and a shifting political world, and you have the makings of an excellent story that embraces literature, the meaning of words, and the healing power of books. Pretty much out of the blue -- for her -- the sentence is then also commuted, after seven years, and Tookie is free again.I thought it was a good way to mark National Native American Heritage Month by reading a book by Louise Erdrich . ( https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/ ) Actually any time is a good time to read a Louise Erdrich book. An independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted by the ghost of its most annoying customer, Flora. Tookie, one of the bookstore employees, tries to determine why Flora is haunting. At the same time, Tookie must deal with ghosts of her own past and face all that’s going on in MN, with the pandemic and horrific murder of George Floyd. Why is Flora still there? Will the store stay afloat during the pandemic? Can the city survive and will people actually learn something, changing for the better? Talk about the “Indian wannabes”, as Tookie calls them. You know, the “I was Indian in a former life” or “my grandma was an Indian” tropes. Like that woman in blue who wanted to share stories of her grand whoever who helped the starving Indians (but wasn’t willing to give up the land to them)…the same woman then who later dropped off the bones. The Last Report on the Miracle at Little No Horse". National Book Foundation . Retrieved November 6, 2019.

Tookie is released from prison after years of incarceration for naively recovering the corpse of her friend’s husband. Except the body carried something valuable to some but illegal – which was cocaine. Not able to provide any meaningful defence Tookie is imprisoned where she ignites her passion for books and literature. After many unsuccessful appeals, Tookie is finally freed, marries Pollux, and sets up a bookshop. However, the bookshop is haunted by the ghostly presence of one of its former customers, Flora who is looking for help and understanding which is to be found in a ‘sentence’. I appreciated all of the introductions to Native American traditions and culture. I particularly liked Tookie’s husband, an ex-policeman, who is a good counter-balance to Tookie’s character. I feel quite conflicted over The Sentence. Although I loved the first half of this novel I found the latter to be boring and somewhat disjointed. While I’m sure many will be able to love everything about this book I wish it hadn’t quite tried to juggle so many different themes and genres.”First of all, I’m going to find out more about this Native American Renaissance and read more from Erdritch. LH: Tookie honed her love of books while behind bars. How did you get inside the head of someone who thinks she’s going to be spending 60 years in prison? Louise Erdrich’s lyrical tribute to life-love-marriage-friendship-Indigenous identity- history-death-and literature is a very precious gift…. National Book Critics Circle: award winners". National Book Critics Circle. 2018. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019 . Retrieved June 6, 2019.