Books : The Master Butchers Singing Club (P.S.)

Rating: - Balance
It is some time since I have read _Master Butchers_, so forgive the fuzziness of memory, with the events perhaps confused, perhaps enlarged in significance or perhaps simply lost. I couldn't even finish the book. I loved reading it, but I simply became too worried when, with under 20 pages to go, *major* events were still unfolding. I wasn't sure I could take whatever denouement Erdrich had in store!

The major characters in _Master Butchers_ come from very different backgrounds and approach their lives' trials with different aims, strengths, and failings. Often their interactions with each other are monstrously hard to parse, for they have obviously different significances to each participant. Several main characters are never close to fully defined. The reader observes almost as if a minor character, less "inside the heads" of the movers and shakers of the tale.

For my part, I was taken in by Erdrich's storytelling several books previously, yet _Master Butchers_ marks perhaps the first time I fell in love almost immediately with a character of hers, wishing both to shelter under his strength and personally to will his success. I knew enough of Erdrich to know that a great character comes with no guarantee of longevity or ultimate likability. I'll admit to getting lucky in those respects with Fidelis: other characters with a similar immediate impact become only farther from focus over the course of the story.

It's not a very linear story, by the way. There are many different strands that twine and then separate again. It's almost like what one sees of another's life.

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Rating: - Captivating Read
This was one of my book club's selections this year and it was an excellent choice. The author pulls you in right away into the lives of these interesting characters. The storylines moved along at just the right pace and having some of the twists and turns made for even better reading. One caveat - I had to skip a few paragraphs when it came to the killing of animals - but the rest of the book was a great read.

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Rating: - Intricate and filled with delightful description
The Master Butcher's Singing Club resonates well with both the time and the place where it occurs. Erdrich presents characters that leap from the page and give you clear, direct contact with their personalities from the beginning. She presents an amazing picture of her own deep roots from the immigrant side of the family--a small stretch from her other work that has been more directly connected to the Native American culture. Clear, lyrical prose begins and carries through the entire novel bringing the conclusion to a remarkable heritage.

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Rating: - This was terrible!
A friend loaned this to me, praising it to the heavens. So I felt obliged to finish it. Terrible! I cannot believe ths writer has the reputation she has...I think I read Love Medicine years ago in college, but frankly don't remember it. The characters are ill developed. Plotlines fizzle. The narrative is so indirect and oblique that some plot points are ridiculouly hard to follow. A complete waste of time...

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Rating: - Best read of the year.
Rich character development, remarkable story line and I didn't want to put it down. This will appeal to readers of popular novels, yet it's literary quality is well above that of standard pulp novels. The plot is unlike anything I've ever read. So refreshing to pick up something that takes me on an untrodden path!