The Round House by Louise Erdrich

This novel won the National Book Award in 2012, and for the life of me I can't understand why. It is not poorly written and it has an interesting plot, even if somewhat illogical, but it is in no way outstanding, to my way of thinking. The book I reviewed just previously, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, was one of the finalists for the award, and it is maybe five times better than this one in all aspects. I can only suspect that politics and political correctness played a part in the decision. Or I could be wrong in my judgments of literary merit, but I don't think so.

Joe Coutts is just thirteen, living with his parents on a North Dakota Indian reservation, when his mother is brutally beaten and raped. As his mother retreats into depression and refuses to reveal the details of the attack, Joe is forced to confront adult situations, for which he is little prepared. Because of uncertainty about exactly where the attack took place and the complexity of law dealing with jurisdiction issues on and off the reservation, it is possible that the culprit will not even be prosecuted if and when he is caught.

Joe and his three best friends, all still children in many ways, addicted to the heroic exploits of Picard and Worf and Data of Star Trek The Next Generation, determine to find the attacker themselves and to see that justice is served.

The Round House seems to have such a variety of themes and purposes that all are diluted.

It is most effective in its coming-of-age motif, in which young boys of a transitional age drift back and forth between play and make-believe and sexual yearnings and adult examinations of conscience. This part is universal and very well done.

But then we have the theme of Native American heritage and traditional beliefs. Interesting information, indeed. This could have been successfully inserted into the coming-of-age story perhaps, if it had been accomplished more logically and naturally, but the material is handled very awkwardly, with much of it being told by Joe's grandfather as he talks in his sleep.

The injustices done to Native Americans in the past, many of which survive in antiquated laws today, is a major theme. This part sounds very academic and "beat-you-over-the-head" instructive. This is valuable information, not well understood by most Americans, but it certainly distracts a literary reader when it is inserted in such a variant tone from the rest of the narrative.

Various side plots are included, which seem to have little or no pertinence to any of the rest. In particular, a good bit of space is given to the story of the parish priest. I never caught the connection to understand why it was even included.

I have been very hard on this book, I realize, mainly because I felt it did not deserve the honor it received. In all fairness, it is well worth reading. Most readers will enjoy it (as did I), but it is not the best of the best.