Reader Response
Love Medicine
Love Medicine
After reading Love Medicine I was not sure how to feel about the book. It was an easy read and kind of hard to put together each of the fourteen different stories. After thinking about it I like this book, it was interesting to read about their lives and things that happened to them along their journey of life. Each family member is a strong individual with tiny flaws that haunt them. Either it's alcoholism or not being able to cope with love.
Both families have their differences and problems with love. Being in the Native world and living on the reservation can be tough and difficult at times. Dealing with violence, gossip, alcoholism and poverty make it hard to live out ones life especially on a sovereign nation. Most of the book takes place on the 'rez', which I have been on and I can relate to some of the characters when they talk about going 'home' and the 'cities'. My mom is from the Nett Lake band of Ojibwe and my father from the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe. Love can be tough if both people do not try to make each other feel worthwhile. The relationship between Nector and Marie wasn't strong enough for Nector to endure the tough times.
I do not believe there was no love at all in this novel, I simply believe that both families did not understand how to love and what was the right way to love. In Native American culture there is the stereotype of being 'stoic' or not really showing any emotion, I believe that this stereotype has hindered both families from their chances at love. In my family the guys have a hard time dealing with emotions and affection toward one another.
In the middle of the novel it began to click. I made the ties of each family member and it became clear to me how each one was related. I like how Erdrich unraveled the story by each of the family members point of view. It was a different twist from the 'original' story plot. It helped gain insight as she weaved in and out from the past to the present.
I can relate to some of the stories or tidbits from Love Medicine. In the beginning when June was on the greyhound I thought about how my brothers would take the greyhound bus up north to visit family members on the reservation. At the end of the novel when Gerry and Lipsha were driving without their headlights on in the middle of the night, I related to the times when I was visiting my father in Walker, Minnesota at night the moon was the only light that we drove by and it was enough to see the road and the trees.
Overall, Love Medicine was an interesting read. I enjoyed it to some extent and would most likely read it again. It did not change my view on the world, but made it more clear how it is for non Indians to see the inside view of the world on the reservation and Native American life. I believe that Erdrich did not write this novel to inform anyone about Native American culture, I believe that she wrote this book to show how life is on the reservation and to share a story about a family and their ties to eachother.
Both families have their differences and problems with love. Being in the Native world and living on the reservation can be tough and difficult at times. Dealing with violence, gossip, alcoholism and poverty make it hard to live out ones life especially on a sovereign nation. Most of the book takes place on the 'rez', which I have been on and I can relate to some of the characters when they talk about going 'home' and the 'cities'. My mom is from the Nett Lake band of Ojibwe and my father from the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe. Love can be tough if both people do not try to make each other feel worthwhile. The relationship between Nector and Marie wasn't strong enough for Nector to endure the tough times.
I do not believe there was no love at all in this novel, I simply believe that both families did not understand how to love and what was the right way to love. In Native American culture there is the stereotype of being 'stoic' or not really showing any emotion, I believe that this stereotype has hindered both families from their chances at love. In my family the guys have a hard time dealing with emotions and affection toward one another.
In the middle of the novel it began to click. I made the ties of each family member and it became clear to me how each one was related. I like how Erdrich unraveled the story by each of the family members point of view. It was a different twist from the 'original' story plot. It helped gain insight as she weaved in and out from the past to the present.
I can relate to some of the stories or tidbits from Love Medicine. In the beginning when June was on the greyhound I thought about how my brothers would take the greyhound bus up north to visit family members on the reservation. At the end of the novel when Gerry and Lipsha were driving without their headlights on in the middle of the night, I related to the times when I was visiting my father in Walker, Minnesota at night the moon was the only light that we drove by and it was enough to see the road and the trees.
Overall, Love Medicine was an interesting read. I enjoyed it to some extent and would most likely read it again. It did not change my view on the world, but made it more clear how it is for non Indians to see the inside view of the world on the reservation and Native American life. I believe that Erdrich did not write this novel to inform anyone about Native American culture, I believe that she wrote this book to show how life is on the reservation and to share a story about a family and their ties to eachother.
Testing the comments!
ReplyDelete