in the stacks | the roundhouse

Synopsis
A Native American woman is brutally attacked, and her family deals with with the emotional and physical ramifications. Our protagonist is 13-year-old Joe, the woman's son. He and his three closest friends ride bikes, sneak cans of beer, fall in love with girls - or the thought of girls - for the first time, and work together to solve the mystery of Joe's mother's attack. Joe comes of age in the context of the brutality that tears his family apart. His eyes are opened to the inequalities and injustices of the legal and justice system on a reservation. He learns the limits of how far he will go to protect his mother and family.

Quote
“Now that I knew fear, I also knew it was not permanent. As powerful as it was, its grip on me would loosen. It would pass.” 

My thoughts... 
The Roundhouse has been called the Native American To Kill a Mockingbird, and such high praise is warranted. I'm ignorant of Native American culture, life, legal processes on reservations, etc. That said, I'm fascinated by it. Joe is an inviting, smart narrator and protagonist who forgives the audience for their ignorance of political and social injustices in reservation life. He's a real teenage boy, too - controlled by his emotions, easily swayed by his friends, and questioning his own identity and place in his family and community. After his mother barely survives a violent attack and retreats within herself, Joe's pursuit of vengeance leads him to law books as quickly as it does remote areas of the reservation. He's a conscientious, loving teenager who wants the best for his family. We watch him come to terms with the limitations of the law because the crime took place on or near the reservation. I honestly can't say more about this book than has been said in so many well-written, articulate reviews, but I can say that I learned a lot about the inequalities Native Americans face, especially when women are victims of rape. I loved the humanity, the moral question of justice versus vengeance, and the Erdrich's elevated, erudite prose. I had to really read this, to take it in and twirl the words around, and I liked being asked to think. I highly recommend The Roundhouse.