Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Reality isn't pretty
I first fell in love with Louise Erdrich's work when I was given a copy of LOVE MEDICINE to read before it had even been published. I was fascinated by the subject matter, the delicately layered characters, and the surprisingly effective use of shifting perspective. It was a world beyond words, and one so incredibly memorable and so deeply (and unexpectedly) satisfying that I decided Erdrich's works were the only contemporary novels worth collecting. I'm sorry to say however, that Erdrich's passion for tragic characters leading desperate lives in stark landscapes and impoverished communities has soured me to her more recent books, and THE MASTER BUTCHER'S SINGING CLUB is no exception. Delphine Watzka, the "heroine" of this book, leads us on an emotionally relentless journey through a barren and depressed town in remote Argus, Minnesota, a community populated by Erdrich's usual ecletic collection of tormented characters who suffer the aftermath of World War One, the Depression and the onslaught of World War Two. Characters die of cancer, alcoholism, and freak accidents. Families are murdered, babies are left to die in outhouses, wild dogs slaughter family pets, nearly everyone is poor and those who aren't are borderline insane. Fidelis Waldvogel, a character based loosely on Erdrich's own grandfather, makes his living killing livestock, and while Erdrich does a good job of revealing the man underneath the bloodstained aprons, sausage casings, rotting piles of bones, buckets of offal, and strings of chicken feet, his occupation coupled with his endlessly sobering personal dramas makes this book a difficult read. True, there are moments of triumph and inspiration interspersed throughout the story, but overall Erdrich's passion for tragedy undermines the book's effectiveness, particularly since it has become obvious that is a recurring theme in all her work. Erdrich knows as well as anyone that life isn't easy, but I have to believe that it can't possibly be this bleak either.
Rating:  - The Best Yet
I loved this book! It is full and rich with interesting plots and subplots; the characters are fully developed. Erdrich's German ancestors inspired the novel, apparently, which is the story of a German butcher who marries his dead friend's pregnant girlfriend after returning from WWI, immigrates to America, and settles in a small N. Dakota town. Erdrich's great storytelling skill shines here--her best book yet!
Rating:  - Excellent
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading Erdrich's other books. There is a clear sense of the uniqueness of the European-born and Native American characters living in close proximity to each other in the unlikely setting of North Dakota. The depictions of Eva and Delphine are particularly well done, leaving the reader with a clear sense of their unique identities and histories. There is a generosity of spirit between these two characters and a sense that they were fated to be an inherent part of each other's lives before they met. The descriptions that Erdich uses are extrememly well done, allowing us as readers to get a full sense of the characters and the landscape in which they interact. This is a book with passages to be savored.
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