Ok.. I can't remember how or when this book came to my hands. Maybe it came in a bookbox? Or I picked it up at a meetup? Somehow I did not journal its arrival and now I am totally clueless.

After German soldier Fidelis Waldvogel returns home from World War I to marry his best friend's pregnant widow, he packs up his father's butcher knives and sets sail for America. He settles in Argus, North Dakota, where he sets up a meat shop with his wife Eva, who quickly befriends the struggling yet resourceful Delphine Watzka. Delphine, who runs a vaudeville show with her balancing partner Cyprian Lazarre, has returned home to Argus to care for her alcoholic father.

I don't think I have read any book by Louise Erdrich that I don't enjoy. She simply is a master at observing people and capturing the little things that make them so human, you feel for the characters whether you like them or not.

Putting this into the Indigenous People book box, while taking out another one by the same author.

Selecting from the Indigenous Peoples bookbox. The author of this book just received the Pulitzer Prize for her novel "The Night Watchman". I'll look forward to reading this.

A few months ago I read Erdrich's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, which I thought was very well-deserved. Based on that novel, I wanted to read more by Erdrich and happened to have a copy of Master Butchers on my TBR shelf. I really enjoyed this saga which reminded me of other novels of a family's love and sorrow such as EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck.

The novel takes place mostly in the town of Argus, North Dakota where Fidelis Waldvogel, a WWI veteran, decides to settle after traveling from Germany. Fidelis is a butcher and he is able to prosper in America. He is later joined there by his wife Eva, her son, Franz, who was fathered by Fidelis's friend who perished in the War, and his sister. The story is really a saga of family and friends and takes place from WWI to WWII and beyond. Fidelis is gifted with a beautiful singing voice and he starts a singing club in the small town. The novel includes stories of several others including Delphine Watzka, the daughter of the town drunk who is in constant mourning for his late Indian wife Minnie. When Delphine returns to Argus, she is accompanied by Cyprian who she had performed with in a balancing act on the road. Cyprian is a half-breed and is also homosexual or bisexual. So does Delphine love him? She's not sure but she does live with him for years. Then Delphine meets Eva who she befriends and ends up helping to raise her sons. The novel goes on into the years prior to WWII and includes some very devastating changes for all of them.

The novel really included some finely drawn characters and was structured very episodically with many anecdotal tales revolving around the main story. These include the four sons of Fidelis who seen to get into mischief and trouble at every turn. But Delphine is perhaps the real focal point of the story and is portrayed as a damaged person with an unknown past. There are also some great secondary characters such as a rag-picker named Step-and-a-Half who seems to know most everything that goes on in the town. And then there is the really stunning surprise ending to the novel that I thought was almost perfect. I'll definitely be reading more of Erdrich!

Adding to the ABC bookring/box - 3 books. Enjoy!

Chose from the ABC bookbox (3 books)