Louise Erdrich's 2008 novel "The Plague of Doves" has been chosen as the third book in the statewide book discussion group, One Book One Minnesota.
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and winner of a Minnesota Book Award, "The Plague of Doves" is about an unsolved murder in a white North Dakota town, and the repercussions of vengeance on the lives of Ojibwe people living on a nearby reservation. The book is the first in Erdrich's Justice Trilogy, which also includes "The Round House" and "LaRose."
The One Book One Minnesota book club was formed earlier this year to bring Minnesotans together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous books in the club were "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo and "A Good Time for the Truth," a collection of essays on race, edited by Minneapolis poet and essayist Sun Yung Shin.
Electronic copies of Erdrich's novel — both ebook and audiobook versions — are available to download free for the next eight weeks from the Ebooks Minnesota site, which also features author videos, reading guides and virtual book club discussions. The website is at bit.ly/2IEXyyT.
Erdrich will take part in a virtual statewide discussion on Dec. 8. The event is free and you can register at bit.ly/31qvIgB.
"The Plague of Doves" is also for sale at local bookstores.
Erdrich, who lives in Minneapolis, is the author of 15 novels as well as collections of poetry, children's books, short stories, and a memoir. She has won the National Book Critics Circle Award twice, the National Book Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and other honors.
She owns Birchbark Books and Native Arts in Minneapolis.
Laurie Hertzel • @StribBooks
