The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich, 0330299212, Lowest Book Price Finder

Customer Reviews:

An important achievement by Erdrich for Native Amercian literature

The Beet Queen is one of those works of literature that pulls you deeply into the mind of its characters. It leaves you with the sense of knowing each of the characters very well, but also is intriguing if you choose to examine the characters' motivations. If you do examine these aspects, the book is definitely rewarding although Karl is hard to understand, which Erdrich supposedly leaves for the readers to decide on their opinion of him. He stands out as a bizarre male character and reminds you mostly of Holden Caulfield. Although to give credit to Holden, Karl is a lot more idiotic and unfeeling. The multiple views Erdich employs does well to portray the intense individuality of the characters (particularly with Sita and Mary) and shows the roles that they have, assume and perhaps have difficulty rejecting within their family and the community.

The Native American perspective that Edrich gives is refreshing and absorbing when thought of in respect to dominant white American literature. The novel can be read quickly or over a longer period of time, due to the chapters. The former method is recommended so you don't lose the sense of rhythm Edrich so brilliantly creates. If you're interested in novels examining family relations in a similarly witty manner, Anne Tyler's Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is also recommended.

A Poetic Treatment of Ordinary Life

I really enjoy Louise Erdrich novels. There’s something about the way she can take an ordinary task such as peeling potatoes and turn it into something which sounds beautiful and moving that I really love.

I find myself being swept along in waves of poetic language when I read her books but she also portrays real people with real problems and worries.

In this book we follow the lives of Mary and Karl Adare, Celestine, Sita, Wallace and of course the Beet Queen herself – Dot. Louise Erdrich tells a series of stories from a series of points of view; this allows the reader to feel as though they know all the characters intimately and to understand what motivates some of them (although not all, Karl for example always remains somewhat of a mystery to me).

We see Celestine, Mary and Sita growing up and becoming women, we see them facing the hard task of life itself - making money, attracting men, having families, breaking up…And their lives, although nothing dramatic really happens in them, feel so very interesting to the reader. The reader wants all the characters to succeed and do well in life, but of course that would not be realistic and at the end of the book not all the characters are content.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, there are moments of humour and uplifting times too. A wonderful read and one I whole heartedly recommend.

An absorbing read

I read this enthralling novel when I was fourteen, and was gripped from page one by the beautiful style used by Louise Erdrich. Over the years, I have re-read "The Beet Queen", and each time I get more and more out of it. Firstly, it is a truly original tale about real people who are remarkable in their own "normality". The characters are so alive, so real. . .I particularly related to Celestine. Erdrich is an exciting and inimitable writer with a wonderful style of her very own.

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