The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich

The evening book group will discuss the Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich on June 12.  The Plague of Doves tells the stories of dozens of interconnected residents and their ancestors in a small North Dakota town and the reservation that surrounds it.   "The Plague of Doves" was inspired by the real-life lynching of 3 Indians, including a 13 year-old boy, after a white family was found murdered in North Dakota in 1897.  The tree where the hanging took place is an important placein the book and reminds me of the book itself: the repercussions of the mass murder and lynching leaf out in profusion. Keeping track of the relationships between characters is difficult, as there are four narrators and events are not recounted chronologically, but it's definitely worth a second reading.

The Paris Review has an extensive interview with Louise Erdrich, and she also appeared on Bill Moyers Journal.

Discussion questions are available at LitLovers and on page 8 of the Event Kit for the American Experience series "We Shall Remain".