The Night Watchman
Page turning
Expressive
Candid

The Night Watchman

WINNER OF THE 2021 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WASHINGTON POST, AMAZON, NPR, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, KIRKUS, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOK OF 2020 Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C., this powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman. Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant, the first factory located near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a Chippewa Council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new “emancipation” bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. It is 1953 and he and the other council members know the bill isn’t about freedom; Congress is fed up with Indians. The bill is a “termination” that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity. How can the government abandon treaties made in good faith with Native Americans “for as long as the grasses shall grow, and the rivers run”? Since graduating high school, Pixie Paranteau has insisted that everyone call her Patrice. Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Patrice, the class valedictorian, has no desire to wear herself down with a husband and kids. She makes jewel bearings at the plant, a job that barely pays her enough to support her mother and brother. Patrice’s shameful alcoholic father returns home sporadically to terrorize his wife and children and bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to follow her beloved older sister, Vera, who moved to the big city of Minneapolis. Vera may have disappeared; she hasn’t been in touch in months, and is rumored to have had a baby. Determined to find Vera and her child, Patrice makes a fateful trip to Minnesota that introduces her to unexpected forms of exploitation and violence, and endangers her life. Thomas and Patrice live in this impoverished reservation community along with young Chippewa boxer Wood Mountain and his mother Juggie Blue, her niece and Patrice’s best friend Valentine, and Stack Barnes, the white high school math teacher and boxing coach who is hopelessly in love with Patrice. In the Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich creates a fictional world populated with memorable characters who are forced to grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. Illuminating the loves and lives, the desires and ambitions of these characters with compassion, wit, and intelligence, The Night Watchman is a majestic work of fiction from this revered cultural treasure.
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Reviews

Photo of Emma Cragg
Emma Cragg@ekcragg
4 stars
Dec 14, 2023

My first Erdrich book but definitely not my last. This was a slow burn for me until a little over half way through when I just had to find out what happened next. It’s a rich story based on the history of the author’s own family.

Photo of Cindy Lieberman
Cindy Lieberman@chicindy
3 stars
Nov 9, 2022

3.5. Not bad, but not her best book of the several I have read. More of a scrapbook family album than a compelling story. It is based in part on her grandfather’s legal activism to save the future of the Turtle Mountain people from obliteration by the US Government. Includes (written) portraits of some young indigenous women, emphasizing for how long the “official” disregard for missing native girls has persisted (only recently being covered in the mainstream media in the US). It just didn’t hold together as a novel and I had expected more based on its being awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

Photo of Pavonini
Pavonini@papaver
5 stars
Sep 25, 2022

This is the book I'd most like to stay in this year. Absolutely loved it. The characters & relationships were so beautifully observed. The gentle humour was perfect, and balanced out the sadness. I felt like I was there, in a different place, a different time, a different culture.

Photo of Cheri McElroy
Cheri McElroy@cherimac
4 stars
Sep 5, 2022

This novel is a love letter, written as a fictional story. It’s based on true events that happened when the author’s grandfather was a tribal leader of the Chippewa of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in 1953. Thomas, the character based on the author’s grandfather, is a farmer and a night watchman at a jewel bearing plant. And he is leading his people to fight a new bill on its way to the floor of Congress, that would devastate them. Pixie Paranteau, or Patrice, is 19. She works at the jewel bearing plant and takes care of her family, while dreaming of more for her life. And, of finding her missing sister, Vera. From the woods of North Dakota to Washington DC, this beautifully written novel is a rich blend of history, humor, Native American culture and lore, and even a ghost. I learned so much and fell in love with the characters. This story will stay with me.

Photo of Maisie Smith
Maisie Smith@maisielynn
3 stars
Aug 16, 2022

i didn’t rly enjoy it (it’s just not my type of book) but i can appreciate it’s artistry and the culture and importance behind it. there’s also some really beautiful language and moments in here and the author has a unique voice.

Photo of Maytal
Maytal@maytal
3 stars
Nov 18, 2021

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Felt like I was just getting to know characters when the book ended.

Photo of Francine Corry
Francine Corry@booknblues
4 stars
Feb 2, 2024
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Madi@danny_decheetos
5 stars
Jan 15, 2024
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Kacie Wills@kaciewills
5 stars
Nov 19, 2023
Photo of Anna
Anna@annas
5 stars
Apr 14, 2023
Photo of Jessica Coburn
Jessica Coburn@rosie_jessie
4.5 stars
Mar 4, 2023
+3
Photo of Alyssa C Smith
Alyssa C Smith@alyssacsmith96
3 stars
May 1, 2022
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leila@mythlesbian
4 stars
Apr 19, 2022
Photo of Brittany L Goede
Brittany L Goede@blgoede
5 stars
Oct 9, 2021
+3
Photo of Kerry Allen
Kerry Allen@kla2222
4 stars
Jul 5, 2024
Photo of Christopher McCabe
Christopher McCabe@chrismc53
3 stars
Jul 4, 2024
Photo of Jordan
Jordan@jordanfischerr
4 stars
May 28, 2024
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Gigi V@barksandvino
4 stars
May 2, 2024
Photo of Gigi V
Gigi V@barksandvino
4 stars
May 2, 2024
Photo of Mitz
Mitz@mitz
4 stars
Mar 9, 2024
Photo of Darcy Lambert
Darcy Lambert@mokehil
3 stars
Feb 5, 2024
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Haleemah Sadiah@haleemahsadiah
5 stars
Feb 3, 2024
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Marie@mariekiks
3 stars
Jan 25, 2024
Photo of Cody Degen
Cody Degen@codydegen
3 stars
Jan 12, 2024