The Painted Drum

Worth sticking with

This book took me a while to enjoy. It starts slowly but gets very juicy in the second half. I found the Indian characters most compelling. The final scene between mother and daughter moved me to tears. I loved the author's use of language; her dialogues were especially memorable. I would recommend it.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly Enjoyable

This was recommended to me through a group on ravelry.com. Knitters tend to know good audio books, and they were right on with this one. I was surprised and pleased when the story turned from modern day back to the origins of the drum. I felt the characters were very real, with all their flaws, and yet remarkable because of them. They came across as every day people - neighbors, acquaintances, friends. This is a great read (listen!)

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Powerful

This book sneaks up on you from behind and delivers a subtle, yet powerful, blow between the shoulders which shakes the heart. It builds, turns back on itself, and demands an emotional response. Erdrich circles the story and each turn adds resonance and depth to the characters and to the reader's experience. Highly recommended if you want to experience a book that delves beneath the surface of what it means to be human.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Hurting and healing

Louise Erdrich has composed a beautiful story about life. As Faye, the main character reflects on her life, she is drawn into other lives past and present. Finding and keeping the drum in order to find it's "true owners" provides the opportunity for Faye to learn more about herself and her mother. The writing is succinct, but not spare. I thought the narrator did an excellent job with this book. At one point, I had to check the narrator because I was convinced it was two narrators.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great listen

If you love Erdrich's novels, you'll love this one too. If you're new to Erdrich, this is a good start. It's a bit less dark and complicated than some of her other stories. Though plenty of heartache in this one too, there's a lot redemption and humor, too. Anna Fields goes a great job as narrator. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fields brings to life Erdrich's vivid imagery.

What about Anna Fields’s performance did you like?

Erdrich's style of prose isn't one that lends itself easily to a verbal interpretation, yet Field's does a wonderful job bringing Erdrich's vivid images, complex symbols, and ever-shifting narrators to life. I was especially impressed with her pacing (which allowed the listeners to absorb all of Erdrich's rich language) and her fitting pronunciation/inflection of the Native American Indian specific vocabulary. Simply put, it was lovely to listen to Field's interpretation.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another fabulous work by Louise Erdrich

I dont write many reviews, but over the last year I have come to realize how businesses like Audible base their libraries off of majority requests and favorites, so here I am.

There are many great books by Erdrich and I find myself pulled into the cast of characters through Anna Fields narration. I do wish there were more titles of the related stories narrated by her, and also made available here.

As for this novel, it is a delight to return to this part of the world, into the lives of descendants of characters I loved from her earlier novels Tracks and Four Souls. I have not yet gotten my hands on a copy of Love Medicine which I understand to be another tale of these same people but, I almost feel at this point it may be incomplete without hearing it told from Fields voice.

A tale so painful and clear is rarely told so poignantly, and with every detail of space and person Erdrich brings you emotionally into the healing taking place in the lives of her characters. I’ve never more fully understood the sacredness of a drum, nor will I ever question its purpose or place in the lives of these Native Americans again. I feel as though I have been given a PhD worth of information on the Drum through detail of process, image, and emotional connection that only the very best stories can give a reader.

The Painted Drum is as riveting and harrowing a story as any of the others, I just wish the individual stories were not left so open ended. I find myself feeling this way about other of Erdrich’s novels too. I just wanted to know more about the families and how they moved on, or didn’t, and if there is ever a homecoming for the main character in her native village or not. I guess that’s the best way an author can leave a story, with the audience wanting more, I just hope my fantasy of reading more of these characters can someday become a reality.

terrible performance

As a tribal member, I hated every bit of the "Native accent" but the story wasn't too bad.

great book

I love the quote that compares sitting in the apple orchard to life and relationships. A beautifully written piece of work.

Great story and fabulous narrator

Especially loved the narrator who made the novel come to life. I will listen to it again.