The Painted Drum

From the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, 2012 comes this elegantly crafted novel that explores the strange power that lost children exert on the memories of those they leave behind

When Faye Travers is sent to appraise a family estate in a small New Hampshire town and comes across a forgotten set of valuable Native American artefacts, she is not surprised by the discovery. However, she is shocked when she finds a rare drum – particularly because without even touching the instrument she hears its deep resonant sound.

Following the discovery, we trace the drum's passage both backwards and forwards in time. We hear the voice of Bernard Shaawano, an Ojibwe, who tells of how his grandfather created the drum after years of mourning his younger daughter's death and how it changes the paths of those who cross it. Through Faye, we experience her anguished relationship with a local sculptor who also mourns the loss of a daughter, and witness the life Faye has made alone with her mother, in the shadow of her sister's death.

Erdich poetically captures the intricate, transformative rhythms of human grief that these losses create within her characters with grace, wit, captivating prose and surprising beauty.

“'The author knows how to spin a good yarn…Full of poetic writing and a passionate indignation on behalf of the dispossessed, this novel shows the author at her best.' The Times 'Erdrich handles the shift in pace beautifully. The world she portrays is harsh, with death from smallpox or starvation giving way to the oppressions of poverty and alcoholism. But such is the unsentimental poetry of Erdrich's vision that it becomes a place to almost envy, too.' Observer 'Resonant, poetic and exact … these visions will remain imprinted on the reader's mind.' Los Angeles Times 'Intricate and beautifully written.' Boston Globe 'With fearlessness and humility, Erdrich has opened herself to possibilities beyond what we merely see to the dead alive and busy, to the breath of trees and the souls of wolves and inspires readers to open their hearts to these mysteries as well.' Washington Post 'Spare, perceptive, unsentimental.' New York Times”

'Resonant, poetic and exact ! these visions will remain imprinted on the reader's mind.' Los Angeles Times 'Intricate and beautifully written.' Boston Globe 'With fearlessness and humility, Erdrich has opened herself to possibilities beyond what we merely see -- to the dead alive and busy, to the breath of trees and the souls of wolves -- and inspires readers to open their hearts to these mysteries as well.' Washington Post 'Spare, perceptive, unsentimental.' New York Times

Louise Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and is the author of many bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. She lives in Minnesota with her family, where she runs an independent bookstore, The Birchbark House. You can

From the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, 2012 comes this elegantly crafted novel that explores the strange power that lost children exert on the memories of those they leave behind When Faye Travers is sent to appraise a family estate in a small New Hampshire town and comes across a forgotten set of valuable Native American artefacts, she is not surprised by the discovery. However, she is shocked when she finds a rare drum - particularly because without even touching the instrument she hears its deep resonant sound. Following the discovery, we trace the drum's passage both backwards and forwards in time. We hear the voice of Bernard Shaawano, an Ojibwe, who tells of how his grandfather created the drum after years of mourning his younger daughter's death and how it changes the paths of those who cross it. Through Faye, we experience her anguished relationship with a local sculptor who also mourns the loss of a daughter, and witness the life Faye has made alone with her mother, in the shadow of her sister's death. Erdich poetically captures the intricate, transformative rhythms of human grief that these losses create within her characters with grace, wit, captivating prose and surprising beauty.

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