A thirteen year old boy is faced with a tremendous burden when his mom is raped and brutally beaten. Forced to grow up, he is not satisfied with the existing justice system, and he wants revenge. He is really not mature enough to understand the consequences of actions and he reacts mostly with emotion to all stimuli. He simply understands that his mom cannot recover with the monster still at lodge, so he launches his own private investigation into the crime.
A member of the Ojibwe tribe, Joe soon learns from his father, a judge, how the justice system works when there is a dispute over jurisdiction between the Federal Government and an American Indian Tribe, regarding on whose territory the crime took place. There are many intertwining themes around the main one of the rape. Punishment, or the lack thereof, for many infractions, is investigated. Throughout, we are voyeurs into the lives of young teenage boys as their hormones awaken and new thoughts and desires stir within them, which are very often inappropriate. The contrast between the rape of Joe’s mother and the love between Joe’s friend Cappy and Zelia, however ill-advised, is stark. One is an act of anger and revulsion and the other, an act of gentleness and devotion. Perhaps another theme is about the wounds we all suffer, great and small, and how we learn to cope with them and go on. Some wounds are physical and some emotional, but they are all painful and difficult to conquer. The second in a planned series of three, the book can stand alone, even though the main characters from the first, do reappear.
The book is written in an easy conversational style, very matter of fact, even when horrible things are being discussed. There is no real tension created, rather it is just a story being narrated and we witness it each day. Yet, despite the lack of fanfare and flourish, the message is immeasurable.
We learn that at 13, although Joe is too young to handle the weight on his shoulders, he proceeds to tackle a very adult problem. Along the way his decisions are sometimes unwise and foolhardy and the people he turns to less than perfect.
Occasionally, a Native American Indian word or term was used, with no real explanation, and sometimes I was not able to get the gist of it from the surrounding sentences. Nevertheless, the book is very enlightening when it comes to issues on the reservation.
The reader is forced to consider many questions. Are the Indians being treated fairly? Isn’t a crime, simply a crime, regardless of where it occurred? Should the heritage of the criminal and/or victim be of any consequence? One would think not, but the whole story almost silently and subtly screams about and revolves around, the issue of jurisdiction. There is the ever present fear that the criminal will go free to continue a life of crime, and justice will not be served.
Based on true life experiences, the book is nevertheless made up out of whole cloth, according to the author. The underlying current, concerning the unfair treatment of the Native American Indian is very well handled, gently, so as not to make anyone unduly angry, but also wisely, and thoroughly, in order to educate and explain the circumstances governing the two worlds. Joe’s Mooshum reveals bits and pieces of Indian lore in his dreams and while it is the stuff of fantasy, it opens a window onto the culture of the North Dakota tribe.
I wondered why the Indians seemed largely stereotyped as a group of drinkers, sex crazed, largely unemployed, even crude, foolish and dishonest, who were still being preyed upon by unscrupulous white men. Surely, this was not the author’s intent, and perhaps in the next book, Joe’s life as an adult will be expanded upon and a different, broader view of Indian accomplishments will be discovered.
As a point of interest, the theme of this book is currently (in the year 2013) being discussed by Congress as they consider a law, the Violence Against Women Act, which contains a provision about the jurisdiction of those crimes on Indian land.

Our book club recently read and discussed "Roundhouse". We thought is was very well written and it provided a very interesting discussion. We all really enjoyed this book.

Over all our club members enjoyed the book. They liked the language, humor and the storytelling. The criticisms were that there were many threads to the story that were not followed by the author...especially the murder. The book was informative about the state of the native Americans, the jurisdiction issues. We also learned about the injustices that have been levied on them. We learned beyond the stereotype, about the beleifs, education and culture.The author captured a 13 year old boys feelings and thoughts quite well. All the main characters were well developed....Everybody loved Cappy. however, some members found there were too many characters and the lack of quotation marks bothered some! Overall the discussion was good, some said they would read the author\'s other books too. The round house is a good book for discussion about Native American culture. We learned about \'frybread\' too!

Definitely a great book club discussion. Really informative story about Native American law and life on a reservation. Very cool that she wrote so thoroughly convincingly as a teenaged boy.

A thirteen year old boy is faced with a tremendous burden when his mom is raped and brutally beaten. Forced to grow up, he is not satisfied with the existing justice system, and he wants revenge. He is really not mature enough to understand the consequences of actions and he reacts mostly with emotion to all stimuli. He simply understands that his mom cannot recover with the monster still at lodge, so he launches his own private investigation into the crime.
A member of the Ojibwe tribe, Joe soon learns from his father, a judge, how the justice system works when there is a dispute over jurisdiction between the Federal Government and an American Indian Tribe, regarding on whose territory the crime took place. There are many intertwining themes around the main one of the rape. Punishment, or the lack thereof, for many infractions, is investigated. Throughout, we are voyeurs into the lives of young teenage boys as their hormones awaken and new thoughts and desires stir within them, which are very often inappropriate. The contrast between the rape of Joe’s mother and the love between Joe’s friend Cappy and Zelia, however ill-advised, is stark. One is an act of anger and revulsion and the other, an act of gentleness and devotion. Perhaps another theme is about the wounds we all suffer, great and small, and how we learn to cope with them and go on. Some wounds are physical and some emotional, but they are all painful and difficult to conquer. The second in a planned series of three, the book can stand alone, even though the main characters from the first, do reappear.
The book is written in an easy conversational style, very matter of fact, even when horrible things are being discussed. There is no real tension created, rather it is just a story being narrated and we witness it each day. Yet, despite the lack of fanfare and flourish, the message is immeasurable.
We learn that at 13, although Joe is too young to handle the weight on his shoulders, he proceeds to tackle a very adult problem. Along the way his decisions are sometimes unwise and foolhardy and the people he turns to less than perfect.
Occasionally, a Native American Indian word or term was used, with no real explanation, and sometimes I was not able to get the gist of it from the surrounding sentences. Nevertheless, the book is very enlightening when it comes to issues on the reservation.
The reader is forced to consider many questions. Are the Indians being treated fairly? Isn’t a crime, simply a crime, regardless of where it occurred? Should the heritage of the criminal and/or victim be of any consequence? One would think not, but the whole story almost silently and subtly screams about and revolves around, the issue of jurisdiction. There is the ever present fear that the criminal will go free to continue a life of crime, and justice will not be served.
Based on true life experiences, the book is nevertheless made up out of whole cloth, according to the author. The underlying current, concerning the unfair treatment of the Native American Indian is very well handled, gently, so as not to make anyone unduly angry, but also wisely, and thoroughly, in order to educate and explain the circumstances governing the two worlds. Joe’s Mooshum reveals bits and pieces of Indian lore in his dreams and while it is the stuff of fantasy, it opens a window onto the culture of the North Dakota tribe.
I wondered why the Indians seemed largely stereotyped as a group of drinkers, sex crazed, largely unemployed, even crude, foolish and dishonest, who were still being preyed upon by unscrupulous white men. Surely, this was not the author’s intent, and perhaps in the next book, Joe’s life as an adult will be expanded upon and a different, broader view of Indian accomplishments will be discovered.
As a point of interest, the theme of this book is currently (in the year 2013) being discussed by Congress as they consider a law, the Violence Against Women Act, which contains a provision about the jurisdiction of those crimes on Indian land.

Not quite as interesting or dramatic as some others by the same author, but worth the read.

Incredible story

As a woman that has experienced the same issues as the mother in this book, the story following the events after, hit very close to home. This book is a book that needs the time to chew on all of the subtle and insightful events that happen. The secondary story is as good as the main story.Thank you.

Very thought provoking

This was an interesting look at life on tribal reservation in the late 1980s. What grabbed us was the beautiful writing. The story was full of fascinating characters like we have never known. Many moral questions were raised, so it made for good discussion.

Good discussion around many points left up to the reader to decide; felt hollow and pointless to me at the end

The story is descriptive, sad, and heart wrenching. Humor is sprinkled through it despite the serious topics addressed, giving the novel many dimensions.

Great coming of age story with Native American backdrop!

The book is not long, not a fluff "beach read", the character development is excellent, you gain some insight of life on a reservation, try to solve a mystery, and you keep reading.
I was either addicted to reading this book, or thought some areas could be shortened. However, I really liked this book. Set on a reservation (present day), events unfold that bring and tear apart families. Family dynamics, history, and emotions are explored. A good book club pick.

The subject matter is difficult, but The Round House is beautifully written. Great character development with a likable narrator. We had a in depth discussion.

The short description of a book is that it's about a boy whose mother is raped, and the aftermath of that attack. But it's about so much more - a son's relationship with his parents, his friends, and his tribe; tribal law and the complicated mess that it can be to figure out jurisdiction; and justice. The characters - and there are many - came alive for me from Geraldine's sister Clemence trying to care for her elderly, cantankerous father Mooshum; to the sex-obsessed Grandma Ignatia; to the military man turned priest; and many, many more. The people and their relationships are complicated and true. This was a great book for discussion because it was so layered and meaty.

The book shows us the reality of life on an Indian reservation, with its limitations, frustrations, injustices and indignities, but also the compensations of community, purpose and traditions. The characters are well-drawn, and many times surprising, in that people who live fairly simple lives display the ability to consider the complexity of the problems they face and reach for satisfying solutions. Very thought-provoking.

While I learned a great deal about the inequalities of the laws governing the residents of Native American reservations, I found this novel a bit overly sexual. It is about a group of 13 year old boys coming of age in 1988, but it still used language and references that were not necessary to build the plot or develop the characters. On the other hand, the character development was well done with little fall back on stereotypical characters. It did provide a lot of issues to discuss in our bookclub.

The Round House has so many facets to it. It is a moving coming-of-age story, a murder mystery and rape tragedy, a look at reservation life and an introduction to the intricacies and inequities of tribal law.

This novel tells a powerful coming of age story. 13 year old Joe, his parents, friends & family find themselves coping, healing & moving thru life’s complexities following the brutal rape of Joe’s mother on their Indian Reservation. Masterfully written! This story touches the soul in such a heartbreaking way. Trigger warnings for rape, crime against women

Louise Erdrich’s voice - how does she tell stories of family and community, life and loss with such clarity, lightness and wisdom? Redemption - that’s what her books do, she lifts up her characters and their stories with clear love, whimsy and wisdom. She’s poet, storyteller, wisdom holder.