The Night Watchman

I admit. I’m a literature nerd. In bookstores wander past literature and Pulitzer or award-winning tables and point: “Read that. Read that. Read that twice. Yup. That, too.” My family gets eye cramps from the eye-rolling groans. No, I’m not typically a follower of popular anything (Molly Cyrus, who?), but when it comes to books, I have found the reading army can judge genius versus tripe. So, I picked up the Pulitzer winner: The Night Watchman. Admittedly, this book was published years ago (2020), but it takes me time to catch up. (I have, at any one time, over 60 books in progress…) Louise Erdrich penned this historical novel based on her grandfather’s experience during the Native American Chippewa (Ojibwe) fight against government dispossession in the 1950s. Congress offered a bill to “terminate” tribes. Couched in “we’re the government and we are here to help” terms, the bill is meant to cut funding and capture land. Period. How a government decides whether a people can exist as a people is beyond this anarchist’s reality, but I digress. The plot follows several characters and explores life and living of Native Americans in the 1950s. The writing is excellent. The story is engaging. The tribulations and challenges were and are still very real for indigenous people. The touches of day-to-day life, food and traditions, are beautiful. And I was bored. Yes, yes, I know. I’m diverging from 99% of the reviews. But I had to struggle through most of the book. And I felt cheated. This book relies on its connection to real people and history – and leans on diversity. But it does not deliver a great story. I loved the main character, Thomas Wazhask, and wanted to hear about him. His struggle with the government. His experiences. His dedication to his people and his awareness of government intent. I adored Millie Cloud, the educated professor who assists Thomas with her economic research. Brilliant, sensitive, and evolving character. The rest of the novel, I found an effort to be some tween YA exploration of dating. And fashion. Yawn. Some of it is just plain weird. One of the lead characters, a nineteen year old (Patrice, aka Pixie), attempts to find her missing older sister – but takes a job at a bar wearing a blue ox costume and swimming in a tank. I just don’t get it. And I don’t care. It was unrealistic. An unsophisticated child is able to survive, without being violated or assaulted, in the city underworld? Stop it. And why add this plot line? These digression sagas frustrated me. Where is Thomas? What’s happening with the congressional attack? I want to be burdened by the political challenge. And while the personal lives of the family members are throughout, I don’t think Erdrich presented a meaningful picture of the challenges or beauty of the Native American people. This book missed the mark for me. (Image courtesy of Andreas Wagner on Unsplash)