Historical

The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman

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  • Create Date：2021-06-22 09:54:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Louise Erdrich
  • ISBN：147215536X
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Summary

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 Wazhushk 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

Pat ，

great read- i have read several of her books and will continue to read them all。 love that some of her characters and locations reappear in different books。 The Round House was mentioned in passing in this book， and that was the last book I had read。Much to my dismay， I know so little about the history of America's native peoples。read for stratford book group。 great read- i have read several of her books and will continue to read them all。 love that some of her characters and locations reappear in different books。 The Round House was mentioned in passing in this book， and that was the last book I had read。Much to my dismay， I know so little about the history of America's native peoples。read for stratford book group。 。。。more

Tim ，

Louise Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for the fiction category for her book， The Night Watchman。 The story is about a bill in 1953 proposed in Congress to terminate the land rights of the Chippewa Native Americans and how they pushed back to fight for their land in North Dakota and avoid another occasion for the government to abandon a treaty made to preserve their tribal land。 The book has many subplots and you get a glimpse of the social， educational and economic struggles Native Ameri Louise Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for the fiction category for her book， The Night Watchman。 The story is about a bill in 1953 proposed in Congress to terminate the land rights of the Chippewa Native Americans and how they pushed back to fight for their land in North Dakota and avoid another occasion for the government to abandon a treaty made to preserve their tribal land。 The book has many subplots and you get a glimpse of the social， educational and economic struggles Native Americans have in our country。 You also get a perspective of the how connected Native Americans are to nature and animals and their connection to those who have gone on to the afterlife。 I give this book 4 stars。 。。。more

Carmel Hanes ，

A lovely testament to the power of the individual and community when our government works to take everything important away。 And a beautiful tribute to Erdich's grandfather， who played a key role in safeguarding what little his Native American people had left when officials worked to "terminate" their status in order to effectively relocate them again， and discontinue needed assistance。A novel offering both a historical perspective on another attempt at a great injustice， and an up close and per A lovely testament to the power of the individual and community when our government works to take everything important away。 And a beautiful tribute to Erdich's grandfather， who played a key role in safeguarding what little his Native American people had left when officials worked to "terminate" their status in order to effectively relocate them again， and discontinue needed assistance。A novel offering both a historical perspective on another attempt at a great injustice， and an up close and personal look at the challenges faced by a people with amazing resilience and kinship。 The story alternates between Thomas' efforts and his niece， Patrice， who is on a mission to find her sister who has been out of touch。 The assortment of characters surrounding these two （both in the actual world and the spirit world） are interesting and offer glimpses into the dangers in this world， as well as how amusing， enlightening， and unexpectedly rewarding it can be。 Never heavy handed， it read less as a historical novel than as a family saga。 I listened to this on audible， which was narrated by the author。 The afterword regarding her grandfather was especially poignant。 。。。more

Nancy ，

I liked this book but it made me very angry at the historical way Indians have been treated by Mormons。 Very racist， and cruel。

Karima ，

You can't lose with Louise。Once again， I learned so much of our countries continued mistreatment of our native peoples。 Though this is a work of fiction， it is based on truth。 Many of the characters （ Thomas， The Night Watchman， was based on the author's grandfather， Patrick Gourneau） are based on her family members。Though L。E。 admits that much of this book was written in a state of " heavy emotion" and deep grief。 Nonetheless， she tells her story with a big heart and much gratitude。I'm sorry th You can't lose with Louise。Once again， I learned so much of our countries continued mistreatment of our native peoples。 Though this is a work of fiction， it is based on truth。 Many of the characters （ Thomas， The Night Watchman， was based on the author's grandfather， Patrick Gourneau） are based on her family members。Though L。E。 admits that much of this book was written in a state of " heavy emotion" and deep grief。 Nonetheless， she tells her story with a big heart and much gratitude。I'm sorry that I took away one star as I thought it was a bit too long and I sometimes was confused by all the characters。 。。。more

Samantha ，

I very much enjoyed this book。 However I must admit that at the end I found myself thinking of all the ways the characters intermixed。 The writing is done excellently， in that within all these stories， you are never thinking what does this have to do with anything。 I gave it four stars as I did think there were a few pieces I didn’t understand need for， or maybe approached differently。 I think that had this book been edited slightly different it would have been a 5 star rating from me。

Sarah ，

3。5 - The writing style was very good， and it was read really well by the author herself （not a common thing to happen outside of memoirs）， but it was very disjointed at times。 There was initially a big focus on Patrice and her search for Vera and then it went in very different directions for a while。 Definitely a unique way to write a book， though it certainly gave a broader impression of the community as a whole and the outsiders who interacted with it。 I finished it， so I liked it well enough 3。5 - The writing style was very good， and it was read really well by the author herself （not a common thing to happen outside of memoirs）， but it was very disjointed at times。 There was initially a big focus on Patrice and her search for Vera and then it went in very different directions for a while。 Definitely a unique way to write a book， though it certainly gave a broader impression of the community as a whole and the outsiders who interacted with it。 I finished it， so I liked it well enough， but I guess I was expecting more。 。。。more

Marla Dudak ，

This Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction 2021 is brilliant！ Amazing characters， a great story， and the most beautiful writing grace the pages。 At its center is Thomas， a man based on the author’s grandfather， who works for his family， his community， and to save his tribe that is trying to be terminated by Congress。 A bevy of other characters including a ghost， a psychic dog， and an autistic scholar， color this fabulous work of historical fiction。

Lawrence Wray ，

Have read 2 of Louise Erdrich's novels and have not been disappointed by either or by this one。 She writes of Native American issues with such care， passion， intelligence， humour and respect。 Have read 2 of Louise Erdrich's novels and have not been disappointed by either or by this one。 She writes of Native American issues with such care， passion， intelligence， humour and respect。 。。。more

Laurie ，

I just love Louise Erdrich。 She writes about people who are normal， maybe ordinary， but they have such magic in their lives。 Sometimes the magic is supernatural， but usually it comes form peopleDoing the best they can in the circumstances the are in。 This book is based on the life of her grandfather who actually did go to Washington speak against termination of the Turtle Mountain Tribe。 It is also the story of people in the community， living with great dignity in difficult times。 Sometimes they I just love Louise Erdrich。 She writes about people who are normal， maybe ordinary， but they have such magic in their lives。 Sometimes the magic is supernatural， but usually it comes form peopleDoing the best they can in the circumstances the are in。 This book is based on the life of her grandfather who actually did go to Washington speak against termination of the Turtle Mountain Tribe。 It is also the story of people in the community， living with great dignity in difficult times。 Sometimes they fail， but they keep going。 。。。more

Maggie ，

Some of the characters were fictitious， but they all felt real。

Lisa ，

I can see why this book won the Pulitzer。 The story is compelling and the prose is haunting and beautiful。

Anna ，

4。5

Mtroy ，

Louise Erdrich explores another little known part of Native American history。 It is based on her grandfather’s story。 His attempt to combat another piece of government legislation to “displace” the Native American from their land in the 1950’s。 She gives us a sense of how difficult an ordinary day can be with limited resources and isolation。 She also touched on the issue of young native american women being kidnapped for sexual slavery。 An uncomfortable but enlightening read。

Martin Kilkenny ，

Interesting story of Native Americans in the 1950s。 Several different story lines that all come together nicely。

Debbie Hoskins ，

Found this more interesting than The Round House。 Interesting and compelling。Excellent narration by Louise Erdrich

Jill Simmons ，

The author’s grandfather， Thomas Wazhashk， was the Night Watchman at a jewelry plant， situated near the reservation of the Chippewa Indians in rural North Dakota。 He was a member of the Chippewa Council who led the fight against Congress in 1953 on the “emancipation” bill that threatened to displace Native Americans from their land。 We Americans have not been good to our Native Americans。

Paul ，

I'll admit it， I was annoyed when Ms。 Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize， because it meant I'd have to read this novel， and I've never been her biggest fan。 I read "LaRose" and "The Future Home of the Living God" and thought her effortlessly complex characters and beautifully rendered commonplaces were ornate distractions from some weak and disjointed storytelling。 But "The Night Watchman" is a lightly fictionalized account of an incident in her family's history， when her grandfather testified befor I'll admit it， I was annoyed when Ms。 Erdrich won the Pulitzer Prize， because it meant I'd have to read this novel， and I've never been her biggest fan。 I read "LaRose" and "The Future Home of the Living God" and thought her effortlessly complex characters and beautifully rendered commonplaces were ornate distractions from some weak and disjointed storytelling。 But "The Night Watchman" is a lightly fictionalized account of an incident in her family's history， when her grandfather testified before Congress in opposition to a bill that would have "emancipated" Native Americans， i。e。 destroyed their tribal identity so corporations and developers could get their hands on their land。 Handed a prefab plot， Ms。 Erdrich's digressions， vignettes and pastiches become the heart of the book， not the extras， and as a result， "The Night Watchman" is magical。 Once or twice you can sense her flirting with narrative conventions that would weigh down the book， like when her innocent young Chippewa girl goes to Minneapolis looking for her missing sister and is waylaid by sleazebags。 You're counting down the pages until her degradation only to find a nice surprise that assures the readers that no， this isn't another piece of rezporn。 Well done， Ms。 Erdrich。 。。。more

Wendy ，

Erdrich's storytelling is so rich。 I almost love the secondary characters more， as they bring the humor。 So deserving of the Pulitzer！ Erdrich's storytelling is so rich。 I almost love the secondary characters more， as they bring the humor。 So deserving of the Pulitzer！ 。。。more

A ，

Gave me feels。 Good mix of fictipn and history。 Great mix of distinct characters and storylines。 Will read again。

Salexwood ，

A schizophrenic novel centered around a real-life story of the author's grandfather that could be summarized in three chapters。 Instead the reader is stuck jumping all over a community of people that add little to nothing to the actual play of events but instead linger on moments only held dear by the author herself。 A schizophrenic novel centered around a real-life story of the author's grandfather that could be summarized in three chapters。 Instead the reader is stuck jumping all over a community of people that add little to nothing to the actual play of events but instead linger on moments only held dear by the author herself。 。。。more

Khai Jian （KJ） ，

"Sometimes， the country still actively hated Indians， true。 But more often now， a powerfully glorious sensation poured forth。 Wars。 Citizenship。 Flags。 This termination bill。 Arthur V。 Watkins believed it was for the best。 To uplift them。 Even open the gates of heaven。 How could Indians hold themselves apart， when the vanquishers sometimes held their arms out， to crush them to their hearts， with something like love？"In the 1950s， House Concurrent Resolution 108 was announced by the US Congress w "Sometimes， the country still actively hated Indians， true。 But more often now， a powerfully glorious sensation poured forth。 Wars。 Citizenship。 Flags。 This termination bill。 Arthur V。 Watkins believed it was for the best。 To uplift them。 Even open the gates of heaven。 How could Indians hold themselves apart， when the vanquishers sometimes held their arms out， to crush them to their hearts， with something like love？"In the 1950s， House Concurrent Resolution 108 was announced by the US Congress whereby the immediate termination of 5 American Indian tribes， including the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa， was called upon。 In other words， native Americans should be assimilated into mainstream American society。 The status of natives or Indians should be abandoned， or according to the American's terms， "emancipated"。 Why the need to be emancipated when the natives are not enslaved？ When the natives are the first to exist in the land of America？ US's Indian termination policy was not foreign and represented a dark history to the natives。 "In all， 113 tribal nations suffered the disaster of termination; 1。4 million acres of tribal land was lost。 Wealth flowed to private corporations， while many people in terminated tribes died early， in poverty"。 The Night Watchman revolves around the story of Thomas Wazhashk's fight against the termination as the tribal leader of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa （inspired by Erdrich's grandfather's experience）。 Along this main plotline， sub-plotlines are developed （via various side characters） to bring out issues surrounding natives' rights: sexual trafficking of native women， labor exploitation， assimilation of natives， the connection between religions （i。e。 Christianity， Mormonism， and the natives' beliefs）， the relationship between humans and nature （whereby the natives' culture， customs， religious rituals were highlighted）， American imperialism， the natives' experience in the Native American boarding schools （established by Christian missionaries）。 The description of the tribal communal life is brilliant as readers are exposed to the natives' livelihood， poverty， and the hurdles/prejudicial treatment that they faced。 The magical realism aspect came as a surprise which elevates this book to a different level as natives were always associated with their relationship with nature and spiritual believes。 Erdrich's prose may not be accessible to everyone as the formatting for each chapter felt a little choppy but it blends well together with the overarching plotlines。 She is indeed a master storyteller， without any hint of info-dumping。 This is a 4。8/5 star read to me as it is inspirational， moving， and an important representation of silenced/marginalized voices。 A well-deserved winner for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Aspen Words Literary Prize！ 。。。more

Serafina Consolo ，

2。5-3 stars， not my cup of tea: the plot was plain， the cultural references were super interesting but ended up being way too descriptive。 The two story lines were roughly intertwined and it felt pointless most of the times。 I found no emotional complexity， with morally plain characters straight out of a children book。 Secondary characters were way more interesting than the main ones。 The writing was beautiful but I got to the end and felt zero attachment to both plot and characters。 I was expec 2。5-3 stars， not my cup of tea: the plot was plain， the cultural references were super interesting but ended up being way too descriptive。 The two story lines were roughly intertwined and it felt pointless most of the times。 I found no emotional complexity， with morally plain characters straight out of a children book。 Secondary characters were way more interesting than the main ones。 The writing was beautiful but I got to the end and felt zero attachment to both plot and characters。 I was expecting way more complexity from a Pulitzer Prize winner。 。。。more

Cheryl ，

Well deserved winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for fiction！

Candi ，

“How could Indians hold themselves apart， when the vanquishers sometimes held their arms out， to crush them to their hearts， with something like love？”A powerful and compelling read。 Louise Erdrich， in her masterfully crafted prose， tells the story of how her grandfather， a Chippewa Council Man， went to Washington DC to fight the Native American Emancipation Act introduced into Congress。 The story holds a lot of heart and soul， and is quite enchanting。 Well deserving of The Pulitzer for Fiction “How could Indians hold themselves apart， when the vanquishers sometimes held their arms out， to crush them to their hearts， with something like love？”A powerful and compelling read。 Louise Erdrich， in her masterfully crafted prose， tells the story of how her grandfather， a Chippewa Council Man， went to Washington DC to fight the Native American Emancipation Act introduced into Congress。 The story holds a lot of heart and soul， and is quite enchanting。 Well deserving of The Pulitzer for Fiction in 2021。 Highly recommend。 。。。more

Irene ，

3。5 * for this year's Pulitzer Winner。 This is a honest look at the US systemic degradation of our Indigenous people。 Centuries of separation and isolation of Native People and thier Lands is portrayed in this book。 As a reader， I would like to see more literature， movies， TV programs and classes that show us the rich culture and beliefs of the only People having Rights to this Land。 Our Indigenous People should the Land Stewards。 3。5 * for this year's Pulitzer Winner。 This is a honest look at the US systemic degradation of our Indigenous people。 Centuries of separation and isolation of Native People and thier Lands is portrayed in this book。 As a reader， I would like to see more literature， movies， TV programs and classes that show us the rich culture and beliefs of the only People having Rights to this Land。 Our Indigenous People should the Land Stewards。 。。。more

Amy ，

Yay Pulitzer！ It was very nice listening to the audiobook in the author’s own voice。 She had this soft little voice that you really had to focus on to hear。

Jennifer ，

Meandered。 The characters felt so real， I think I can visit them。

JennyS ，

Great story。 Great characters。 Little bit of mysticism。 Loved the mix of facts and fiction。 Very well written。

Wesley ，

This book defies a review。 I just tried to start 10 different ways and found no words。 I enjoyed every part of this story and am glad to have gotten a chance to read it。 The characters are incredible and the way it is written carries you along so that when it is done， you are surprised and sad。 I wish I could read this again having never read it。 As is， I will enjoy the lessons learned and knowledge gained。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Night Watchman

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Night Watchman&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Night Watchman&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0