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Book Review of The Painted Drum

The Painted Drum
The Painted Drum
Author: Louise Erdrich
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
reviewed on + 105 more book reviews


We begin and end with two women, mother and daughter, who appraise estates for a living. Daughter Faye finds an Ojibwe moose-skin and cedar drum and she recognizes it as something with a history and of value that cannot be bought. She decides to rescue it.

We then learn, bit by bit, how the drum came to be and how it figured in so many lives over time. The stories are told with the usual sensitivity and care that have come to characterize Louse Erdrich's writing. It is fulfilling and illuminating.