Love Medicine: New and Expanded Version (Love Medicine #1) [B1749]

1998 PB expanded version of the 1984 original, fully legible but with definite WEAR (see photo). Greeted with great critical acclaim when first published in 1984, Love Medicine won the US National Book Critics' Circle Award. This reissued edition was substantially revised and expanded to complement its [later written] companion novels, 'The Beet Queen, 'Tracks' and 'The Bingo Palace'.

Set on and around a North Dakota reservation, 'Love Medicine' tells of the intertwined fates of two families, the Lamartines and the Kashpaws. The women at the heart of this extraordinary community are survivors in a harsh and tumultuous world, united and sustained by the strength and diversity of their love -- the sweet delusion of the flesh; the powerful pull of blood ties; the affection for the old ways vying with the irresistible lure of the new. Their voices mingle and blend to form a continuous braided sequence of narratives which pulse with the sheer energy and drama of life. Greeted with great critical acclaim when first published in 1984, 'Love Medicine' won the US National Book Critics' Circle Award. Louise Erdrich has now substantially revised and expanded the novel for this edition, to complement its companion novels, 'The Beet Queen, Tracks' and 'The Bingo Palace'.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Loved it. Extremely well written, beautiful stories with many funny characters. Timeless and classic."; "This is my first Erdrich novel but it certainly won't be my last. The most impressive thing to me about this book is the way Erdrich's prose - a description of the landscape, a sharply observed character detail, etc. - will suddenly take flight. Looking forward to returning to this world in the future."; "A series of stories spanning multiple generations and points of view. Tracking the volume of characters and their relationships takes a lot of attention. While not exactly a fun, enjoyable read, the families and community that Erdich writes about feels very real."; "This book took a while for me to get into, but wow. It was beautiful."; "There's something about Louise Erdrich's turn of phrase that is truly glorious. Love everything she writes. This one for me was more lacking in story than say the Sentence or the Night Watchman but the characters were enough to keep me reading. A beautiful (tragic) depiction of Native American life post white people entanglement."; "Ultimately, Love Medicine teaches that life does not need to be redeemed to be meaningful. Existing is enough. Breathing, remembering, wanting--these are acts of survival. Erdrich's gift is her ability to show that even when life feels broken, it is still sacred. The darkness does not diminish beauty; it defines it."