I enjoyed the multiple perspectives that this book provided, and how they all came together to fight the bigger fight.

Wonderful - so detailed and capacious and warm, written with tangible love and care. One of this very fine author's very finest.

Fascinating read
It is 1953. Thomas Wazhushk is the night watchman at the first factory to open near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a prominent Chippewa Council member, trying to understand a new bill that is soon to be put before Congress. The US Government calls it an 'emancipation' bill; but it isn't about freedom - it threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land, their very identity. How can he fight this betrayal?

Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Pixie - 'Patrice' - Paranteau has no desire to wear herself down on a husband and kids. She works at the factory, earning barely enough to support her mother and brother, let alone her alcoholic father who sometimes returns home to bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to get if she's ever going to get to Minnesota to find her missing sister Vera.

I don´t know if I didn´t like this book because it was too sad or if, while highlighting the social and cultural problems of the American Indian tribes, Endrich becomes a little too didactic to the detriment of the plot and the novel itself, or maybe it was just because I had high expectations, with the Pulitzer and whatnot. Anyway, I'm sure that maybe it just wasn't the right time, or maybe it's just the sad books that aren't for me.

Io non so se questo libro non mi abbia appassionato perché era decisamente troppo triste o se perché, pur di mettere in luce dei problemi sociali e culturali delle tribú degli indiani d'america, la Endrich diventa un po´ troppo didascalica a carico della trama e del romanzo stesso, o magari era solo perché avevo grosse aspettative, con il Pulitzer e quant'altro. Comunque sono sicura che magari non era solo il momento giusto o magari sono proprio i libri tristi che non fanno per me.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

The Night Watchman is the beautifully told tale of the fight to maintain an Indian reservation in the early 1950s and is a worthy winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize.

Thomas is a nightwatchman at the local jewel bearing plant. He is also the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Thomas gets wind of some forthcoming legislation, where the dry and difficult text amounts to an attempt to terminate the tribe’s rights (previously granted in perpetuity by the US Govt) to maintain the lands on their reservation. Instead the Bill seeks to disperse the tribe to the cities and to forego the rights which their ancestors fought for.

Patrice (don’t call her Pixie) also works at the plant, along with her pals Valentine, Betty and Doris. Patrice’s sister Vera has already been lured to the city and has gone missing. Patrice makes it her mission to find her.

Wood Mountain is a boxer, trained by Barnes, the local maths teacher. Both have eyes for Patrice. Both are thoroughly good people and are willing to do anything to help the causes of Thomas and Patrice.

So we learn about a host of characters within the community. Anchored by Thomas and his impending trip to Washington and Patrice and her family issues. This is a book of warmth, community and facing up to a significant enemy. The prose is wonderful and remains understated throughout. I (sadly) knew little about the state land grabs of native Americans and I am therefore grateful to have both read and hugely enjoyed The Night Watchman.

With thanks to Little Brown (Corsair) and Netgalley for an ARC

Louise Erdrich always creates compelling characters. The Night Watchman is about life for Native Americans in the 1950s and the challenges they faced.

I love Louise Erdrich's writing and out of all her books that I have read The Night Watchman is one of my favourites. It's based on her Grandfather's life as a night watchman and how he carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C. A brilliant story and a must read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this amazing book!

This deservedly won the talented author, Louise Erdrich, the 2021 Pulitizer Prize for fiction, an extraordinary and unforgettable novel, a blend of fact and fiction, inspired by the author's grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, where the characterisations shine, major and minor, documenting Native American history and people, folklore, family, beliefs, their deep connections with the past, nature and the environment, the culture, and the struggles and challenges they face. It is 1953 and the US government is planning on once again reneging on treaties made with the Native American Indians, stripping them of their land and the few benefits still accorded to them, bringing further impoverishment to a people who have already had so much taken from them.

Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing factory, but additionally plays an important role at the Turtle Mountain band of the Chippewa tribe in North Dakota, representing them in battling the government, taking the fight all the way to Washington DC. 19 year old Patrice 'Pixie' Paranteau is bright, working at the jewel factory, trying to provide for her family, her father, whenever he turns up, is an alcoholic who steals, making no contribution whatsoever. She wants to see more of the world than the reservation, and seeing how marriage and children wear out the women around her, she is not so keen to emulate their situations. There are two men interested in her, including the compassionate Wood Mountain. Her older sister, Vera, had left the reservation for the big city, Minneapolis, but is missing, and there are rumours of a child. When Patrice leaves to look for Vera, she is to discover just how dark things can get in the big city.

Erdrich does a stellar job in depicting life for Native Americans in the 1950s, the poverty, the drudgery, alcoholism, the abuse, the strength of family and community, the dark fates of so many of the women, the exploitation, the deep spiritual links with nature and the dead, the attraction of the outside world to the young and the magical realism. The highlight for me was her wide array of complex characters, vibrant, authentic, resilient, determined, and courageous in the face of an extremely challenging and hostile outside world. I found this to be a outstanding, hopeful, memorable and informative historical read, one I am unlikely to forget, which I highly recommend. Many thanks to the publisher.