Pulitzer Prize winner Louise Erdrich’s The Mighty Red took me back to the fields and skies of rural North Dakota, where my mother grew up. This novel, set during the 2008 recession, captures the soul of a prairie town—the people, the land, and the struggles that tie them together.
The characters are vividly real, especially Crystal, a sugar beet hauler trying to give her daughter Kismet a better life. Kismet’s love triangle with Gary, the high school quarterback, and Hugo, a dreamy outsider, adds emotional depth, though their angst occasionally veers into YA territory. The humor—like a chaotic town book club—balances the heavy themes of fracking, climate change, and economic collapse.
Erdrich’s prose is breathtaking. She paints the prairie with poetic strokes while grounding the story in the harsh realities of farming life. The Red River becomes a character itself, mirroring the unpredictability of love and nature. I was shocked to learn that they process sugar beets with animal bones—one of many unsettling details Erdrich weaves in.
It took me a while to settle into the story—the timelines and shifting perspectives can be tricky. But once I found the rhythm, I couldn’t put it down. The mix of humor, heartbreak, and small-town quirks kept me hooked.
If you’re patient and appreciate excellent writing, The Mighty Red is worth every page. It’s a tender, haunting story about love, resilience, and our fragile ties to the land. 4 stars.
** Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for a complimentary review copy. The opinions are my own.