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The Painted Drum: A Novel (P.S.) | 
 enlarge | Author: Louise Erdrich
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $0.27
You Save: $13.68 (98%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 191459
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0060515112
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060515119
ASIN: 0060515112
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
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Product Description
While appraising the estate of a New Hampshire family descended from a North Dakota Indian agent, Faye Travers is startled to discover a rare moose skin and cedar drum fashioned long ago by an Ojibwe artisan. And so begins an illuminating journey both backward and forward in time, following the strange passage of a powerful yet delicate instrument, and revealing the extraordinary lives it has touched and defined. Compelling and unforgettable, Louise Erdrich's Painted Drum explores the often fraught relationship between mothers and daughters, the strength of family, and the intricate rhythms of grief with all the grace, wit, and startling beauty that characterizes this acclaimed author's finest work.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 New to Erdrich November 3, 2008
This book was assigned reading for a writing class I am taking. Since I had no idea why it was assigned, I read it just to enjoy and I did find it both informative and thought provoking.
The switch between the past and present is smooth and some descriptive passages are wonderful.
This was an enjoyable read for me, and we are still using parts of it for discussion in class. I will read more of her books.
Pleasantly surprised October 13, 2008
A friend recommended this to me, and it sat in a stack for nearly 9 months, until one day I picked it up. The author was unknown to me, and it wasn't something I'd have selected for myself. However, after reading just a few chapters, I was drawn into the story.
I was a little miffed after the first storyline ended, fairly abruptly in my mind. I wanted to get back to these characters. However, I found myself getting so caught up in the other two storylines that I forgot I was miffed.
In the end, of course, the storylines connected as their lives were intertwined. It wasn't a neat, storybook ending. Rather it gave some clues and let me imagine a bit on my own.
While it's not my all-time favorite book, it was definitely worth my time!
 Life and Death April 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Life and Death
I thought The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich had both good and bad qualities. I didn't like how the book was structured or some of the characters. Faye's story didn't really have anything to do with the drum. I know she found it and in some way it helped her move on in her life, but that was barely discussed at all. I don't think Fay added much to the story. I would rather have heard more about Bernard and Ira. Also, the Pillager family tree seems to stretch far and wide. I found it hard to keep track of who was related to whom.
What I liked about this novel was the theme. It had to do with both life and death. Many of the characters didn't know at first why they should live, yet near the end everyone found a purpose for their lives. Some of them were also able to come to terms with the death of their loved ones. That's not a very easy thing to do. I think the moral in this book has a lot to teach people about life and how to get past death.
Another great novel from Erdrich December 18, 2007
Two stories are intertwined here, and I didn't want either one to end! Erdrich's amazing writing brings these characters into vivid focus, and the story is so compelling. She shows us people as they really are: sometimes admirable, sometimes despicable, sometimes pitiful -- but she always depicts them with compassion. I will remember this book for a long time.
 One of the best Erdrich novels August 25, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
After reading many of Louise Erdrich's novels, I had become tired of their similarities -- until, that is, I decided to give The Painted Drum a chance. Erdrich's novel recaptures the originality of her earlier work and improves it with the maturity of a veteran novelist, succeeding with her multiple narratives as she never has before.
The author has been quoted as describing her writing style as a patchwork quilt, piecing scraps of stories together until they form a beautiful whole. In The Painted Drum, these scraps consist of two major plots: the present day story of Faye, a contemporary woman living with a sense of loss, and the history of a painted drum Faye acquires. The novel's structure is not as simple, however, as this division suggests, as individual stories abound. The throbbing resonance of the drum takes on haunting meaning as its history, traced back to its creation, is revealed. Although the lineage of the drum defines the novel's scope, the stories that surround it veer off in tangents.
Although the Ojibwe history and cast of characters (including the familiar Fleur Pillager) give this novel a complexity that goes beyond what Erdrich has accomplished in recent books, Faye's story steers the work in a new direction, one that gives the ancient spirituality of Native Americans an urgency in contemporary America. The connections between mothers and daughters, between the dead and the living, and among survivors lend this novel poignancy and hope, even if the hope seems less solid that the grief itself.
I highly recommend this novel, especially to fans of Love Medicine and The Beet Queen.
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