The Mighty Red
by Louise Erdrich · 2024
Buy on AmazonIn the Red River Valley of North Dakota, several lives revolve around a wedding fraught with desire, jealousy, and uncertainty. Gary Geist, a terrified young man set to inherit two farms, is desperate to marry Kismet Poe, an impulsive, lapsed goth who can’t read her own future but will settle for fulfilling his. Her best friend, Hugo, a gentle, red-haired, homeschooled giant, also loves Kismet and is determined to steal her away and build a life together. Kismet’s mother, Crystal, drives a truck for Gary’s family, and on her nightly runs, tunes in to the darkness of late-night radio, experiences visions of guardian angels, and worries about what’s to come, for her daughter and herself.
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"This novel, a powerful story of family and resilience, aligns with Jenna Bush Hager's focus on engaging narratives that spark discussion for her popular book club."
Read with Jenna 2024 Picks · today.com
"Louise Erdrich’s latest novel is set in North Dakota’s Red River Valley, and like a river, it gracefully winds through the landscape of Erdrich’s conscience: the toxic toll of large-scale farming (sugar beets, in this case), the inequities of capitalism, the sanctity of a good bookstore! Luckily, our guide is a Goth teen, Kismet, who comes of age before our eyes as she navigates tragedy and comedy, families both broken and bound by love, and, most importantly, two young men who profess to adore her. This is my favorite kind of book: one that can make you laugh and cry (and laugh again) in just a page, a paragraph or even one holy sentence."
NPR Books We Love — 2024 · apps.npr.org