The Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich is the story of a fictional small town in North Dakota named Pluto. The town’s story is told through the stories of several of its residents and families, a story of racial tension, religion, and other standard themes. The book does not have a main narrative in the traditional sense, and in many ways it reads like a collection of short stories (many of the chapter have indeed been previously published independently in various journals); however, Erdrich does an excellent job of stringing them together and, in the end, making them whole. Although they may have originally been published separately, you sense that they were always meant to be part of a greater landscape (and frankly, most of them don’t stand up nearly so well on their own as they do together).

My problems with the book are all problems of editing. First, the initial fifty pages or so of the novel are extremely slow and add little to the story’s narrative. Those fifty pages could have been condensed to about two, maybe three paragraphs, and the novel would have been much the better for it. After those 50 pages, the story picks up and there is seldom a wasted word.

Second, the book’s prose, while often compact and elegant, is just as often clumsy and vexing. It is as if certain paragraphs simply flowed from Ms. Erdrich’s pen, while other were pushed and shoved into being. One passage flows beautifully, the next is like being dragged along a rocky gulch.

But most confoundingly, the book is littered with misplaced commas. I’ve never seen so many uncalled for commas within the covers of one book. Normally I will let a few grammatical errors slip by without my opinion being lowered (I’ve certainly let a few slip by myself), but in this case it became a distraction. An unfortunate distraction, as it took away from an excellent story.

But enough negativity. There are a lot of things to like about this book. The town of Pluto is given a compelling history. Many well-developed characters. Fresh takes on old themes. Plenty of wonderful stories within the story. All in all, despite its flaws, The Plague of Doves is a worthwhile read, full of wonderfully imagined characters with stories that match their own complexity.

5.9 out of 10