Ode to Narcissism

mmm hmm.

I don’t think anyone communicates the intricacies of human emotion better than Louise Erdrich.  Hell, I don’t think anyone communicates love, anger, passion, retribution, identity, pain, family connection or anything else better than Erdrich.  I don’t want to delve too much into her personal life, because I think that can be invasive and insensitive, but one has to put the art into context.  I mean, sometimes a work has nothing specifically to do with the personal life of the author or creator, but I believe in the strength of the connection between the product and the source.  Meaning:  There is some of the artist in the art.  

Her ex husband killed himself and left her with the aftermath.  Granted, they were divorced, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a hard thing to go through.  I don’t even want to think about having to deal with a situation like that.  The marriage might have been over, but that tenderness, however hidden or dulled or separate from romance it might be, will always be there.  I suppose it’s subjective, but that’s my take.

Erdrich wrote The Antelope Wife prior to Michael’s suicide, so one can’t really argue that the novel is a direct response to his death.  However, you can certainly see the associated themes: anger, passion, jealousy, possession, reaction to being spurned, and so on.  God, it’s a beautiful work.  Really.  Sweetheart Calico is one of those characters whose story just haunts you forever.

And then there is Four Souls, which is the story of Fleur Pillager, my hands-down favorite character of any Erdrich novel (and, quite possibly, my favorite character of any novel).  She’s strong, flawed, mysterious, tender, hardened, cold, calculating, and silent.  God, she’s fucking wonderful.  That character single-handedly represents literary perfection.  When she wins that hand of cards, it’s a profound commentary on monumental betrayal and retribution.  It’s a victory so powerful that there can be no doubt in your mind of the consequences of fucking people over.  No matter how many obstacles she has to face, no matter how devastating the blow, her counterblow levels  it all.  Read it.  Then read it again.  Trust me.