Janali Jones

And her flatmate goes missing and she doesn't remember what happened and it's all about, you know, does having those genes, you know, mean that you're going to be evil as well?

So that was, yeah, something I really, probably my favourite book of 2019.

Well, I don't want to spoil it.

It's got some nice twists toward the end, though, so it was a great read, yeah.

Yeah, well, I seem to go through phases of different genres.

I do try to read widely when I can, but at the moment I am tending to rotate between thrillers and gay romance, so pretty different.

It's the first Erdrich book that I've read and I just found it really refreshing and her style, the way that she describes the community is, it's not like anything I've read before.

And she's able to give you ideas of all of these different characters just from, you know, little details and, and, you know, little insights into their

their life on the reservation without getting bogged down in too much sort of character exploration because it's a community of people, you know.

There's only so many pages in a book.

But I think a lot of people would characterise the life on the reservation as difficult but at the same time I think for them, you know, it's home and it's freeing for them and they're spiritually and culturally connected to the place.

So that when this, you know, bill comes along that threatens their very home, then this is a major problem for them.

Drees is very strong-willed, definitely.

I feel like she knows what her purpose in life is overall, even if sometimes she might question the things that she's doing or some of her relationships.

I think that, you know, she's very determined about not wanting to get bogged down in things that she thinks aren't, you

marriage and children and she's very loyal to her family and that drives her through most of, you know, what she does in terms of her career and going to the city, that sort of thing.

So, yeah, I found her to be a very strong character.

I feel like her mum is definitely a grounder for her, a cultural grounder.

When I read the book, I pictured her being quite old, but then her son seems to still be a teenager.

So I think that she carries with her this wisdom and she's really the backbone of the family, particularly when they're having issues with Patrice's father, who's an alcoholic and