The Sentence, Louise Erdrich

 

Characters
Bookstore	Others
Louise – owner, author   Tookie   Jackie Kettle – former 7th grade teacher, sent Tookie books in jail   Flora – customer, ghost haunting store   Penstemom Brown “Pen” – clerk, artist, writer   Asema – clerk   Gruen – part-time, German student    Roland Waring “Dissatisfaction” – customer, never satisfied Gary - dog	Pollux – Tookie’s husband, former tribal police Hetta – Pollux’s niece Jarvis – Hetta’s baby   Laurent – Jarvis’ father, a rugaraoo, “a wolf person who keeps coming back to life and who returns to certain places” (page 160)   Kateri Tekakwitha – Flora’s foster daughter   Danae Mara Budgie – deceased, drugs taped to body

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.       What did you think of the first paragraph?   Given that “sentence” is in the title and has various meanings throughout the novel, was it a good introduction?

2.       The word “sentence” is significant for a variety of reasons.  Did this add to your understanding and enjoyment of the novel?

a.       The opening quote, “From the time of birth to the time of death, every word you utter is part of one long sentence,” Sun Yung Shin, Unbearable Splendor

b.       Tookie’s prison sentence

c.       “What I am trying to say is that a certain sentence of the book – a written sentence, a very powerful sentence – killed Flora” (page 161)

d.       “I wish I could write a sentence like that” (page 161).  Said by Louise.

3.       On page 4, Tookie tells the reader that she now “only sells words” and then states, “Books contain everything worth knowing except what ultimately matters.” This sentence is repeated on page 381 at the list of books the author recommends.  Why did the author write that and what does she mean?

4.       Discuss the character of Flora.  She was described as “an Indian wannabe” (page 36), “nice, good-natured, not just friendly, but ready to help” (page 37), and looking “younger, remarkably younger, in spite of the long refrigeration” (page 163).   Her daughter, Kateri, thought she and Tookie were best friends (page 101).  Why did she annoy Tookie so much?

5.       What did you think about Flora’s book, The Sentence, An Indian Captivity, 1862-1883?   It was handwritten in a notebook and could not be burned or cut with an ax.

6.       One bookstore customer was nicknamed “Dissatisfaction” and was one of Tookie’s favorite customers.  He was described as a “Tantalus, whose literary hunger perpetually gnaws but can never be satiated” (pages 97-98).  He hated happy endings but would not “quit even though he may come to hate it” (page 99).  Could you relate?

7.       Discuss Tookie and Hetta’s relationship.  Tookie could not help herself from worrying and asking question.  Was she acting like a typical mom?

8.       Why didn’t Tookie want to know her real name?  Pollux knew it but would not say it.

9.       How well did the author address the common feelings at the beginning of COVID in the section “February 2020” starting on page 147 and then throughout the remainder of the book?

10.   There were multiple references to reading and books.  Did you enjoy or relate to them?

a.       “Books aren’t meant to be safe.  Sadly, or heroically, depending on the way you look at it, books do kill people” (page 161).

b.       Tookie had two stacks of books she is reading, “a Lazy Stack and a Hard Stack” (page 73). 

c.       Tookie wanted the writing in her books to have “a certain mineral density.  It had to feel naturally meant, but not cynically contrived” (page 164) and she was annoyed to authors who used “winking cliff-hangers” (page 164). 

d.       Trends in book titles on page 142: “girl” or “bone” in the title for example

11.   The book addressed several current issues: sentencing disparities in general and in Native Americans and women, George Floyd, COVID.   Were all of these needed?  How did they move the story along?

12.   Did the way the author approached these situations feel true to you?  Did you gain any new insights?

13.   Do you think future readers, a generation from now, will have an accurate understanding of these events after reading this book?

14.   Did you find the resolution of the ghost story satisfying?  Did you suspect the connection between Flora and Tookie?

15.   How many of the books and authors mentioned in the novel have you read?  Did you think they were worthy of being included?  What do you think was the author’s criteria for selecting the books to include in the narrative as well as the lists in the back of the book?