Erdrich's The Night Watchman deviates from her other novels, which fall in the genre of magical realism. This one fairly straightforwardly tells the story of her grandfather, a man who was a night watchman and who helped his tribe hold off a federal land grab in the name of 'equality.'
As always Erdrich's characters are complex, and they represent actual humans. We see older couples in long-term loving relationships, young people pursuing each other without really understanding that they're in agreement, and families with all the trials and tribulations of day-to-day living. We also what it looks like being poor on First Nation land, as well as the impact of the Catholic church in the upper Midwest. Most importantly, we see native peoples rise up and fight legally against the self-righteous folks who just want those people to assimilate properly.
Thank Cthulthu they didn't..
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