Happy March! Our pick for this month was Murder on the Red River, by Marcie Rendon, who was able to join us via Zoom~ she was a very well received speaker, and we enjoyed her company tremendously. Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson, is coming up next for April's read~ we have several copies already being circulated by our members, with a few more on the way, but if you don't happen to need one, would you mind letting us know below? Thanks!
As previously mentioned, yesterday was the last day to get nominations in for next year's reading list~ we are currently busy bee's getting them all sorted and organized on the nomination ballot for this year. Thank you for all the great nominations~ we are so fortunate to have such engaged members! It's looking like we'll have the nomination ballots out to you (via e-mail) by the end of this week or early next week~ stay tuned!
Looking ahead, we are planning to vote at next month's (April 9th) meeting~ Susan will also be adding a link to the Perham Library's website in the near future for online voting for anyone who can't make April's meeting, or who would prefer to vote that way~ we'll be in touch when that's available.
Please let me know below if you have any questions!
To the book!
Renee "Cash" Blackbear, a 19-year-old, tough-as-nails, resilient Ojibwe woman, has lived all her life in Fargo, sister city to Minnesota's Moorhead, just downriver from the Cities. Her life revolves around driving truck for local farmers, drinking beer, playing pool, smoking cigarettes, and solving criminal investigations through the power of her visions. She has one friend, Sheriff Wheaton, who's also her guardian and helped her out of the broken foster care system. Together they must work to solve a murder across cultures in a rural Midwest community layered in racism, genocide, and oppression.
Everyone in attendance agreed that this book made them feel "dirty"... as in, they wanted to take a shower to wash off what was being described. For example, there were repetitive scenes in the book where smoking, drinking and urinating were being described, and while we could maybe see the point of these details here and there, they certainly felt overdone.
It was mentioned that the title really didn't seem to fit the book at all, and so much of the plot just wasn't believable. Things like where all of Cash's money for beer and cigarette's and rent comes from when she doesn't seem to do much in the way of regular work... or how she first hears of a murder on the radio and races to the crime scene, somehow knowing the victim was Native American, and then not being shooed away in the slightest by the two present FBI agents... or how Wheaton all but asks her to help with some of the investigation, leading to tracking killers and being shot at.
It also was mildly bothersome that Cash seems to love and care for the Earth, she "hears" trees singing, but she drops her spent cigarette butts on the ground and tosses her beer bottles in the river?
Another member mentioned the book felt seeped in hatred, from both the Native Americans to white people, and from white people to Native Americans. It was debated back and forth for some time as to if that was a necessary element of the book, and realistic to the time and place (Red River Valley area in the 1970's)
On a more positive note, we really enjoyed Ms. Rendon's visit with us via Zoom, and her descriptions of the landscape of that time and place was said to be spot on. If you enjoyed Murder on the Red River, you'll be pleased to hear she has 2 other books out in the series, with another book due out in October 2024!
What are your thoughts on the book? Keep the conversation going below! 👇
Did you enjoy Murder on the Red River? Fans of the book also enjoyed, Shutter, by Ramona Emerson, Nail's Crossing, by Kris Lackey, and Blood Sisters, by Vanessa Lillie. All of these titles are available within the Viking Library System~ reserve your copy today!
Would we
recommend this to a friend to read?
"NO"
Would we
recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"NO"
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