The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Sometimes it's a good thing that I am a procrastinator.  If I had written this review the moment I finished the book, it might have been a bit more negative.  But as the days have passed and I've thought more about the book, I like it more.  The Round House takes place on an Native American reservation in the 1980's, and the story is told from the point of view of a 12-year-old boy.  His mother is raped, and the book is about how the mother, the family, and the community reacts to this horrific crime.  And there are legal issues involved too because of differences in laws for the reservation vs laws for the rest of the state.  The writing is wonderful - except why in the world are there no quotation marks?  I found this made it very difficult to read because I wasn't quite sure if what I was reading was something someone said or just a comment made by the narrator.  And the other thing I didn't care for were the stories and rantings of the boy's grandfather.  They didn't seem to contribute to the story in any way so I confess I skipped over them.  But the story is good, and although the ending is hard to read, it all comes together and is worth it.  -June