The Painted Drum

'The author knows how to spin a good yarn ... Full of poetic writing and a passionate indignation on behalf of the dispossessed, this novel shows the author at her best.' The Times

'Erdrich handles the shift in pace beautifully. The world she portrays is harsh, with death from smallpox or starvation giving way to the oppressions of poverty and alcoholism. But such is the unsentimental poetry of Erdrich's vision that it becomes a place to almost envy, too.' Observer

'Resonant, poetic and exact ... these visions will remain imprinted on the reader's mind.' Los Angeles Times

'Intricate and beautifully written.' Boston Globe

'Spare, perceptive, unsentimental.' New York Times