Reading Response 10
Ezekiel Choffel
Louise Erdrich’s Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country spoke to me in ways no other reading has
so far. The image built of this middle aged woman carrying around a child amongst the islands of
the Lake of the Woods is powerful and distinct.
The words that Erdrich chooses are conscious and build images of a true spiritual journey. The
islands themselves are books. This idea and concept serves two roles. The first being literal and
the second being metaphorical. The paintings on these islands tell stories based in history, but
important enough to be remembered by the people who drew them. These stories serve to make
these islands literal books. The metaphorical sense is brought to the fore in how Erdrich shapes
her relationship with the islands. For Erdrich these islands represent a journey into her past as a
Native as well as a journey into the future of her Child.
The imagery that is created by active word choice brings the audience into Erdrich’s perspective
effectively. The reader can see the otter and moose as well as know that Erdrich lives and
breathes the material of this book.
This book attached its self in my frontal lobes for my entire visit to St. Louis this weekend.
Every time I closed my eyes, I was drifting over waves and marshes to find the next story, the
next book, the next island.
What tied this reading together for me came within the sections on Obers’ Island. The finding
and losing first novel ever published in the United States, the image of a cottage overflowing
with books was indicative of Erdrich’s experiences. Books are Erdrich’s lifeblood, what she lives
for. The relationship comes full circle with her child being present. That baby has become part of
a book, just as Erdrich’s experiences have. This book is Erdrich to me. It is the bearing of
Erdrich’s soul while being tied to the most important things that make up her experience.
In many ways reading this book was spiritual to me. I had many dreams in the nights following
the reading of this book, dreams that haunt me. I am usually a person who does not dream or
does not remember my dreams. Since childhood the vividness of my dreams has caused sleepless
nights and restlessness.
At first I began to live the ambush scene, just as Erdrich describes it. Then my dreams faded into
visions of the Horned Man and the trials of Christian opposition. For four nights the images of
this book came to me in my sleep, and during the day I could not draw myself away from them.
While surrounded by the greatest mind of the field, I found myself unable to full function or
communicate. I was lost on the Lake of the Woods. I was lost in what has been changed and
what has been lost from this land. I was lost in the despair and struggle faced by my new friends,
I was lost in who I will become with knowledge Erdirch has shared with me so very close to my
heart.