Today Chelsey and Sara are discussing Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, which we selected for our back-to-school season as “a book we wish we read in high school.” Love Medicine is a novel made up of interconnected stories that span generations of two families: the Kashpaws and the Lamartines. The stories deal with small family dramas, and huge ones, depicting characters’ past romances and relationships as these families interact over decades. There’s drama, humor, spirituality, and history in between the pages, and we have six incredible books to pair with Erdich’s masterpiece.

Shop our Backlist Recs on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/anticipated-fall-reads-2020-backlist-pairings

Use our referral code to get TWO audiobooks for the price of one through Libro.fm: https://libro.fm/redeem/novelpairings

(We’re currently listening to: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi and The Pull of the Stars, Barn 8, and Migrations).

Our discussion includes:

Floating on the beauty of Edrich’s language and enjoying a little bit of disorientation [13:40]
Erdrich’s dark, sarcastic humor [18:03]
The biggest thematic question in Love Medicine and other important themes [23:25]

Plus, as always, we’re recommending six contemporary books to pair with our classic, including a brand new YA release and a well-loved favorite.

This episode is spoiler free and well-suited to listening before, during, or after you read Love Medicine.

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Shop the pairings: https://bookshop.org/lists/novel-pairings-for-love-medicine

Chelsey’s Pairings:

The Break by Katherena Vermette [38:00]
Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo [44:37]
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi [51:30]

Sara’s Pairings:

Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford [41:05]
Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine [48:30]
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kemmerer [55:08]

Other books mentioned:

LaRose by Louise Erdrich

The Nightwatchman by Louise Erdrich

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo

Picks of the Week:

Chelsey: Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga

Sara: This Land Podcast

28. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, books by Indigenous authors, and intergenerational family stories

Novel Pairings

28. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, books by Indigenous authors, and intergenerational family stories