Listen free for 30 days

Preview
  • The Round House

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Louise Erdrich
  • Narrated by: Gary Farmer
  • Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (43 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Round House

Written by: Louise Erdrich
Narrated by: Gary Farmer
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $34.95

Buy Now for $34.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

National Book Award, Fiction, 2012

One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and 13-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.

While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

Written with undeniable urgency, and illuminating the harsh realities of contemporary life in a community where Ojibwe and white live uneasily together, The Round House is a brilliant and entertaining novel, a masterpiece of literary fiction. Louise Erdrich embraces tragedy, the comic, a spirit world very much present in the lives of her all-too-human characters, and a tale of injustice that is, unfortunately, an authentic reflection of what happens in our own world today.

©2012 Louise Erdrich (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Round House

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Moving

Part mystery, part coming-of-age, all heartbreaking, The Round House is wonderfully written.

The story brought to life Joe's summer as a young teenage boy living on a reservation in the '80s. This novel is full of well-developed characters and relationships, and I was immersed in the narrative so deeply, that I find myself feeling like I was really there. While the pace wasn't quick enough to be called a true mystery, I believe what this narrative lacks in urgency, it makes up for in depth. The suspense builds throughout, so by the end you are so ingrained in the story--so attached to the charactes-- it's sudden ending is jarring and heart-wrenching.

The narrator's voice was steady but a bit slow, but was very soothing. I appreciate that Gary Farmer was selected as narrator-- that Joe was given an indigenous voice.

I think I will have to rewrite this review later, because right now, I have too many feelings!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Emotional

Great story, well written and kept me interested throughout. Definitely worth a second read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A compelling story, well-delivered!!

Louise Erdrich never disappoints! A beautifully told story that I could not put down. Highly recommended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly written, incredibly performed.

I was enraptured the whole way through this magnificent book!! Incredibly written and very heartwrenching at the same time. I've always had a hard time fully finishing books but this one I had a hard time putting down, even when my heart felt heavy with dread. Fantastic work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must listen!

From the first paragraph to the last word found myself on an Indian reservation. The characters were so familiar they could have been kids I went to school with or even me. I appreciated peak into reservation life that most non-Indians will never see.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Listened twice!

Excellent story. I also enjoyed the narrator’s voice. Very true depiction of young boy’s inner life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Humourous and heart wrenching.

So descriptive. The characters really came to life. The frustrations of growing up on a reservation were illustrated so well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!