Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

Love Medicine is Louise Erdrich’s first novel, published in 1984. Each chapter is narrated by a different character. These narratives are very conversational, as if the narrators were telling a story, often from the first-person perspective. There are, however, five chapters that are told from a limited third-person perspective. The narratives follow a loose chronology aside from the first chapter (set in 1981). The tone of the novel is very conversational and indicative of the storytelling tradition in Native American culture. It draws from Ojibwa myths, story-telling technique and culture. However, it also incorporates the Euro-Indian experience especially through the younger generations who have been forced by government policy to accept, if not possess, Euro-American culture. Love Medicine begins with June Morrisey freezing to death on her way home to the reservation. Although she dies at the beginning, June holds the novel together. Likewise, a love triangle among Lulu, Marie, and Nector also is a fixture between the narratives even though it is not a constant theme in the novel. A homecoming (or homing) theme is very important to this novel as well as other Native American literature. There are many themes contained in the stories in Love Medicine. In fact, this adds to the storytelling effect of her fiction: the multiple interpretations offered to the reader makes it that much more personal. Some other themes include: tricksters (in the Native American tradition), abandonment, connection to land, searching for identity and self-knowledge, and survival.

The 408th greatest fiction book of all time


This book is on the following lists:

  1. - 65th on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
  2. - National Book Critics Circle Award - Fiction (National Book Critics Circle)
  3. - 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
  4. - The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
  5. - How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Reading List (Thomas C. Foster)
  6. - 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)

Buy This Book

Name Binding Sales Rank Lowest New Lowest Used Published
Love Medicine Kindle Edition 254140 2010
Love Medicine: A Novel Hardcover 439416 $49.35 $0.17
Love Medicine Paperback 1298526 $4.69 $0.01 1989
Love Medicine (P.S.) Kindle Edition 9291 $9.99 2010
Love Medicine: A Novel (P.S.) Expanded Edition by Erdrich, Louise [2005] Paperback 952551 $21.98 $7.49 2004
Love Medicine: Newly Revised Edition (P.S.) [Paperback] [2009] Revised Ed. Louise Erdrich Paperback 266237 $14.99 $6.26 2008
Love Medicine Paperback 965574 $7.72 $0.01 2000
Love Medicine: Deluxe Modern Classic Paperback 1269759 $11.93 $3.79 2013
Love Medicine : A Novel (Perennial Classics) Paperback 1229132 $6.48 $1.61 2005
Love Medicine Mass Market Paperback 1209353 $14.98 $0.25 1987
Love Medicine (Litterature & Documents) (French Edition) Mass Market Paperback 14019043 $13.58 $4.72 2011
Love Medicine (Collections Litterature) (French Edition) Paperback 21586939 $25.11 $15.50 2008
Love Medicine: A Novel Paperback 2290406 $3.99 $0.01
Filtro de amor / Love Medicine (Spanish Edition) Paperback 10216838 $25.90 $57.68 2011
Love Medicine Paperback 2583541 $5.73 $0.01
LOVE MEDICINE - Louise Erdrich (Bantam trade paperback Paperback 2976278 $29.95 $3.99
Love Medicine: New and Expanded Version Paperback 275895 $22.03 $3.50 1993
Love Medicine (Perennial Modern Classics) Paperback 510475 $58.12 $0.54 2005
LOVE MEDICINE. Paperback 3692690 $12.50 $0.01
Love Medicine Paperback 679435 $19.00 $1.18 1993
Love Medicine: Newly Revised Edition (P.S.) Paperback 22142 $7.17 $1.84 2016