Margaret M - (having a challenging time and on GR as much as I can)'s Reviews > The Sentence

‘I decided to live for love again and take the chance of another lifetime’..... and this my friends was my favourite message from this very unique and enchanting book where sentence after sentence, word after word I became engrossed in Tookie’s story.

A rather unusual story that is multi-layered, haunting, and perceptive and combines a lighthearted ghost story with a woman rebuilding her life after being freed from prison. Then add a heavy dose of Covid reality and a shifting political world, and you have the makings of an excellent story that embraces literature, the meaning of words, and the healing power of books.

Haunting, passionate, relevant, and incredibly evocative.

The Plot

Tookie is released from prison after years of incarceration for naively recovering the corpse of her friend’s husband. Except the body carried something valuable to some but illegal – which was cocaine. Not able to provide any meaningful defence Tookie is imprisoned where she ignites her passion for books and literature. After many unsuccessful appeals, Tookie is finally freed, marries Pollux, and sets up a bookshop. However, the bookshop is haunted by the ghostly presence of one of its former customers, Flora who is looking for help and understanding which is to be found in a ‘sentence’.

A somewhat tragicomic story with lots of light-hearted and enjoyable moments whilst sobering with the backdrop of the global pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and the Trump effect. On the fictional side Tookie needs to figure out what keeps Flora’s spirit from resting. And the answer is to be found in one of the many books that adds so much texture to this story.

Review and Comments

A sometimes very haunting and atmospheric story, a great premise and lots of pertinent themes. However, the greatest enjoyment from this story came from the literary references and the many extracts and quotes from some very worthy books, which demonstrates the authors passion for not just writing but also reading. Louise Erdich also treats us to a list of Tookie’s favourite books; or should I say the author’s, at the end of the book which has been added to my TBR.

The plot threads are numerous and so varied they shouldn’t work together but somehow they do, which makes this such an interesting and absorbing book. Except for one element.
My only criticism was the connection of the first part of the story with the rest of the book. I began by reading a crime / thriller story or so I thought, and so my mind was on that path and in detective mode. As Stephen Rea said in ‘Dickensian, I was in the mood to do some ‘detecting’. Then we decide, not only are we going on a different journey but different means of transport because I had to hit my internal ‘reset’ button and embrace a story where the original crime and period of incarceration disappeared altogether. Even the writing style changed, and the book was heavily focused on culture, literature and finding that inner peace for the central female characters, from the present and the 'other world'.

Some ‘sentences’ worth noting:

“What happens when you let an unsatisfactory present go on long enough? It becomes your entire history”

“When we are young, the words are scattered all around us. As they are assembled by experience, so also are we, sentence by sentence, until the story takes shape”.

A love letter to books, a salute to the many authors and books listed, a nod to the many themes it embraces, and applause for the cultural and political elements that were deftly woven into the story. Take a bow Louise for writing this intriguing, passionate, and relevant story. You held me with every ‘sentence’.