Episode · The Book Review · 2026-03-13
Books mentioned on Louise Erdrich on Her New Story Collection and the Mystery of Writing
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Planet of the Apes
Discussed“I worked in a movie theater and I was so overwhelmed by seeing Planet of the Apes. The end of it really knocked me over.”
Where to get it
-
Brawler
Discussed“Um Uh I read Lauren Groff's Brawler, the first story. Mhm. That's a collection and I cried.”
Where to get it
-
Python's Kiss
Discussed“In Python's Kiss your collection, you have one story that read to me for much of it like a like a ghost story.”
Where to get it
-
The Night Watchman
Discussed“Uh that's what happened with uh The Night Watchman. I just decided that I would stay simple.”
Where to get it
-
The Master Butchers Singing Club SP
Discussed“When I wrote, say, The Master Butchers' Singing Club, I had too much of my own ego invested.”
Where to get it
-
Winter in the blood
Why people recommend it: James Welch's acclaimed novel offers a stark, haunting portrayal of modern Native American life, identity, and alienation on a Montana reservation.
Recommended“Well, I do return to Winter in the Blood by James Welch.”
Where to get it
-
The pillow book
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon is a classic collection of observations, lists, and musings written by a lady-in-waiting in Japan around the year 1000.
Recommended“It's uh Sei Shonagon's book. So it's it's not somebody who's going to listen to this. The Pillow Book was written in um around 1000. It's very old.”
Where to get it
-
The death of the heart
The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen is a classic novel exploring the poignant loss of innocence in British society.
Recommended“Death of the The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen.”
Where to get it
-
Austerlitz
Austerlitz by W.
Recommended“Um Bluest Eye and Austerlitz. Aus- I listened I I get back to Austerlitz all the time. Tell me a little more about Austerlitz. This is the W.G. Sebald book.”
Where to get it
-
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is a powerful and haunting debut novel that examines the tragic experiences of a young Black girl growing up in post-depression America who desperately longs for blue eyes.
Recommended“Um Bluest Eye and Austerlitz. Aus- I listened I I get back to Austerlitz all the time.”
Where to get it
-
Whistler
Whistler by Ann Patchett is a compelling contemporary novel that follows a fifty-something English teacher whose life shifts unexpectedly when she encounters her former stepfather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Recommended“Well, now, I don't often cry at at stories. It's it's it's unusual, but this was not too long ago, also, and it's the end of a book that's not out yet. I got to see it in a advanced reader and it's Ann Patchett's next book, Whistler.”
Where to get it
-
Make the Golf Course a Public Sex Forest
Make the Golf Course a Public Sex Forest by Lyn Corelle and Jimmy Cooper is an unconventional local Minneapolis publication.
Recommended“Yes. And it's right here. It's Make the Golf Course a Public Sex Forest.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“Since the publication of her first novel, Love Medicine in 1984, Louise has made her mark in just about every corner of the American literary scene.”
“Her latest is a collection of short stories that she wrote over the past two decades. It's called Python's Kiss.”
“Louise Erdrich, thank you so much for coming on the book review to talk about your new collection [music] of stories Python's Kiss.”