Episode · The Book Review · 2026-03-13
Louise Erdrich on The Book Review: books mentioned
Louise Erdrich on Her New Story Collection and the Mystery of Writing
Louise Erdrich recommended Winter in the blood by James Welch, The pillow book by Sei Shōnagon, The death of the heart by Elizabeth Bowen, Save me by Erika S., The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald and others, Whistler by Ann Patchett, and Make the Golf Course a Public Sex Forest by Lyn Corelle and others, and discussed Planet of the Apes by John Whitman, Brawler by Lauren Groff, The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, and The Master Butchers Singing Club SP by Louise Erdrich. Gilbert Cruz discussed Python's Kiss by Louise Erdrich and The Rings of Saturn by Winfried Georg Sebald.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes by John Whitman is a novelization based on the classic science fiction franchise that explores themes of dystopian futures and inverted human-animal hierarchies.
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 my grandfather I um have my grandfather's letters from when he was a tribal chairman for the Turtle Mountain Chippewa and he went through It's It's what The Night Watchman is based on.”
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“This is James Welch and his book Winter in the Blood.”
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 masterly novel of mid-twentieth-century fiction that examines the painful innocence of youth colliding with the cynicism of adult society in London.
Recommended“Death of the The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen.”
Where to get it
-
Save me
Save Me is a story collection written by Erika S.
Recommended“Um I've read s- several times I've read this um story collection called Save Me, Stranger by Erika Krauss.”
Where to get it
-
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is a powerful and critically acclaimed novel that examines identity, beauty standards, and trauma through the experiences of a young Black girl growing up in mid-century America.
Recommended“Um Bluest Eye and Austerlitz. Aus- I listened I I get back to Austerlitz all the time.”
Where to get it
-
Austerlitz
Austerlitz by W.G.
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 Rings of Saturn
Discussed“I've read The Rings of Saturn, which I felt was what Yeah. one of the more amazing and surprising reading experiences I've ever had in my life.”
Where to get it
-
Whistler
Whistler by Ann Patchett is a poignant novel that follows a fifty-something English teacher whose life intersects with 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 eccentric and humorous local Minneapolis book discovered unexpectedly on a personal bookshelf.
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.”