Louise Erdrich
The Master Butchers Singing Club (2004)
Author: Louise Erdrich
Genre: Historical
Plot Summary:
There are four main characters in this novel: Fidelis Waldvogel, a soldier and butcher; Eva Waldvogel, his wife; Delphine Watzka, a vaudeville actress; and Cyprian Lazarre, Delphine's partner. The story starts with Fidelis returning to his hometown to tell Eva, his best friend's pregnant fiancee, of his death, but when he sees her, he decides to marry her. He immigrates to America, selling sausage to make his way. He settles in Argus, North Dakota, opens his own butcher shop, and sends for Eva and her son, Franz. Eva and Fidelis eventually have four sons, Franz, Markus, Emil and Erich. Delphine is originally from Argus, but has been travelling with her show. She decides to return home to care for Roy, her alcholic father. She and Cyprian have a complicated relationship; they tell people they are married and wear bands, but Cyprian is gay and their relationship is, in most ways, more like a sibling relationship though Cyprian's love and possessive feelings for Delphine causes him to ask her to marry him. When they return to her father's house, they are greeted with an awful smell and discover the dead bodies of a family in his cellar. Roy's drunkness seemed to prevent him from understanding where the smell was coming from and noticing the three dead bodies in his cellar. Eva and Delphine become friends when Eva gives Delphine a job at the butcher shop. Fidelis is a wonderful singer and starts a singing club with other men from town. Eva becomes ill with cancer and Delphine nurses her until her death. Eva's illness and death knocks Roy out of his drunk stupor and he sobers up and becomes more responsible. Fidelis's sister, Tante, moves in to take care of the children and the shop, but her relationship with Markus is very bad and he runs away to stay with Delphine. After some prompting by his sister, Fidelis agrees to let her take the boys back to Germany to be raised by family. Franz is old enough to stay in America and joins the Army. Markus also stays in America because he does not get along with Franz's sister. The youngest, twins, Emil and Erich, move to Germany. The relationship between Delphine and Cyprian becomes further complicated when he realizes that she and Fidelis have feelings for each other. Cyprian eventually leaves Argus and once Fidelis is sure that Cyprian has no hold on Delphine, he and Delphine marry. Near the end of the novel, both Markus and Franz are enlisted in the American army while Emil and Erich are fighting for Germany, and one of the twins is brought back to America as a POW.
Geographical Setting: mainly Argus, North Dakota (fictional town), but a few scenes take place in Germany
Time Period: right at the end of World War I to the end of World War II
Appeal Characteristics:
The characters are interesting people and don't seem to have been created simply for plot points. The story is bookended by the two World Wars in which several characters fight, but while the characters are definitely shaped by the historical aspects of the novel, they do not disappear into the history and become stereotypes for the time. The pace is definitely leisurely, but because of the thoughtful and meticulous way Erdrich writes, the book does not seem to drag on. This novel won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award; books are nominated by libraries around the world for the award.
Read-alikes: Erdrich has written several novels which take place in Argus. While all her books have been well-regarded, fans of The Master Butchers Singing Club might enjoy The Beet Queen because it also follows a family through many years in Argus, North Dakota. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez also follows a family through many years as they adjust to being immigrants in America and as they go back to visit their native Dominican Republic. The Vision of Emma Blau by Ursula Hegi has much in common with The Master Butchers Singing Club; it follows German immigrants and features very interesting, real characters. Empire Rising by Thomas Kelly is about Irish immigrants and the construction of the Empire State Building. Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins follows two World War I veterans for many years as they return to the United States and start a photography business.
Red Flags: One faintly described homosexual sex scene; some graphic violence pertaining to war; some violence inflicting on animals
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