Louise Erdrich speaks at the 2012 National Book Awards presentation in New York City.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Author Louise Erdrich won the National Book Award for The Round House, her look into criminal justice issues in Indian Country.
Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. Her novel is based on a fictional reservation, also in North Dakota, where a woman’s assault raises jurisdictional and other issues.
Erdrich accepted the award on November 14 in New York City. “This is a book that talks about the real situation in the real world,” she told The Minneapolis Star Tribune after the ceremony.
Spokane/Coeur d’Alene author Sherman Alexie won the same award for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in 2007.
