Questions for Donnelly Library's Discussion of Plague of Doves

Donnelly Library’s Pulitzer Prize Challenge reading group has its second meeting on Thursday, September 22. Below are a few questions to think about for the upcoming discussion.

Take a look at the questions and please post your own questions or discussion points for this novel in the comments below.

Questions

1. Although there is no ghost in Erdrich’s novel as there is in Morrison’s Beloved, the past haunts the communities of this novel. What events haunt the characters of Plague of Doves?
2. Erdrich uses multiple narrators in this novel. Why do you think she chooses to use changing perspectives? What do the different narrators reveal about the history of the communities in this novel?
3. How does religion and spirituality effect the different characters’ lives?  
4. What is the role of the murder plot in this novel? Can this novel be called a murder mystery? How would you describe this novel?