70 pages 2 hours read

Louise Erdrich

The Sentence

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Teacher Introduction

The Sentence

  • Genre: Fiction; mystery
  • Originally Published: 2021
  • Reading Level/Interest: College/adult
  • Structure/Length: 18 chapters; approximately 416 pages; approximately 11 hours, 49 minutes on audio
  • Protagonist/Central Conflict: In The Sentence, Louise Erdrich explores a haunting tale set in a small independent bookstore in Minneapolis. Flora, the store’s most annoying customer, dies on All Souls’ Day in 2019 but refuses to leave the store. Tookie, a woman who has found solace in books after a period of incarceration, must unravel the mystery of this haunting while also navigating a year of reckoning.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Hauntings; racism against Black and Indigenous Americans; inappropriate handling of corpses; illicit drug use; isolation; pandemic challenges

Louise Erdrich, Author

  • Bio: Born June 7, 1954, in Little Falls, Minnesota; German American and Ojibwe heritage; grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota; graduated from Dartmouth College (BA, 1976) and Johns Hopkins University (MA, 1979); collaborated with writer and anthropologist Michael Dorris; has authored several best-selling novels; recipient of Pulitzer Prize for The Night Watchman (2020); owner of Birchbark Books, an independent bookstore in Minneapolis; advocate for social justice causes
  • Other Works: Love Medicine (1984); The Plague of Doves (2008); The Round House (2012)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

  • The Unpredictability of Life
  • The Resilience and Importance of Indigenous American Identity
  • The Power of Love as Redemption

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 70 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,500+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools