“Flesh would become stone and stone become flesh, and someday they would meet in the mouth of a bird.”
Louise Erdrich’s Python’s Kiss (Harper 2026) is a collection of short stories written over the last 20 years, with a number having appeared previously, in slightly different form, in numerous publications. The thirteen stories each have an individual illustration done by Aza Erdrich Abe, making this truly a mother-daughter masterpiece. I’ve said countless times before that reading Erdrich is like having coffee with an old friend – her writing is so familiar – and while short stories are not my favorite, that familiarity exists here as well. If someone is interested in exploring Erdrich, who is quite possibly America’s greatest living author, this collection is a good starting point. Each story is inherently Erdrich.
My favorites of the collection include “Wedding Dresses,” a woman recounting her past loves through the dresses she’s stored; “Borsalino,” a ghost story of sorts; and “Amelia,” the story of a young girl’s relationship with an older man and his mysterious sister.
The collection has heart – marked as usual by Erdrich’s mastery at the mundane and the spiritual. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear it hiss and rattle.
Erdrich will forever be a recommendation here.
A Girl Named Tommi 