On a spring morning in 1932, young Karl and Mary Adare arrive by boxcar in Argus, North Dakota. After being orphaned in a most peculiar way, they seek refuge in the butcher shop of their aunt Fritzie and her husband, Pete; ordinary Mary, who will cause a miracle, and seductive Karl, who lacks his sister's gift for survival, embark upon an exhilarating life-journey crowded with colorful, unforgettable characters and marked by the extraordinary magic of natural events.

The bestselling, award-winning author of The Painted Drum, Louise Erdrich dazzles in this vibrant and heartfelt tale of abandonment and sexual obsession, jealousy and unstinting love that explores with empathy, humor, and power the eternal mystery of the human condition.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 24 reviews)

Complex or as simple as you make it

The beginning of this book takes off like a rocket. It's powerful and serves as one huge hook for the reader, who moves along with the characters as they develop into adults (and depending on the character, not very nice adults), sometimes skipping chunks of time. It's a character-driven story, but the psychological thread that run through the book give s simple narrative a lot of meat if you're paying attention. This was my first Erdrich book, and I'm about to start another, Plague of Doves. I hope it is just as good.
August 11, 2008

A book about nothing

Of the series of dry, psychological books my aunt has lended me over the summer-The Beet Queen had to be my favorite so far of mine. I wish I could sum up these types of books better, where there are just people described through they're life-slightly off, outthere but more or less normal chacters. None really jump off the page or do anything out of this world. They're all dysfunctional. One thing I am sure...these kind of books are not my cup of tea. There was TOTALLY something missing with Karl...I had faith that this would be a good charcter...I was very wrong. Random events and people described in a book, whatever.
August 06, 2008

A disappointing read

I chose this book for my book club because I had read Erdrich's other novel, The Master Butcher's Singing Club, which was flawed, but still great reading. I was so disappointed in this novel. It did not meet my expectations. I expected the wise and wonderful writing I encountered in The Master Butcher's Singing Club, but was given plot twists that were just plain silly. The author ruined her opporunity to say something profound with Sita's death by throwing in dead body humor a la "Weekend at Bernie's." Although for the most part I found her characters compelling, I felt like this book had very little to say. I am less inclined to try her other novels after reading this one.
October 25, 2006

Simply an amazing book

This book is amazing and a truly beautiful work about the human spirit. The characters are numerous and complex, and the way the book skips around in terms of characters and time keeps you on your toes and keeps the story interesting -- you never know what to expect.

It was really the highlight of a recent vacation -- I couldn't put it down.
January 20, 2006

Determinedly bleak

I started this novel after reading Erdrich's Love Medicine. While it is clearly not as lyrically written, it is more accessible, and I admired Erdrich's inventiveness as she creates a very unique set of characters. I never finished "Beet Queen", quitting not that far from the end. When Celestine's child turned out to be so impossible, it was the last straw. "Beet Queen" is just too determinedly bleak, to no higher purpose I could discern or discover in reading reviews here.

February 28, 2005

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