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Master Butchers Singing Club
 
 
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Master Butchers Singing Club (Paperback)

by Louise Erdrich (Author) "FIDELIS WALKED home from the great war in twelve days and slept thirty-eight hours once he crawled into his childhood bed ..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Louise Erdrich's The Master Butchers Singing Club is a powerfully told story of love, death, redemption, and resurrection. After German soldier Fidelis Waldvogel returns home from World War I to marry his best friend's pregnant widow, he packs up his father's butcher knives and sets sail for America. He settles in Argus, North Dakota, where he sets up a meat shop with his wife Eva, who quickly befriends the struggling yet resourceful Delphine Watzka. Delphine, who runs a vaudeville show with her balancing partner Cyprian Lazarre, has returned home to Argus to care for her alcoholic father. While most of this emotionally rich novel focuses on the changing landscape of small-town life as seen through Delphine and Fidelis's eyes, Erdrich does a masterful job of illuminating hidden dramas through her secondary characters. Erdrich's portrayal of these various townsfolk, including members of the Master Butchers Singing Club, truly shows off her storytelling talent. Her ability to infuse each character with a distinct and multifaceted personality makes this novel an intimate and thought-provoking adventure. --Gisele Toueg --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


From Publishers Weekly

Erdrich's quiet, gentle voice is so soft, it's as if she's carefully reading a bedtime story. Yet this novel would not put anyone to sleep. Woven with intrigue, romance, death, sex and humor, it's an emotionally complex tale of European immigrants who have settled in the fictional town of Erdrich's previous novels, Argus, N.Dak. Bordering on magical realism, this marvelous yarn introduces a world of rich, expansive imagery and an abundance of memorably compelling characters. There's Delphine, who acts as a human table for her lover, Cyprian, an Ojibwa balancing artist. Delphine cares for her father, Roy, an alcoholic accused of neglectfully murdering an entire family. And then there's Fidelis, a former sniper for the German army who is now the singing butcher of the title. Although some breaks in cadence occur throughout the reading-it seems almost as if Erdrich is seeing the material for the first time-her soft style gradually blends with the story and, rather than seeming inappropriate, becomes invisible.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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FIDELIS WALKED home from the great war in twelve days and slept thirty-eight hours once he crawled into his childhood bed. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

49 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (49 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Truly amazing read !!, Nov 22 2007
By Cedar Tea (Hamilton, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Master Butchers Singing Club (Paperback)
The Master Butcher's Singing Club is a masterpiece of woven words into a rich tapestry. It will by turns leave you breathless with suspense and delighted with her rich and extraordinary characters. The most unusual and engaging book I have read in years. Could not put it down and now I'm sorry it is finished.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A Continually Surprising Treat for Good Listening or Reading, Sep 18 2007
This review is from: The Master Butchers Singing Club (Audio Cassette)
Seldom has a novel surprised me in as many ways as The Master Butchers Singing Club did. Be careful that you don't read any spoilers: Those plot details could neutralize at lot of the pleasures you'll receive from the book. One of my favorite reference librarians told me that this was a book not to be missed, and she was right!

If you like to listen to books being read, I highly recommend the unabridged cassette version that the author, Louise Erdrich, reads. Ms. Erdrich has a wonderful way of bringing her vivid book to life through her pauses and emphasis that adds nuance to the story. Although her voice isn't commanding, her quiet tones rang deeply inside me. The experience was like hearing my aunts tell a story about their German-American in-laws during the Depression and World War II.

The book has so much to recommend it that it's hard to focus on just a few areas. Those who love multigenerational family sagas will be pleased to see that the book has that quality. Those who appreciate novels with a strong sense of place will find themselves delving deeply into the ins and outs of Argus, North Dakota. People who like to read about overcoming hardship and loss will love this book. Readers who dislike being able to anticipate what comes next will be continually fascinated by the plot's many unexpected twists and turns, especially in the beginning. For people like me who love character development, the book offers a full development of not only the main characters . . . but also many of the secondary characters. Those who love novels that deeply explore a few themes will be fascinated by Ms. Erdrich's take on the rewards of doing one's duty and her suggestions about the meaning of life.

The book begins with a story not unlike Gunter Grass tells in Peeling the Onion about his experiences near the end of World War I. With difficulty, German sniper Fidelis Waldvogel makes his way home after the armistice to keep a promise to his best friend, to marry his dead friend's fiancée, Eva Kalb, and to be a good father to the child she is carrying. From their marriage, Fidelis learns that he is better at loving than at killing, even though he has done much killing in the war and as a butcher.

Fascinated by a slice of machine-made bread from America, Fidelis decides he must live where people do such things. Taking only his butcher's knives, his father's sausage recipe, a suitcase full of sausages to sell for his passage, and his beautiful singing voice, Fidelis heads for Seattle . . . only to end up in Argus, North Dakota where his sausages and money run out. Eventually, he reunited there with his wife and child.

Next, we meet Delphine Watzka, a native of Argus, who is touring in a variety act with Cyprian, a balancing whiz, whose male beauty attracts her. When she tires of providing her stomach as the foundation for his gymnastics, they return to Argus where she finds her alcoholic father, Roy, in a terrible state. The two pitch in to take care of Roy and clean up his horrible messes.

From there, the lives of Fidelis and Delphine begin to interact as Eva hires Delphine to help with the butcher's shop and household chores. You'll also meet the men who join Fidelis in his singing club.

The book has more than its share of heroes, heroines, and villains. They make nice contrasts with one another.

When you finish this book, I hope you'll think about where doing your duty can bring unexpected rewards and satisfactions.
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3.0 out of 5 stars This book has very little to do with men, Jul 18 2004
By "htownbear" (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews
Although not a terrible use of one's time, this book promises far too much in the title than it delivers. Two of my friends read it and I was supposed to cast the deciding vote. Gong, but only because I'm not all that interested in the real topic of the book.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Title
The Master Butchers Singing Club is a fine title to the wonderful story Louise Erdrich has put down for us. Read more
Published on Jul 12 2004 by Rochelle Wildfong

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but runs out of steam
I thought this was a good book - plenty of interesting characters and situations and an interesting writing style, but I couldn't help get the feeling that the author got tired of... Read more
Published on Jul 1 2004 by Becky

5.0 out of 5 stars Her best yet.
I have to admit that I had a hard time engaging this book the first try. I found the setting and initial characters to be a bit contrived and put the book down until I was in the... Read more
Published on Jun 12 2004 by Liza

3.0 out of 5 stars Patchwork
This book was a bit of disappointment. I expected more substance --- if you will forgive the pun --- I expected more meat. Read more
Published on Jun 8 2004 by arden_boone

2.0 out of 5 stars Frustrated by my expectations
First, I should explain my expectations: the book would be about the Master Butchers Singing Club(set up by the title and cover photo), the central character would be a man... Read more
Published on May 11 2004 by BeckyFS

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, complex, and deeply rewarding!
Fidelis Waldvogel is no ordinary man; he's a master butcher. He was also a German sniper during WWI, but after the war, he attempts to put his past behind him, immigrating to... Read more
Published on May 9 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars My new favorite book
Warning: this book is NOT about a Master Butcher's Singing Club. It is the story of Delphine Watzka. Read more
Published on April 21 2004 by bookworm_24

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rich Tale
I was absorbed with this story from page one. It is a wonderful tapestry of characters whose stories weave in and out with humor, tragedy and suspense. Read more
Published on April 8 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly Beautiful
Beautifully written story of haunting intensity with brilliant characterizations. A small town in the midwest holds lives and secrets and people that engage you and don't let you... Read more
Published on

4.0 out of 5 stars Family trees
I hope that Master Butchers is the beginning of a new set of novels intertwining Delphine, Fidelus, and Cyprian's families in the way Erdrich wove and embroidered tales of her... Read more
Published on Mar 9 2004 by CollageMama

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