View source for The Sentence (novel)


{{For|other novels and works called The Sentence|Sentence (disambiguation)}}{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}


{{Infobox book
| name              = The Sentence
| title_orig        = 
| translator        = 
| caption           = The first edition hardcover art of The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
| author            = [[Louise Erdrich]]
| illustrator       = 
| cover_artist      = 
| country           = United States
| language          = English
| series            = 
| subject           = 
| genre             = Fiction, Mystery, Magical Realism
| publisher         = [[Harper (publisher)|Harper]]
| pub_date          = November 9, 2021
| english_pub_date  = 
| media_type        = Print (hardcover)
| pages             = 387
| isbn              = 9780062671127
| oclc              = 1263759934
| image             = TheSentenceLouiseErdrich.jpg
}}

'''''The Sentence''''' is a 2021 novel by American author [[Louise Erdrich]]. The novel was shortlisted for the [[Women's Prize for Fiction]] and longlisted for the [[Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction|Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction]].

== Plot ==
Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence takes place in a Native American bookstore in Minneapolis, between November 30th, 2019 through November 30th, 2020, or All Souls’ Day. The novel follows Tookie through four distinct plot points: the death of a customer, Flora, and her subsequent haunting, family relationships, the Covid-19 outbreak, and the murder of George Floyd. 

Through the story of Flora and her haunting of Tookie, Erdrich explores the beliefs of the Ojibwe and Potawatomi surrounding death. Tookie makes several attempts to rid herself of Flora, including burning the things Flora had given her and attending her cremation. While Flora’s ghost is confined to the bookstore, she does give Tookie the bulk of her attention. This haunting leaves Tookie feeling isolated and afraid.

Tookie’s relationship with her husband, Pollux, and their adopted daughter, Hetta, go through several changes through the year. Tookie feels she cannot talk to Pollux about the haunting because he usually shuts down any conversation about the dead. Their daughter comes home for a visit with a surprise, a baby boy! Tookie has never felt very maternal, but baby Jarvis brings that out of her. Hetta and Tookie had a strained relationship before this and Jarvis allows the two to heal their relationship over the year, with some setbacks. These three relationships go through the most growth throughout the novel, in large part due to Covid-19 and the George Floyd protests. 

Covid-19 trickles into the story much the same way it trickled into public consciousness. It starts with uncertainty and escalates into fear and loss very quickly. The murder of George Floyd and immediate protests came on the heels of the Covid-19 which compounds the fear and incites rage in the American people. During this time, Hetta attends protests in Minneapolis, and Pollux helps protect a local Native American resource center. Pollux contracts Covid-19 and is hospitalized which adds directly to Tookie’s fears and isolation. 

While many of these plot points are resolved, the ending is open and indicates a brighter future for Tookie and her family.

==Awards==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Award !! Category !! Result !! {{Abbr|Ref|Reference}}.
|-
! 2021
| [[Goodreads Choice Awards]] || Fiction || {{nom}} || <ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Fiction! |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-fiction-books-2021 |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Goodreads}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=3 | 2022
| [[Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction|Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence]] || [[Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction#Fiction|Fiction]]|| {{nom|Longlisted}} || <ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2021 |title=2022 Winners |url=https://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/carnegie-medals/2022-winners |access-date=February 12, 2025 |website=[[American Library Association]]}}</ref>
|-
| Heartland Booksellers Award || Fiction || {{won}} || <ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Heartland Booksellers Award |url=https://www.heartlandfallforum.org/2022-heartland-booksellers-award.html |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Heartland Fall Forum |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Women's Prize for Fiction]] || — || {{sho}} || <ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sentence |url=https://womensprize.com/library/the-sentence/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Women's Prize |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=2|2023
| [[International Dublin Literary Award]] || — || {{nom|Longlisted}} || <ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 - Marzahn, Mon Amour |url=https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/the-library/prize-years/2023/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Dublin Literary Award |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| [[Prix Femina]]|| Étranger|| {{Won}}||
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*''[https://birchbarkbooks.com/collections/louise-erdrich/products/the-sentence The Sentence]'' on [[Birchbark Books]]
*''[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56816904-the-sentence The Sentence]'' on [[Goodreads]]

{{Louise Erdrich}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentence, The}}
[[Category:American magical realism novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Louise Erdrich]]
[[Category:English-language novels]]
[[Category:2021 American novels]]
[[Category:HarperCollins books]]
[[Category:Novels about Native Americans]]
[[Category:Works set in bookstores]]
[[Category:Novels set in Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Novels about the COVID-19 pandemic]]
[[Category:George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul]]
[[Category:Novels about ghosts]]
[[Category:Novels set in prison]]

{{2020s-novel-stub}}

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Sentence (novel)|access_date=2026-03-07}}