LaRose

The Ravich family, now with LaRose, eats the soup Nola has made for dinner. LaRose’s “presence was both comforting and unnerving. He was Dusty and the opposite of Dusty” (17). Maggie comforts LaRose when he starts crying, understanding he will not go back to his house; Peter puts LaRose to sleep in Maggie’s room, and Maggie sleeps in her grandmother’s room. LaRose cuddles the doll Emmaline made for him, and Maggie joins him in bed. She angrily mocks him and shoves him off the bed, then crawls down to be next to him and comforts him. LaRose eventually forgets that she was ever cruel to him.

In the second flashback, Wolfred believes that Mackinnon saved Mink’s daughter. Wolfred feeds her the fish he has caught, along with bread and water. Mackinnon drinks himself to sleep, and Wolfred begins to clean the dirt off of the girl. Realizing that she is beautiful, Wolfred gently rubs the mud back into her face so Mackinnon won’t know.

Nola grounds Maggie for sleeping on the floor and laments that LaRose won’t stop crying. Peter tries to calm his wife “but things were breaking down […] A few minutes later, he caught Nola pushing Maggie’s head, almost into her bowl of oatmeal” (20). Peter takes most of Maggie’s untouched oatmeal and eats it, and they make faces at each other. Nola reprimands them. Nola resolves to make LaRose a cake everyday so he stops crying and becomes her son; she is unable to have more children and understands that is the reason Emmaline brought LaRose to her. Peter visits the Iron’s woods where Dusty died and sees a dog that abruptly vanishes. Peter locates the tree where Dusty climbed and fell into Landreaux’s bullet, and he lays down where his son died.

Landreaux helps Emmaline’s mom, Mrs. LaRose Peace, who was Landreaux’s teacher and suffers from random attacks of pain with myriad diagnoses. Mrs. Peace tells Landreaux not to worry about her pains and refuses the opiates that make her loopy. When Landreaux offers to refill Mrs. Peace’s prescriptions, she presents him with a copy of the poem “Invictus” that he wrote by hand when he was her student. Landreaux promises not to run away. Landreaux visits Ottie, a client, to help with physical therapy and hygiene associated with his diabetes. Landreaux bathes Ottie while Bap, Ottie’s wife, fixes them breakfast. Bap asks after things, and Landreaux talks about setting up a fund. Ottie jokes about setting up his own fund for high heels, deflecting more talk about Dusty. In the car, Landreaux thanks Ottie, who says Landreaux should have kept his gun to hunt, offering to trade him pills for game. Landreaux refuses. “‘I don’t need that stuff.’ But he did, ever so bad” (30).

As Landreaux visits a gas station to get mozzarella sticks for the kids, he catches Romeo siphoning gas from Landreaux’s car but says nothing. Romeo reflects on their past, annoyed that Landreaux doesn’t share the prescription pills he has access to. They exchange brief conversation and Romeo leaves. Landreaux forgets the mozzarella sticks on the hood of his car, thinking, “Amazing that in his sleep Landreaux had rolled over and reached up to scratch his nose as Romeo struck” (32). The mozzarella sticks fall off as Landreaux drives away and Romeo takes them. Romeo goes back to the gas station and asks for his money back on the pilfered mozzarella sticks.

LaRose stops crying around Nola. Maggie argues that he knows nothing about death, threatening to kill the dog that used to live at the Iron’s house but has followed LaRose to the Raviches’ house. Maggie argues that Landreaux is a murderer and they cry. Maggie makes LaRose promise to do everything Nola asks in the hopes that Nola will become nice again. LaRose hugs Emmaline when he sees her in the grocery store, and Peter lets them hang out together. When LaRose gets back in the Raviches’ car, he pretends like nothing has happened. Emmaline seeks out Father Travis, who is building a walkway and not garbed in his usual cassock. They walk in the woods and discuss why Emmaline gave LaRose away even though she didn’t want to and now worries LaRose will think she doesn’t love him. Father Travis comforts her that LaRose will understand, but Emmaline worries LaRose is too young and will forget. Emmaline worries about Nola’s ill treatment of Maggie and it possibly extending to LaRose.

As Josette and Snow shop in Hoopdance, Josette informs the clerk that they have money and don’t need to steal, much to Snow’s chagrin. They look for Christmas presents, deciding on perfume for Emmaline. They have a hard time finding one they like even with the clerk’s help, until they smell Eau Savage, which they decide is perfect even though it’s expensive and unpopular. Outside the store, they both cry because “the cologne also smelled like LaRose’s clean hair on a cold autumn day when he came in and Emmaline would bend over him” (42). They talk about having magical powers, split a sandwich at Subway, and think about how their father doesn’t allow them soda because he worries about them getting diabetes. They think about how nice everyone at school has been and how no one talks about what happened to LaRose. They don’t want to get too emotional talking with their dad, so when Landreaux picks them up they keep the conversation light.

Peter prepares for Y2K, accruing credit card debt to stock up on supplies, but he believes his debt will be erased when the banking system crashes anyway. He communicates with other Y2K enthusiasts via radio to obtain more tips on stockpiling. Peter kicks himself for not obtaining chickens years ago, as they would have thrived on Nola’s stale cakes that no one eats, but she painstakingly makes daily. Nola wakes up and realizes they must procure a Christmas tree. She can’t look at Peter because his eyes remind her of Dusty, and when Peter tries to be intimate, she rebuffs him. Peter laments Dusty’s death as he takes LaRose and Maggie to get a tree, thinking about how much Maggie has changed. Landreaux sees the Raviches cutting trees and suggests to his family they do the same. The Irons argue about decorations, ultimately deciding on two different trees, one decorated by Snow and one by Josette. The girls wrap their gifts and start crying because of LaRose, causing Hollis and Coochy to escape their emotions elsewhere. Hollis thinks about how Romeo gave him to the Irons when he was about LaRose’s age. Josette yells at Emmaline and Snow slaps her; Josette slaps her back and Emmaline slaps both of them, surprising themselves. They talk about cutting off their hands and how they’ll have to make frybread together, crying. When the family regroups, they arrange their presents and gently mock Hollis for being a Grinch while wondering what to do with LaRose’s presents. When the kids ask, Emmaline reassures them that she made LaRose his moccasins, just as she does for all her family members each year.

Landreaux sits with his medicine man friend, Randall, in a sweat lodge, invoking spirits because Landreaux worries his family hates him for giving away LaRose. Randall discusses LaRose’s powers, which have been passed down through his matrilineal namesake. Randall argues that out of all the Irons, LaRose loved Dusty the most. Talking about Dusty makes Landreaux sob, but he reassures Randall he was sober when he shot Dusty and has continued to stay sober. Randall urges Landreaux to give Nola and Emmaline time to work out custody of LaRose. Landreaux feels terrible and tries to bring Coochy everywhere like he used to with LaRose, but Coochy feels used. Emmaline often makes LaRose’s favorite food and leaves it on Nola’s doorstep, but Nola throws it away. Nola hides Emmaline’s moccasin gift to LaRose—“Nola feared them, for their woodsmoke scent held the power of creation” (55)—and she refuses to answer the door when Emmaline visits. Emmaline vents about Nola to her daughters, arguing Nola’s mother murdered Josette and Snow’s cult leader grandfather.

In the next flashback, Wolfred has Mink’s daughter (the first LaRose) help him with chores, but everything she does displays her beauty. She sets snares, hoping to buy back her freedom from Mackinnon with pelts. Wolfred teaches her English and how to write, and she acknowledges that he wants to protect her from Mackinnon.

It’s Christmastime in the present day; Nola feels depressed, but pretends to be happy for the kids’ sake. Peter worries too much about Y2K and doesn’t notice. Nola half-hopes the world will end so her pain will end as well. She reads many books to LaRose until LaRose and Maggie fall asleep in sleeping bags in the living room. Nola and Peter drink champagne and reflect on how they are now strangers to each other. Nola admits she still loves him, and they go upstairs to make love, but it turns ugly and violent. Nola says she hates him when Peter tries to apologize but then falls asleep on his chest. Peter checks on the kids, lets the dog inside, and drinks whiskey as he waits for midnight.

Mink’s daughter wants to build her own fire because Mackinnon won’t let her near his. She thinks Wolfred is nice but oblivious to the fact that Mackinnon is raping her.

Back in the present day, the dog annoys Nola with its constant need for affection and its smell. Peter argues to keep the dog because the dog talks to Peter about Dusty. Peter runs into Landreaux at the gas station and asks Landreaux to come and visit (Nola and the kids are out). Landreaux notices the Iron family dog has migrated to the Raviches and that their house smells like nothing. Landreaux and Peter drink many beers and talk; the more Landreaux drinks the more he wants to talk about LaRose. They eventually get into a fight, smashing a table. Landreaux stops the fight and tells Peter to beat him. “‘I’d give my life to get Dusty back for you,’ Landreaux said” (68). Landreaux leaves, relieved Peter did not ask about legally adopting LaRose.

Mrs. Peace fights with the pain she attributes to her deceased husband, Billy, and the overwhelming pain medication. Her dead mother visits her and talks about the military boarding school with very strict rules, and how she was always cold because they took away her warm clothes. They read from newspaper clippings that argue for the extermination of native populations. Mrs. Peace retrieves more Fentanyl patches, discussing extermination, education, and loneliness, believing the boy LaRose has finally solved the family’s demons. Mrs. Peace reflects on how tuberculosis took the lives of the LaRoses before her, but she survived.

Nola elbows and then slaps Maggie at church. Having given up on sermons, Father Travis tells stories, like the Wolf of Gubbio, the moral of which advocates calm and peaceful speech so others might listen. Maggie believes “people only listened to the wolf because it ate them” (72). The Raviches’ dog runs off and when Landreaux brings it back, Peter asks him to stay and talk, to Landreaux’s dismay. Peter expresses his concern about what the arrangement is doing to LaRose, arguing that while it is good to prevent Nola from spiraling any more than she already has, LaRose is sad. Peter suggests sharing LaRose and Landreaux collapses on the table, making Peter briefly think about beheading him with his axe. Peter remembers he fell in love with Nola because of her elusive nature. He worries about telling her his decision. They have sex, and Nola asks if Peter will still love her if she goes crazy. She turns on him abruptly, calling him a Nazi, but then laughs. He promises to always love her but is overcome by intense loneliness. When Peter finally tells Nola days later, she is calm, having expected it. She is fine until she sees a mouse and then enters the garage to find a bunch of mice have eaten her stale cakes, except one yellow one in a Tupperware. She eats the rest of the cake and the candles as well, then passes out on the couch. Maggie and LaRose check to make sure she’s still breathing, then sneak ice cream, burying the evidence in the snow.

Romeo sees Father Travis in one of the local bars, trawling for new recruits to the Alcoholics Anonymous group he runs. Romeo drinks coffee and talks with Father Travis about the news, then steals some of the change that is payment for the coffee. Father Travis asks why Romeo does not go to mass, and Romeo half-lies about working. He talks about being a bottom feeder and how Emmaline is bewitched by Landreaux, who he implies was talking trash about Father Travis. Romeo leaves and buys lunch with the stolen coffee money. Because the local psychologist is overworked, most people go to Father Travis for counseling, like Nola. Nola insinuates that if she has to share custody with LaRose, she’ll harm herself. Father Travis tries not to engage in Nola’s faux flirtatious behavior as he does not trust her. “He couldn’t tell how much of what she said was bullshit” (85). Father Travis shifts the conversation towards Maggie, which upsets Nola because she does not like her daughter. Nola cries and Father Travis tries to comfort her. He confronts her about hitting Maggie, saying that if he sees or hears any more of this behavior he’ll go to social services. Nola moves so that Father Travis brushes her bosom, accusing him which causes Father Travis to laugh her out of his office, yelling to the janitor about what just happened.

Emmaline and Landreaux live in Emmaline’s family house, where Mrs. Peace used to live before she moved into the Elders Lodge. Landreaux worked on the house himself, adding onto it. Peter drops off LaRose who immediately runs to Emmaline. They peel potatoes and cook before the other kids come home, boisterously greeting LaRose. The girls cry and the boys reassure LaRose that his stuff is still where he left it.

Romeo has several jobs: an official one as maintenance and an unofficial one where he steals medications from the garbage and college students’ bags, but his most important job remains the collection of information. Romeo excels at being invisible and listens in on scraps of conversation at various places, which he uses to blackmail people. “Romeo occupied a condemned disability apartment in the condemned tribal housing complex […] built unfortunately over toxic landfill that leaked green gas” (91). Romeo uses garbage to learn what medication people take and the recent obituaries. He stops by a funeral to siphon gas, then goes to the deceased’s home to steal medication before returning to the funeral. He bums rides and eats funeral food before going back to his apartment to snort meds, staring at the pictures in his apartment: Mrs. Peace and Emmaline, himself and Landreaux, Hollis, and other people whose names he’s forgotten. He drifts off to drug-addled unconsciousness. 

Nola returns to Father Travis’ office, waiting to talk to him. She talks to a snake she thinks she sees on a bookshelf. Father Travis returns, surprising Nola, and Nola confesses that she believed the piece of rope on the bookshelf was a snake. They take a look, but nothing is there. Father Travis worries that Nola will hang herself, and Nola makes him promise not to say anything. Father Travis advises her not to blame either Maggie or herself for Dusty’s death. After she leaves, Father Travis worries that Peter will lose control if Nola kills herself. He almost makes a phone call, but convinces himself she won’t go through with it.

In another flashback, Wolfred makes moose stew and the girl’s father comes in to trade, trying to reclaim his daughter. Mackinnon refuses but gives him guns and rum for his furs. “About a week later, they heard he’d killed Mink. The girl put her head down and wept” (98). Wolfred is highly skilled at making bread, using his father’s yeast. Mackinnon drinks with Wolfred and they both look at the girl. Wolfred gives the girl some bread and sees her torn dress, realizing Mackinnon has been raping her. Wolfred stares at the repulsive Mackinnon, who he knows is dangerous, but Wolfred realizes he will kill Mackinnon for the girl. 

Josette and Snow trek through the woods to fetch LaRose. Josette mocks Snow for her hatred of wood ticks. They discuss Snow’s cheating boyfriend, who Josette threatens to beat up. Nola’s orderly house and yard makes them uncomfortable because “Nola had developed an unnerving force field” (102). Nola tries not to watch LaRose leave. She cuts the grass as she listens to the strange music Peter gave her for Christmas. She looks through her highly organized closet for the outfit she will wear when she’s dead.

Wild Things

The girls and LaRose stop by Dusty’s climbing tree as usual, which they never tell their parents about. LaRose has Josette read Where the Wild Things Are, which he believes to have been Dusty’s favorite book because Nola reads it to him all the time, much to his chagrin. LaRose confesses that Nola goes to the barn to scream and Maggie is obsessed with horror.

Emmaline decided to teach kids at the new on-reservation boarding school because she didn’t want her students to see her high at parties. Emmaline’s usual happiness returns now that she has LaRose once again. At home, Josette checks Snow for ticks while LaRose wrestles with his brothers. When Emmaline comes home, LaRose runs out to greet her. LaRose thinks about the things he shouldn’t tell other people, like Nola’s screaming, but how sometimes he doesn’t know until it’s too late. LaRose and Emmaline visit the Elders Lodge, and the elders eat frybread and chokeberry jelly and talk about how skinny LaRose is. The elder women joke about the sexual prowess of one of the elder men, Sam, who teaches LaRose about Ojibwe spirituality and language.

Father Travis exercises outside on the fitness trail he’s created, furious when he finds a bunch of used condoms on the rubber sit-up mats. He reflects on how he would like to stay and about the time he has spent perfecting his high kick, stretching the scar tissue on his groin. He thinks about how he was saved during the bombing when a skinny comrade pulled a huge beam off him, the only person he’s kept in contact with. “He didn’t go to Camp Lejeune or the memorial reunions. He feared the black energy and how he could not control his breathing once the shift occurred” (111).

Nola moves the green chair from the kitchen into the barn so she can hang herself, ready with an excuse if anyone asks, but no one does. She practices squeezing her own neck, which she does not like and thinks about killing Landreaux instead of herself. She realizes that she cannot cause LaRose pain because she loves him.

Romeo does not particularly like women, but tries to placate the elder women with gifts from reservation conferences. He feels depressed at the state of the Republican party without McCain, finding Bush too much like himself. Romeo visits the elder women laden with gifts, especially for Mrs. Peace, who neither trusts him nor accepts his gifts. He takes his foster mother, Star, a fleece throw, thinking about her pain medications. The women mock him for his fly being down and make jokes about his penis. Romeo excuses himself to go to the bathroom, stealing some of his foster mother’s medication. The women laugh as he leaves. Later that night, Romeo ingests some of the pilfered pills, only to find that the ladies have switched out the pain meds with psychotropic laxative erection pills. He spends an uncomfortable night and next day thinking about his future.

In the next flashback, Wolfred worries about how he and the girl will get away from Mackinnon, deciding he must kill Mackinnon via poison. He communicates this via hand gestures to the girl, who finds mushrooms in the forest and puts them in a stew. The poison doesn’t take effect until the middle of the night, when Wolfred finds Mackinnon’s head has “turned purple and swollen to a grotesque size” (119). Mackinnon terrifies Wolfred by throwing himself against walls, although the girl remains calm. Wolfred and the girl take weapons and other provisions but leave Mackinnon’s money and gold. As they leave, Mackinnon calls out to them.

Nola and the dog meet Maggie and LaRose after school to walk them home in the rain. Nola towels off the dog, who has now learned the rules of her house. The dog curls up with the family on the couch as LaRose comforts Maggie who fears the rain. They eat sandwiches on the couch and Nola smiles, which confuses LaRose. At school, a kid named Dougie Veddar bullies LaRose; one day, Dougie shoves LaRose’s sharpened pencil into LaRose’s arm and the tip breaks off, leaving a permanent mark which he later shows to Maggie. The next day at recess, Maggie offers Dougie a candy bar, then kicks him between the legs so hard he chokes on it, telling him never to bother LaRose again, which LaRose watches from behind a tree. The teachers have to perform the Heimlich to save Dougie. Maggie and LaRose sleep in the same bed sometimes, even though Nola tells them not to. Inspecting LaRose’s new “tattoo,” Maggie decides she wants a matching one; LaRose doesn’t want to stab her with the pencil, so she does it herself. “That hurt more than I thought it would, she said […] Now I’m glad Veddar almost died” (125). Maggie’s predilection toward the macabre worries Peter, especially considering the dog sometimes avoids her, but Nola finds this normal, as she routinely imagines what outfit she will wear in her casket. Nola feels guilty, however, when she thinks of the world continuing without her.

In the next flashback, Wolfred and the girl move south at first peacefully, but then realize the dead Mackinnon has followed them along with one of the trading post dogs, who the girl cares for. They run to escape Mackinnon, but can always hear his breathing behind them. The girl sets traps for food and Mackinnon, catches him, and lights him on fire. She, Wolfred, and their dog continue south.

Maggie’s teacher has enough of her insolence and makes her stand in the corner. The other children laugh until Maggie silences them with a look. Maggie pretends to need to use the bathroom but when her teacher refuses to let her go, Maggie pours apple juice in a cup and pretends it’s urine. She asks to empty it, rendering her teacher speechless, and then drinks the fake urine in front of her classmates. They erupt, and the teacher loses control of the class.

Peter misses having a friend, so he takes Maggie to the Irons’ house when Nola is at mass. Peter is surprised to see LaRose wrestling with his brothers because he does not do that with the Raviches. Peter has coffee with Landreaux, and Maggie gets her nails painted by Snow. Maggie explains that she and LaRose have the same tattoo now, and how she’s been looking out for LaRose at school. Maggie wishes they were all a family and suggests Josette and Snow get matching pencil tattoos, too, which the girls resist.

Flashing back once more, the girl refuses to tell Wolfred her name, despite understanding what he is asking. Mackinnon’s head follows them on their trek.

Mrs. Peace tells the nurse that she is in a lot of pain but has misplaced her patches. The nurse gives her more and a shot, telling her to guard the patches. Mrs. Peace’s dead mother visits her and Mrs. Peace explains that she wrote her name everywhere, often carving it so it couldn’t be erased, especially in the boarding schools.

Dougie’s older brother is part of a crew called the Fearsome Four, and they decide to exact revenge on Maggie. They lure her into the house they hang out at afterschool and sexually assault her, covering her mouth so she can’t scream. She bites one, knees another in the crotch, jabs another’s eyes, and hits the last one with a guitar. They cry and whine, then ask her to join their crew, threatening to tell if she doesn’t. Maggie says that Landreaux will kill them if they tell because he is her stepfather now. Maggie runs outside and hops into Nola’s car, who apologizes for being late but Maggie starts screaming at her. At home, she goes to her room, yelling at LaRose to leave her alone. “Her head felt funny, like what those boys did sucked her brains out. Their touching hands were gross and left germs of stupidness. She wanted to wash and wash” (136-37). LaRose calms her and they steal ice cream, then Maggie pours beer into the dog’s water bowl, making the dog sick. LaRose tends to the drunk dog. At dinner, Maggie reflects on LaRose’s Franciscan abilities with animals but is interrupted by her annoyance with her mother’s teeth scraping the fork and her chewing. Maggie blames her mother for what happened to her and eats green beans with her fingers, which irritates her mother, who shows her how to eat properly. Maggie mouths that she is disgusting, then goes upstairs. Nola starts crying. Peter tries to comfort her, but LaRose tells her someone said she is beautiful. Maggie sneaks into LaRose’s bed, asking him if he would hurt the boys who hurt her. LaRose assures her that he would kill for love and comforts her as she falls asleep.

Romeo can smell that it will snow and feels stuck when he walks outside, as in a snow globe. Landreaux drives past, refocusing Romeo’s thoughts on revenge. Romeo’s new job as substitute maintenance at the hospital excites him because of access to pills and information regarding Dusty’s death, so he applies to work there full-time. “He thought maybe he could become important again” (142).

In the next flashback, the girl, Wolfred, and dog continue their trek, attempting to placate the head with food but to no avail. They run out of food and make a hut; Wolfred becomes dizzy from action. The girl cares for him and at night fights off the head, returning with a drum she says flew to her from her mother. Wolfred believes he is going to die, but these feelings abate as the girl drums. She fights the head again and sings to Wolfred; they step out of their bodies and fly to seek the nearest village. Two days later, they travel to the town of their dreams, and a missionary family gives them food. Wolfred asks the girl to marry him and to tell him her name; the girl agrees to marry him, but does not reveal her name. The girl goes to a boarding school where she is forced to assimilate, so she leaves pieces of herself in the tops of trees for later retrieval. The girl wears clothes that are uncomfortable, eats rotten food, and learns a strange language. Other children die of disease but she knows she will live and is comforted by the lack of violence and the impossibility of Mackinnon’s head following her. People believe that Mackinnon got sick and was torn apart by dogs; Wolfred refrains from asking about his head and takes Mackinnon’s old job, although at night he smells and hears Mackinnon. Wolfred refuses to take a wife, wanting only LaRose. “He was turning into an Indian while she was turning into a white woman” (147).

The anniversary of Dusty’s death arrives, and the Irons hold a pipe ceremony, where the kids talk about LaRose’s healing abilities and how they miss him. Landreaux can’t get out of bed because of a fever, even when the kids check on him. Emmaline leaves him to go to work, making Landreaux promise he’ll take LaRose to school.

Infinite Ride

Landreaux believes that “the deer was no ordinary creature, but a bridge to another world” (149) that knew what would happen to Dusty. Landreaux sometimes thinks about telling people he was high or drunk, but he had been sober for weeks. Landreaux decides he has to tell someone and settles on LaRose, explaining how he was clumsy that day. LaRose explains that the dog was there and knows, and that Dusty told him that it was an accident. Landreaux believes LaRose is too good to be his son, remembering how he was sent away to boarding school at LaRose’s age. Landreaux remembers finding the name LaRose scrawled on the bus and taking comfort in it.