Point of View

The point of view Varies with the speakers. Sometimes they speak in the first person; at other times, they speak in third person. While there are actually fourteen stories in Love Medicine, seven members of five families-the Kashpaws, Lazarres, Lamartines, Nanapushes, and Morrisseys-tell their views of many of the same incidents. For example, both Nector and Marie tell about their encounter on the hill below the convent. Many critics view this technique as a strength, because the reader gets to hear both sides of a story. Other critics think that the use of so many voices makes the novel too confusing; readers must reread to find relationships among the characters and the stories they tell.

Structure

Above all else, critics discuss the manner in which Erdrich presents her story through the separate voices of seven characters. Some say that Erdrich's use of this technique provides a...