In "The Round House," a 14 year old boy living on an Indian Reservation seeks the perpetrator who violently assaulted his mother.

I have mixed feelings for Round House. I enjoyed the character studies in the novel, especially the friendship between Joe and his three buddies. I often laughed out loud at their conversations which revolved around sex, cigarettes, and booze. One particularily funny scene had the boys' ancient great grandmother regaling them with her past escapades, which they sat through in order to be fed. Hilarious.

The main story arc regarding the rape of Joe's mother and the grey areas of Tribal Law I found rather contrived. Joe's mother withdraws into her own world after the rape and can't tell the authorities if she was raped on tribal, federal, or private land. The perpetrator, who the victim KNOWS (but will not divulge at first)choose a piece of land specifically for this reason. Ok, you have me so far, but then the author takes you on a convoluted path as to why Joe's mother was the victim. The path includes a barely explained relationship between a young native american girl and the governor of the state, their bastard child, and a odd twin brother/sister, adopbted sibling relationship. Throw in some Native American spiritulaism complete with undefined Native American vocabulary words and legends spanning pages, and I really started to lose interest. Plus, the ultimate conclusion was hurried and disappointing.

I also found out this book is part of a larger series involving this same community; perhaps I would have a deeper understanding had a read the prior tales.

Recommended only for those who really enjoye legal mysteries and Native AMerican culture.