'I wonder why I ever bothered with sex, he thought; there's nothing in this breathing world so gratifying as an artfully placed semicolon'

The Beet Queen Paperback

The Beet Queen

Louise Erdrich

On a cold spring morning in 1932, two children, Karl and Mary Adare, leap from a boxcar. Orphaned in a most peculiar way, Karl and Mary have come to Argus, in the heart of rural North Dakota, to seek refuge with their aunt Fritzie. So begins an exhilarating tale, spanning some forty years and brimming with unforgettable characters: ordinary Mary, who causes a miracle; seductive, restless Karl, who lacks his sister’s gift for survival; Celestine James, Mary’s life-long friend; and Celestine’s fearless, wild daughter Dot – the Beet Queen.

Reviews of The Beet Queen

  • ‘A perfect – and perfectly wonderful – novel.’ Ann

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