The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman is a novel by Louise Erdrich first published on March 3, 2020, by HarperCollins. The novel is set in the 1950s. This is Erdrich's sixth standalone novel following Future Home of the Living God. The novel was inspired by the life of Erdrich's grandfather who motivated and inspired other members of the Turtle Mountain Reservation to resist the Indian termination policies of the 1940s-1960s. The Night Watchman is the first novel that Erdrich has written that is set on the Turtle Mountain Reservation. In 2021, the novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Writing and composition In the letters written by her grandfather detailing his resistance against termination bills meant to assimilate Ojibwe people into broader American society through a variety of means, including the end of federal recognition of the sovereignty of indigenous tribes. Erdrich has referred to the letters as "[...] beautiful, full of humor and storytelling." She based The Night Watchman on his loving personality and commitment to his tribe. This historical fiction provides detailed descriptions of surroundings and relationships between characters. Alongside the political storyline, readers follow a variety of other characters through daily life on the reservation, family tragedy, boxing matches, and romance. It is written in third person and follows a number of characters, and in some instances, animals. The story switches narrators between other characters in the book to give a different perspective.