Love medicine

The novel has different sections. The first one is The World's Greatest Fisherman. The book starts with June Kashpaw walking down the main street of Williston, North Dakota, sparing time until she can board the bus home to the reservation. Instead of boarding that bus she meets a man in a bar. They had several drinks, drive out of town, and have sex in the front seat of his car. When he falls asleep on top of her, she squeezes out and begins to walk home, but a snow storm surprises her. June dies before she reaches the reservation. The memories of family members fill in June's background. She was reaised by her uncle, Eli. Then she married her cousin, Gordie, and had a son, King. The marriage had was not happy so June ran off. Then King, her son, has used the insurance money from her death to buy a new car. June also had an illegitimate son, Lipsha, who was raised by Marie Kashpaw, but Lipsha does not know that June was his mother. The next section is Saint Marie. At fourteen years old Marie decides to become a nun. In an effort to fight off the devil and tame Marie's proud spirit, Sister Leopolda pours scalding hot water on the girl's back and pierces her hand with a fork. Marie passes out from the pain and wakes to find the nuns all kneeling before her, awaiting her blessing, as Leopolda has told them that it is a holy wound which magically appeared on the girl's hand. The third section is called Wild Geese. Nector Kashpaw is thinking about Lulu while walking to town to sell some geese. He sees Marie Lazarre running down the hill from the convent with a pillowcase. Thinking that she has stolen it, he tries to stop her. He wrestles her to the ground and then cannot stop himself from touching her under her skirt. Only when he pulls back, shocked at what he has done, does he realize that the pillowcase is bandaging a wound on her hand. They sit holding hands as the sun goes down. The fourth section is called The Island. When Nector turns to Marie, Lulu begins to think of Moses Pillager, a strange man who lives as a hermit on an island. She goes to his home, and they fall in love. When they are expecting their child, she realizes that she cannot stay there forever but that Moses will never be able to leave. The next section is The Beads. Marie takes in her niece, June Kashpaw, even though she has too many mouths to feed already. Though Marie loves June, June decides to go live with her Uncle Eli. Nector leaves Marie, and she must struggle to support the children herself.