Love Medicine Study Guide

Love Medicine begins on the morning before Easter Sunday as June Kashpaw, a middle-aged Chippewa woman, wanders the streets of Williston, North Dakota. The town is considered prosperous by North Dakota standards, and it is bustling with men ready to drink a fat wallet of cash away in one of the many bars. One of these men, a mud engineer named Andy, notices June walk by and taps on the window. June's body is still as lithe as a young girl's, though her face is worn with age. June walks into the bar as Andy is peeling a bright blue hard-boiled egg. She is mesmerized by the color, but it is her starvation that draws her toward him. Andy is amused and offers her the egg plus several more. She eats all of them as the bartender looks on. The first bar quickly leads to the next, after Andy pays for their beers with a thick wad of bills. (read more)