The Mighty Red Summary
Louise Erdrich

The Mighty Red Overview

In Louise Erdrich's The Mighty Red, Kismet decides to marry her high school classmate Gary despite her concurrent relationship with her lover Hugo. Desperate to help her mother Crystal maintain her reputation in town and to claim autonomy over her future, Kismet stays with Gary even after her feelings for him fade. Over time, however, Gary's secrets threaten to undo his marriage and to destroy the town. Set in 2008 in North Dakota and told from the third-person point of view, the novel explores themes including love, entrapment, and the past.