

A novel by The Night WatchmanA novel by Louise Erdrich

There was the scent of pressed cloth above the meat in the pan. The glass kerosene lantern glowed on the table. Thomas went into the next room and kissed Rose on her neck. She smelled like the ironing, like the clean wash.

Thomas Wazhashk (a character based on the author’s grandfather) and his niece Patrice both work at the jewel-bearing plant near North Dakota’s Turtle Mountain Reservation, but they also have other duties — to their tribe and to their family. When the United States Congress introduces a new bill, 1953’s House Concurrent Resolution 108, that threatens their already strained way of life, Thomas makes plans to go to Washington, D.C. Patrice, meanwhile, heads for Minneapolis, where her sister was last seen before vanishing. Published by Harper on March 3.

About the artist: Marcus Jahmal, who is self-taught and lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., paints landscapes and domestic scenes based on his memories, which can give his work a dreamlike quality. He’s also known for using a vibrant palette and looking to art history — the piece he made for this story that was inspired by “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” references Philip Guston’s 1977 work “Sleeping.” Jahmal is represented by Almine Rech in New York, which held a show of his paintings last fall. “Disposition,” a collection of his drawings curated by Dexter Wimberly, is on view at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn through May 2 (but note that the space is currently closed as a precaution against coronavirus), and the artist will also have a solo show at the Los Angeles gallery Various Small Fires, set to open on May 23.