The Mighty Red

The Mighty Red (2024) is a novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Louise Erdrich. Erdrich is a prolific writer who explores the lives of both Indigenous and white communities in and around North Dakota and Minnesota. Many of Erdrich’s novels feature networks of interconnected people and families, delving deeply into the history and culture of the Anishinaabe, to whom Erdrich belongs, and the Dakota peoples in the upper Midwest US. The Mighty Red is set in the Red River Valley, the agriculturally rich region where Erdrich grew up. Although focused on the micro-world of one small town and its inhabitants, it also provides a window into how major historical events and cultural practices impact ordinary people. The novel explores the 2008 financial crash and the gradual industrialization of area agriculture, painting a complex portrait of a shifting community. The text also explores the nature of love and human relationships, but its primary thematic focus is the impact of environmental destruction and country-wide financial practices on the lives of working Americans.

This guide refers to the 2024 hardcover edition by Harper.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of domestic violence, substance use disorder, and self-harm. In addition, the source material uses sexist slurs replicated in this guide only in direct quotes.

Plot Summary

The Mighty Red is set in a small, rural town in the Red River Valley. The area, a key agricultural center in its region, has long been home to both Indigenous and white settlements. Before colonization and during the early days of settlement, the Red River Valley hosted a wide variety of local crops. Eventually, sugar beets took over, and that monoculture now harms the environment. Small family farms became large conglomerates, pesticide use increased exponentially, and most of the region’s resources fell to the hands of select families. Protagonist Crystal Frechette’s biracial family has called the area home for centuries. The Geist family owns most of the land, and its large farm is the area’s greatest polluter.

As the novel begins, Crystal is on her way to work at the local beet-processing plant, distracted by worries about her daughter Kismet. Kismet’s involvement with Gary Geist, the quarterback of her high school’s football team and heir to the large Geist farm, worries Crystal. She does not feel that Gary is good enough for Kismet. Kismet is a bright, albeit socially disconnected student in the process of applying to nearby colleges. Crystal worries that she will choose Gary over higher education. Crystal’s relationship with Kismet’s father, Martin, is increasingly strained and on the verge of collapse.

Gary proposes to Kismet, and after a series of noncommittal responses, she accepts. Kismet is in a secret relationship with a classmate, Hugo. She accepts Gary partly because of his persistence. Kismet is also motivated by a local scandal: Her father has absconded with a considerable amount of money from the local Catholic church. Kismet hopes that a large, lavish ceremony will distract the town from the discussion of her mother and father.

The wedding provides a distraction, but rumors in the small town still swirl. One rumor claims that Gary was involved in a tragedy the previous spring: He and his fellow football players were gathered at his house for a party, and after consuming marijuana and alcohol, Gary led them all on a high-speed snowmobile ride through his family’s land. Two of the boys died, and another was gravely injured. Gary feels a deep sense of private guilt over the death of his friends, but he has not discussed the tragedy publicly. His attraction to Kismet is rooted in the sense of calm that he feels while with her, but Kismet does not know the story of the accident or truly understand who she is marrying.

The wedding is stressful for Kismet, her mother, Gary, and his friends. Kismet regrets her decision even at the altar; she grows unhappier after the wedding. She has solely domestic duties in Gary’s family and struggles to adjust to life away from her mother. She continues her secret affair with Hugo, finding solace in him. Hugo, who pays close attention to national news, guesses that Martin did not steal the money but that he lost it in the financial crash and didn’t have the heart to tell anyone. A mysterious local bank robber amassing a large amount of money is actually Martin, who wants to pay back the money.

Crystal, meanwhile, faces the impact of Martin’s disappearance and is distracted by a legal battle to nullify a fraudulent mortgage Martin took out on her home. She knows that Kismet is unhappy but initially remains mired in her own problems. Ultimately, Kismet learns the truth about Gary’s role in his friends’ deaths from another football player, and with her mother’s assistance, she leaves Gary and returns home.

Gary is bereft, but after finally speaking out about the accident, he vows to take responsibility for his actions. He admits that he is uncomfortable with his father’s farming practices and hopes to gradually transition to organics and diversify their crop output. He wants to reverse the environmental damage caused by the sugar beet industry and restore local flora and fauna.

Martin returns, reveals himself to Crystal as the bank robber, and pays back the money that he owes. He and Crystal reconcile, and Crystal realizes how complex love and human relationships are. Kismet finalizes her divorce from Gary, attends college, and spends her career working to preserve the local environment. She and Hugo never marry but remain in a relationship and eventually have a child together.