The Master Butchers Singing Club-Chapter 4-SPOILERS [View all]

This thread is set up for discussion of the book by Louise Erdrich, and will be posted chapter by chapter (as I finish them or if you want to participate, you can post an OP for the next chapter). This way, we can see how our opinions of the book and characters change or not over time. If you are joining the discussion, stop after each chapter and post before going on so you don't have more information than anyone else reading this.


Chapter 4

Wow. Just wow. We are looking at a truly dysfunctional family life for Delphine. To have called her father "the town drunk" was more than an understatement. When I read books like this, I have a sadness for the people I have known who came from homes where the parents were not taking care of the kids properly. I cannot imagine living like this, and I am exceedingly impressed that Delphine is a functional adult. She is tough as nails. She is a survivor.

And if Delphine's home life was a shock, I have to admit that I had Cyprian's character all wrong too. He is not as useless as he seemed prior to this. He was willing to do what needed to be done to help Delphine clean up the house, although this was possibly the most disgusting thing he had ever seen. The condition of Delphine's father, Roy's house was so bad, it was impossible for me to imagine.....everything just thrown all over the floor, never picked up. Food, clothes, piss, vomit, bugs, rats----all over the house. Delphine was right to be angry, knowing that this was intentional to show her that he couldn't make it without her. And the false tears of her father at her return was enough to make me sick.

And I am not the only one who learns that there is so much more to these characters---they learn it about each other too. Cyprian sees her break down, something that he didn't realize she was capable of doing---she has always been a rock. And Delphine had always seen Cyprian as someone who couldn't do "jack shit", but he was up to the task of helping clear the house out. And he did it with good spirits. I believe that they fell in love with each other at a higher level than the physical love we often find ourselves in.

And the plot thickens. Along with the stench in the house. When the stench seemed worse the next day, they decided that maybe it was coming from the cellar. And it was---in spades. There were three dead bodies in the cellar. And how they got there is even more bizarre. Well, we really don't know how they got there, except that when he father is confronted with this, he remembers a wake after which a man, a woman, and their son disappeared. What in the hell happened?

Cyprian was the level-headed one, knowing that they had to go to the sheriff when Delphine wanted to burn the house down. They go to the sheriff and tell the story the best they can from what Roy told them. They can't stay in the house now, and pitch their tent on the property. Delphine heads into town to get some food and goes into Waldvogel's Meats....and meets Eva for the first time.