In the middle of US author Louise Erdrich’s latest novel, set in the farming communities of Tabor, North Dakota, star-crossed teens Hugo Dumach and the fantastically named Kismet Poe are forced to part. The hilariously quixotic Hugo takes comfort in a quilt, a keepsake his beloved has left him:
“It [was] sewed out of her T-shirts [and] held a history of her […] The first T-shirts she wore were stamped with unicorns, dolphins, white-maned ponies, and ballet dancers. Next came the Powerpuff Girls and Sailor Moon. Harry Potter. Her favourite cereals. The Lucky Charms leprechaun. Tony the Tiger. The Lord of the Rings. Rihanna. Pink. Katy Perry. Destiny’s Child. Beyoncé. There was an NDSU bison. A Golden Gopher, a Husky. Her college picks.”
