The World's Greatest Fisherman and Crossing the Water

"The World's Greatest Fisherman" is a short story about the death of a young woman who had two sons. One son was illegitimate and was raised by his grandmother Lipshaw Morrissey. Lipshaw did not know who his mother and father was through most of his young life. While his brother "King" knew both his mother and father. The two stories "The World's Greatest Fisherman" and "Crossing the Water" come full circle as they complete Lipshaw's curiosity about who he is. Lipshaw's grandmother knew that he was an incomplete person.

June was raised by her Uncle Eli as no one would take her in. June did not have any living parents and eventually married her cousin Gordie was the only home that she had known even though she divorced him. "After she had grown up and looked around for a while, June decided on my uncle, Gordie Kashpaw, and married him even though they had to run away to do it." (8)

In "The World's Greatest Fisherman" Albertine, Lipshaw's cousin, wanted to tell Lipshaw that she knew who his mother was, but couldn't tell him. "I was going to tell him that his mother was June. Since so many others knew, it was the only right that he should, too." (39) Albertine could not tell him because of his unforgiving remarks about his mother "I can never forgive what she done to a little child," he said." (39)

In "Crossing the Waters" Lipshaw's grandmother tells him where her money is kept and Lipshaw sneaks into her apartment and steals her money one night, just as his grandmother would have wanted him to. "I stole into Grandma Kashpaw's apartment and sneaked the hankie full of money from her drawer." (304) Lipshaw knew that his grandmother wanted him to take the money. "Maybe I was misconstructing, but the more I thought about the way she looked at me when she said that, the more I felt like Grandma was offering me something. Bus fare, maybe, the chance to get away from here in my confusion. (304) So, Lipshaw stole the money and ran away.

A woman by the name of Lulu Lamartine told Lipshaw who he was and that his mother was June and his father was still alive in a penitentiary by the name of Gerry Nanapush.

The first story told the story of June and the last story was about her one of her sons Lipshaw. These two stories are interconnected and tell the story of a confused young man without any known parents and by the end he is complete and knows both of his parents. "I tell you, there was good to what she did for me, I know now. The son that she she acknowledged suffered more than Lipsha Morrissey did. The thought of June grabbed my hear so, but I was lucky she turned me over to Grandma Kashpaw." (333)

Erdrich, Louis. "Love Medicine"
Harper Collins Publishers, New York, New York, 2005