NEW YORK — Louise Erdrich’s “LaRose” has won the National Book Critics Circle prize for fiction, an honor she first received more than 30 years ago for her debut novel “Love Medicine.”

Erdrich’s story of a young boy’s accidental shooting and its many consequences for two Native American families was praised by the critics circle as an “arresting” narrative with historical sweep. “LaRose” wasn’t a book about contemporary politics, but the author, like other speakers Thursday night, said she regarded the creative process as an essential act of resistance during a time of “fake news” and attacks against the press.

The nonfiction prize went to Matthew Desmond’s “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” one of many recent books about the class divide that have received increased attention since the political rise of Donald Trump.

Other winners announced Thursday night were Hope Jahren’s “Lab Girl” for autobiography, Ruth Franklin’s “Shirley Jackson” for biography, Ishion Hutchinson’s “House of Lords and Commons” for poetry and Carol Anderson’s “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide” for criticism. The critics also gave a prize for best debut book to Yaa Gyasi, for her novel “Homegoing.”