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abby_bookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
“Future Home of the Living God” by Louise Erdrich 3.25/5
This book kept me up until 2am last night reading it. “Future Home of the Living God” is one of those books that I couldn’t put down, but also didn’t love all that much (which is contradictory, I know!). The plot was so gripping, and I really enjoyed the choice to frame the novel as a series of letters. I also thought the reflection on motherhood was really touching and meaningful, and I loved the different members of the protagonist’s family.
However, I felt very detached from the world around me. To be fair, the protagonist herself is detached from this world, which in the span of a few months becomes dystopian and changed. But I didn’t have a good grasp of what was *happening* in this world. Supposedly humans are evolving “backwards” into Neanderthals (?), and because of that the government has taken over and started kidnapping pregnant women in a “Handmaid’s Tale” style. But readers don’t get to see or hear much of that at all, because the protagonist is as in the dark as we are. While I think this could have worked for some, it didn’t work for me. I think I would have preferred there to be multiple POVs in this novel, so that I could get external information from other characters. It might have been interesting to have the POV of the three mothers in this novel (Cedar [the protagonist], Sera [her adopted mother], and Sweetie [her birth mother]).
This book kept me up until 2am last night reading it. “Future Home of the Living God” is one of those books that I couldn’t put down, but also didn’t love all that much (which is contradictory, I know!). The plot was so gripping, and I really enjoyed the choice to frame the novel as a series of letters. I also thought the reflection on motherhood was really touching and meaningful, and I loved the different members of the protagonist’s family.
However, I felt very detached from the world around me. To be fair, the protagonist herself is detached from this world, which in the span of a few months becomes dystopian and changed. But I didn’t have a good grasp of what was *happening* in this world. Supposedly humans are evolving “backwards” into Neanderthals (?), and because of that the government has taken over and started kidnapping pregnant women in a “Handmaid’s Tale” style. But readers don’t get to see or hear much of that at all, because the protagonist is as in the dark as we are. While I think this could have worked for some, it didn’t work for me. I think I would have preferred there to be multiple POVs in this novel, so that I could get external information from other characters. It might have been interesting to have the POV of the three mothers in this novel (Cedar [the protagonist], Sera [her adopted mother], and Sweetie [her birth mother]).
conradc4's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
bethanyhyde's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
mercyonmayo's review against another edition
3.0
really great concept with an underwhelming execution
spongefoot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Felt like i was on psychodelics
laurantor's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
hiraethhypernova's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
neens_m's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Child death
Moderate: Death
sschmalz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
frenchfrybri's review against another edition
5.0
i want to say that i hated the ending but i think that it needed to finish like that. i liked the questions it raised about family and the apocalypse was interesting to explore but i liked that it took a backseat to the personal experience of it