Reviews with content warning for Murder - Future Home of the Living God

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

18 reviews

atreegrowsinbooks's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

What a strange dystopian thriller by Erdrich. Very different than the other books I’ve read by her.

There were so many twists that I didn’t see coming and I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t able to guess everything that was happening. The character work and storytelling is so successful, and it’s clear that Erdrich can truly write anything.

While I really enjoyed the writing, the content of this story was unsettling. Especially when women’s rights have been further taken away. In some aspects, the story isn’t that far off from what could happen.

I haven’t read A Handmaid’s Tale, but I’ve seen the show and this book is definitely similar to that. This is an indigenous version that I’d recommend to anyone looking for a dystopian thriller with links to the real world as we know it.

Fun fact, I picked this book up because the first page starts on my birthday

Content Warnings

kutreen's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective slow-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

5.0

What a heartbreakingly beautiful book. My favorite in a long time. This book contained meditations on, and prompted some deep reflections of, the origin and future of life, humanity, family, religion, community, and reproductive rights. I loved the narrator and the premise that she (minor spoiler)

is writing to her future child.

I so appreciated getting to spend some time in her and Erdirch's mind. I appreciate learning a bit more about indigenous communities in the US through her novels as well.

Content Warnings

theemeraldgirl23's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-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

4.0

A great story about identity and what it means to find your place in an uncertain world. Cedar is a fantastic character and following her journey was very engaging. I typically don't gravitate towards stories like these, but it was a nice read overall.

Content Warnings

sparklefarm's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

WHOOF. Not sure what convinced me, a melancholic woman living in Texas in these times, to read an all-too-believable near-future dystopian novel dealing with reproductive justice, other than the fact that it's written by Louise Erdrich. Ultimately, she once again did. not. miss. with this book. I could have picked a better time to read it though. 😆 That being said, I don't know that I've ever read a book this dystopian and this full of wonder, possibility, and hope. In our current landscape as in a chaotic, terrifying, possible future, we can hold both.

Ending -

I appreciated that we did not end in a happy smiley way (it seemed at some points that it could!) as that would feel disingenuous to the story. And yet to leave Cedar at her most vulnerable, most alone, and least likely to escape, was the most gut-wrenching way to end.

Content Warnings