Reviews

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

ttodd86's review against another edition

2.0

An intriguing premise but a disappointing book. Cedar Songmaker's pregnancy during a time when evolution has begun to run in what is apparently reverse, sounded so intriguing and interesting -- especially given current events in the real world -- but the delivery missed the mark. The book is Songmaker's letter to the child she is carrying and, as would be expected, the book focuses on the challenges she endures while trying to protect herself and the unborn baby. The problem is, unfolding events have left the protagonist so isolated that you really never know what is going on in the outside world. On one level, I understand that as a comparison to any pregnancy where the focus naturally turns internal and fears of the unknown mount, but the problem is that throughout this book I felt like there were about a million more interesting stories happening in the rest of the world created by this novel that I wanted to read. As Songmaker keeps asking questions, and receives only confusing answers, it begins to feel more like laziness on the part of the author -- the story of anyone Songmaker interacts with would be far more interesting than her perspective. Very disappointing. It avoids being a one-star book because the early part of the book, just as events begin to unfold, was enjoyable.

nancydrewblood's review against another edition

4.0

Good quick read. Left me wanting more though, is there a series coming?

kdahlo's review against another edition

4.0

I ended up liking this book a lot, although I found the start a bit slow and a bit incongruous with how the book turns out. I found the narrator quite interesting, and I enjoyed particularly her fights with her parents which I thought were very nicely observed, the way that habits of attack and defense can emerge suddenly and against the will of the participants. The book picks up a lot in the second and third sections, the book takes a while to build up speed and get going. I definitely want to read more books from this author because I thought the narrator's voice was great, and I would love to see how much of that character was invented, vs. it being a voice that comes through across the works of this author.

I heard of this book from Code Switch, where it was described as a 'pandemic read' because it deals with themes of isolation and apocalypse. Definitely true, and there are some nice parallels between this book and reality that made me giggle. I still found it sufficiently escapist that it wasn't a slog to read.

laurenboys's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kaitlynlw_04's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

hilaryannbrown's review against another edition

3.0

Hovering between a 3 and 4 on this one. It gave me a lot to think about and I even got teary at the last line. I thought this book would be about the experience of indigenous adoptees who were raised away from their people. It ended up being more about climate change, eugenics, and forced pregnancy. This book takes way too much from The Handmaid's Tale without acknowledging that as its source. If the premise of this book had been that it's a retelling of The Handmaid's Tale that centers indigenous women...I would've bought in to the story more.

birdybutt24's review against another edition

5.0

i cried reading this. beautiful depiction of the resilience of people, i especially loved the structure of the book and the way information about events slowly emerged from the characters limited understanding. definitely something to look back on and draw from in writing dystopian literature

kaleyamo's review against another edition

3.0

It's not a requirement for me that a book has loose ends tied up nicely in a bow in order for me to classify that book as "good."

That's definitely the case here. This book is good. But I'm struggling with the book overall because I don't understand the motivations behind certain actions. I'm looking for the long-term goal of certain characters, and I can't figure it out. The author doesn't clue us in.

It's definitely an intentional choice. It's one I can respect the author for. But it's still one that I, personally, struggle with as a reader.

I can't see the end goal here. And it drives me crazy.

Also — it's less than 300 pages, but it felt like it took me an exceptionally long time to read. I wouldn't exactly say it was slow. It's more that there was so much happening that I would feel that I'd read 20 pages only to look at the page number and realize it'd only been four.

This is a good, well-written book. It's just not among my favorites because of my own personal preferences.

kat42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read this for an English class in college, and I think that helped me appreciate it more. Although the dystopian/weird evolution stuff is an important backdrop, this leans much more towards literary fiction in my opinion. So don't go into it expecting really heavy scifi. If that's what you're looking for, I think you'll be disappointed, but it's a solid book.

keelya's review against another edition

3.75

Weird but cool story.