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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Bad science AND bad faith, but it was a compelling enough read for a weekend.
Disappointing. Some redeeming narratives but fairly familiar storylines.
I feel so guilty giving this a 3 star because the beginning was a masterpiece. About 75% of the way through, the timing picked up rapidly and the ending felt rushed
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
5 stars for the first half, 3 for the back half. I was thoroughly enticed throughout the opening section: a dystopian novel that begins, refreshingly, as a sharp, funny story with an enjoyable protagonist and an intriguing setup, delivered with much lighter, breezier writing than I was expecting from Erdrich.
Cedar—an adopted daughter, and newly pregnant—has decided to reach out to her birth family, who live on a Minnesota reserve. She also has a warm relationship with her good-hearted, if somewhat WASPY, White adoptive parents. And in this context, Erdrich begins to weave explorations of Indigeneity, belonging, origins, and loyalty.
Meanwhile, something extremely distressing is looming, an approaching catastrophe. I hesitate to say here what this catastrophe is (although every review is quick to give it away), because its undefined nature, the rumours and snippets of information, the slow revelation of what is going on is truly chilling. What it is, I should say, is firmly in the realm of science fiction—and as I understood it, highly metaphoric, though no less frightening for being so.
But then… this metaphor is never fully or satisfyingly explored, nor the new world it brings, and everything that intrigued me about the first half was abandoned. The novel becomes a made-for-TV adventure thriller. There is Hiding! Capture! Escape! An absolutely riveting and terrifying difficult birth… then more Running Away! More Baddies! More Hiding! Until we end up in a derivative Handmaid’s Tale: the end.
What a letdown. There’s nothing more disappointing than finding something so good, so full of promise, and then watching it take the easy way out.
Cedar—an adopted daughter, and newly pregnant—has decided to reach out to her birth family, who live on a Minnesota reserve. She also has a warm relationship with her good-hearted, if somewhat WASPY, White adoptive parents. And in this context, Erdrich begins to weave explorations of Indigeneity, belonging, origins, and loyalty.
Meanwhile, something extremely distressing is looming, an approaching catastrophe. I hesitate to say here what this catastrophe is (although every review is quick to give it away), because its undefined nature, the rumours and snippets of information, the slow revelation of what is going on is truly chilling. What it is, I should say, is firmly in the realm of science fiction—and as I understood it, highly metaphoric, though no less frightening for being so.
But then… this metaphor is never fully or satisfyingly explored, nor the new world it brings, and everything that intrigued me about the first half was abandoned. The novel becomes a made-for-TV adventure thriller. There is Hiding! Capture! Escape! An absolutely riveting and terrifying difficult birth… then more Running Away! More Baddies! More Hiding! Until we end up in a derivative Handmaid’s Tale: the end.
What a letdown. There’s nothing more disappointing than finding something so good, so full of promise, and then watching it take the easy way out.
dark
emotional
sad
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy