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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Erdrich, a Turtle Mountain Chippewa writer, has created a terrifying yet gracious and compassionate near-future scenario in which evolution stops and begins reversing itself. Once society collapses and the government falls, various groups (including the US Postal Service backed by the military) try to wrest control. The most vulnerable group are women, and especially pregnant women, as it is discovered that the babies they are carrying are genetic throwbacks. Women are required to present themselves to hospitals/detention centres where their pregnancies can be properly monitored. This is the backdrop to the story, which is formed by journal entries from Cedar, an Ojibwe young woman who was adopted by a white Minnesotan couple as a baby. Cedar is newly pregnant and is writing about her experiences to her unborn baby - meeting her birth mother on their reserve; reconciling with the baby’s father; the anxiety and preparations around her pregnancy; trying to evade detection and capture. It has the feel at times of A Handmaid’s Tale, or Children of Men (inevitable given the subject matter) but it is also very much its own book. In particular, Cedar, a newly devout Catholic, has quite a lot to say about Mary, the Immaculate Conception, the Incarnation, and Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (who is visiting her reserve) and Hildegard of Bingen. This book is sad, funny, scary and kind. My only wish is that the ending wasn’t quite so abrupt - we don’t get any resolution around either set of her parents, and everything is still very unclear around the future at the end. I would like to know more, but this also doesn’t seem like the kind of book that will elicit a sequel. I will certainly be reading more Erdrich however, as she is a stellar writer.
Meh. Unlike a sci-fi story, this is "literature". Dreamy, unspecific, a non-ending that drifts off. POV was always the main character -- things happened to her, she didn't make anything happen. News came to her from others. She was passive. Reader never got a real feel for what was happening, what caused it, what would happen next. And most annoying of all -- NO NEWS OF HER BABY! The whole story was about her being pregnant during a weird time (evolution going backwards????), then she gives birth & baby is taken away and you never find out if he was normal or what happened to him.
I HATE "literature"
I HATE "literature"
Captivating. It felt like sort of a prequel to “Handmaid’s Tale”, but with some retro-evolutionary science fiction and Native American experience woven in. I powered through this book because I REALLY NEEDED to know how it ended.
I really enjoyed this even though the protagonist is kind of a ding dong. I liked that it's not a typical dystopian novel and doesn't get into every detail. It helps the reader relate to the fears and despair of the characters. Cedar is definitely a more passive protagonist, but this is a meditative work not an action novel. Would love to read more speculative fiction from Erdrich.
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
This was extremely compelling! The narrator, Cedar, is adopted and pregnant, and goes to look for her biological family for her child's sake. At the same time, evolution starts to reverse. Philosophical and very reminiscent of lockdown for a book written a few years before it!
This book is a fever dream or waking nightmare. It is written in the form of a letter written by a woman living through utter catastrophe - evolution has sped up, gone backwards, and the entire ecosystem on Earth is out of whack. The first thing the government does, of course, is imprison women, first the pregnant, then anyone who is of reproductive age.
The book feels ragged -- a little shaggy in places. I read some reviews that said that this was a novel Erdrich had started years ago, and felt compelled to finish in the first days of the Trump administration. It has that feeling of a rush - it's not a tightly constructed novel, and there are a lot of moments that left this reader scratching her head, wanting more. There's not a lot of scientific explanation or world building. You are left only with the point of view narration by Cedar, the protagonist.
Still, this whiplash style worked for me because it matched the overall feel of the book. I can't say this is a great novel but it is one hell of a scary page turner.
The book feels ragged -- a little shaggy in places. I read some reviews that said that this was a novel Erdrich had started years ago, and felt compelled to finish in the first days of the Trump administration. It has that feeling of a rush - it's not a tightly constructed novel, and there are a lot of moments that left this reader scratching her head, wanting more. There's not a lot of scientific explanation or world building. You are left only with the point of view narration by Cedar, the protagonist.
Still, this whiplash style worked for me because it matched the overall feel of the book. I can't say this is a great novel but it is one hell of a scary page turner.
challenging
dark
sad
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