A review by nostradamnus
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

dark informative reflective sad 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

Read this if you want to: explore the political climate of the late 2010s/early 2020s through fiction;  read about real, specific people navigating the end of the present world; and/or be made deeply aware of your body and its evolutionary history. Also, if you're into transitionary dystopias.

It's very frustrating to like this book less than The Handmaid's Tale because I think this book is arguably better--it has higher and more specific spec-to-fic ratio, characters that were real, and a really graphic description of watching someone give birth--but I read THT years ago, and I read FHOTLG in 2023. It's the day after my state put in an emergency stop for all trans healthcare. Roe v. Wade is dead. Abortion pills may be next. And I think right now, forced birthing centers, pregnancy policing, and a rising Christo-fascist government just feel a bit too real. 

Maybe I'll be able to reread this in a few years and be able to really take it all in, appreciate it for what it is, but wrong place, wrong time. 

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