"Future Home of the Living God" by Louise Erdrich

This is a dystopian novel set in not such a distant future in the US, although the author does not provide any definitive dates. We are told that lots of changes are happening to various species of animals and plants, that the evolution has reversed itself somehow and all the living species are moving towards some primal/less evolved state. The novel begins at the point when the human species are also affected, and newborns start to exhibit traits of this reversed evolution. There are rumors of pregnant women being detained, of martial law instituted in the country and of religious zealots taking over the government.

The novel is written from the point of view of a young Native American woman who is newly pregnant. Cedar was adopted in infancy and is now on her way to meet her biological mother, an Ojibwe living on the reservation. We see the world through her eyes, and this I think makes this novel so unique and interesting. Cedar has vague notions of what is going on in the world. She is dealing with a lot in her personal life: a new pregnancy, relationship with her baby's father, meeting her biological family and in the midst of it all, she is trying to develop some plan to survive as society breaks down and panic ensues. Pregnant women are being detained and confined. News are scarce and unreliable. She often does not know what is going on, who is in control and how to stay safe.

As I was reading this book, at first I kept getting frustrated that I was not fully understanding what was happening in the country politically. Clearly, some religious organization/group took over the power, but we never get the full story. People are being spied on. Pregnant women are kept isolated and in the dark about their future. The novel kept getting darker and more hopeless as things moved along.

I then realized that the author did a great job capturing a dystopian scenario as experienced by a single individual. We see the world through Cedar's eyes who does not have the full picture, perhaps no one does. And the reality she is living is grim and disheartening but also so very realistic. I ended up really enjoying this novel. It is definitely thought-provoking and would make an excellent choice for a book club discussion. 4 out of 5 stars.