Future Home of the Living God

This was a weird book to read a few weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade - this book, which came out a few years ago, felt unexpectedly prescient. This book isn't about abortion - in fact, it's on the other end of the spectrum - a woman who desperately wants to keep her pregnancy, even though due to the convergence of circumstances, her pegnancy costs her freedom, ruins her family, and threatens her life. But the general tenor of this book, about women's loss of control over their own bodies, still strikes startingly close to home. I see this as a companion to The Handmaid's Tale, but with a slightly more explicit sci fi bent, more humor, and a more likeable heroine. The story is set in the near future, where the world is experiencing an existential threat: all species, including humans, appear to be "de-evolving." It's not clear what's causing this phennomenon, and the phenomenon itself is only sketchily described. I imagine some readers might be frustrated by the vagueness of the threat, but I didn't mind it because I felt like it was true to the limited perspective of the main character, and liked that the focus of the story was really on how society responds to this crisis: pregnang women - and eventually, all women of childbearing age - lose their rights and autonomy, reduced to little more than vessels, or potential vessels. Pregnant women are hunted by the government, betrayed by neighbors, and dragged off to prisons and psych wards hastily redecorated as maternity wards. The plot was engaging and full of suspense. It takes the somewhat classic horror trope of a pregnant woman wondering if she will literally give birth to a monster, and then adds to that the suspense of her attempt to evade capture and, when that fails. to break out of her confinement, and then sets it all against the looming background of possible societal collapse. Louise Erdrich is an excellent writer, and is adept at creating a challenging but likeable main character and memorable supporting characters. Even with all of the action, the story makes time to delve into issues around the main character's multi-cultural identity; relationships with her baby's father, her adopted family, and her newly-discovered adopted family; and bonds with the friends and strangers who work to try to save her. Strongly recommend.