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A review by sidekicksam
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-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? No
4.0
One day, people wake up to find a box with a string on their doorsteps. Their string is the measure of their life - an indication of how long they will live. No one knows where the boxes come from or how they know how long you'll have, but the boxes soon prove to be legitimate. And so, life is forever changed.
Ok, I loved this. Dabbing my toes in the unfamiliar world of dystopian fiction, this was one I was happy to dive fully into. Instead of focusing on where the boxes come from or how they could possibly know the length of one's life, the book deals more with the effects the boxes have on a set of individuals, as well as society at large.
The world that Erlick builds post-boxes is so realistic and so well thought-out. Seeing how events unfolded in the Covid-lockdown era, as well as how society adjusted to the 'new normal', it all made sense to a point where you still know it's dystopian, but eerily also very much a potential future. (More so than the possibility of the whole of African population being evaporated as in The Man In The High Castle.)
And not to start on how thought provoking this was. Would I open my own box to find out how long my string was? Would short-string discrimination be something I'd (unconsciously) partake in too? I kept thinking about it after putting it down, but I'll also be thinking about it long after.
Recommended to people who wanted more dystopia in They Both Die At The End.
Ok, I loved this. Dabbing my toes in the unfamiliar world of dystopian fiction, this was one I was happy to dive fully into. Instead of focusing on where the boxes come from or how they could possibly know the length of one's life, the book deals more with the effects the boxes have on a set of individuals, as well as society at large.
The world that Erlick builds post-boxes is so realistic and so well thought-out. Seeing how events unfolded in the Covid-lockdown era, as well as how society adjusted to the 'new normal', it all made sense to a point where you still know it's dystopian, but eerily also very much a potential future. (More so than the possibility of the whole of African population being evaporated as in The Man In The High Castle.)
And not to start on how thought provoking this was. Would I open my own box to find out how long my string was? Would short-string discrimination be something I'd (unconsciously) partake in too? I kept thinking about it after putting it down, but I'll also be thinking about it long after.
Recommended to people who wanted more dystopia in They Both Die At The End.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death