Scan barcode
A review by just_a_bibliophile
The Marriage Act by John Marrs
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was quite frankly terrifying. It felt scarily realistic. Once you get over the sort of initial sense of implausability, it makes an incredible read.
The Marriage Act is set in a world where marriage is so immensely encouraged by the government that couples who 'upgrade' to these 'smart marriages' receive benefits such as tax incentives, better healthcare, better neighbourhoods, and the list goes on. Upon signing up to this act, couples would also, essentially, give up their freedom of speech in having a device called the Audite (think the future of Amazon Alexas) monitoring their conversations to keep their marriage on track.
I really got invested in the story and the characters straight away, and it genuinely felt nightmarish. Parts of it were, undoubtedly, highly implausible and a little ridiculous, but I think for me I was too invested in it to bother with these overly ridiculous aspects. Even if the world felt a little too unbelievable at points, the situations that the characters were in felt 100% scarily real. From the toxicity of social media, to where we're heading with AI technology today, to the choices that people were forced to make, it genuinely felt like parts of the storyline could have been very much real.
My one tiny little complaint putting me off giving this the full 5 stars is just the fact that there was so many perspectives to keep up with. With the five different characters we had perspectives from, it was a little difficult to keep up with and remember who was who at the beginning. Also, I kind of wish the characters had some sort of link with each other instead of them all being completely separate from each other for the vast majority of the story.
Other than the little confusion at the start, I thought the characters' perspectives were really cleverly written. I liked how there were characters of all ages and genders and situations - it definitely made it a lot more intriguing to see how the act impacted all sorts of people. What was interesting to note was that none of the characters were particularly likeable per se - the majority of them were highly detestable - and yet the story worked really well with this.
While maybe not being the best for those who can't stand a slightly unrealistic story, I was absolutely hooked to it and would definitely recommend - I'm intrigued to read some of the author's other works.
Rating: 4.5 stars
The Marriage Act is set in a world where marriage is so immensely encouraged by the government that couples who 'upgrade' to these 'smart marriages' receive benefits such as tax incentives, better healthcare, better neighbourhoods, and the list goes on. Upon signing up to this act, couples would also, essentially, give up their freedom of speech in having a device called the Audite (think the future of Amazon Alexas) monitoring their conversations to keep their marriage on track.
I really got invested in the story and the characters straight away, and it genuinely felt nightmarish. Parts of it were, undoubtedly, highly implausible and a little ridiculous, but I think for me I was too invested in it to bother with these overly ridiculous aspects. Even if the world felt a little too unbelievable at points, the situations that the characters were in felt 100% scarily real. From the toxicity of social media, to where we're heading with AI technology today, to the choices that people were forced to make, it genuinely felt like parts of the storyline could have been very much real.
My one tiny little complaint putting me off giving this the full 5 stars is just the fact that there was so many perspectives to keep up with. With the five different characters we had perspectives from, it was a little difficult to keep up with and remember who was who at the beginning. Also, I kind of wish the characters had some sort of link with each other instead of them all being completely separate from each other for the vast majority of the story.
Other than the little confusion at the start, I thought the characters' perspectives were really cleverly written. I liked how there were characters of all ages and genders and situations - it definitely made it a lot more intriguing to see how the act impacted all sorts of people. What was interesting to note was that none of the characters were particularly likeable per se - the majority of them were highly detestable - and yet the story worked really well with this.
While maybe not being the best for those who can't stand a slightly unrealistic story, I was absolutely hooked to it and would definitely recommend - I'm intrigued to read some of the author's other works.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Domestic abuse and Death of parent