The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Book Blurb:
Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice. It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.
From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?
As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?
My Review: 4.25 stars
The Measure by Nikki Erlick was a book I waited far too long to read. I just couldn’t stomach the idea that everyone in the world would find out their relative life span. The whole idea of this scared me but when my book club chose to read it, I dug in with enthusiasm.
I’m so glad I did. This book is more about life and how we live it, rather than about dying. It’s told by a cast of eight characters who are deeply affected by the strings they received. The length of the string parallels the length of your life. All the characters are struggling with their results because even if he or she gets a long string, there will still be people they know will be gone soon.
How the world at large handles the strings was so well done. People are switching boxes hoping it could change their destiny. Support groups are offered. Protests occur. The world is in a very different place. Much of this book made me think about the differences between fate and destiny. This story offers many intertwined connections between the characters that makes for a powerful and meaningful ending. I’m so looking forward to what’s next from this author.
Quotes I liked:
I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. That makes it hard to plan the day.”
“The great American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ‘It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.’ You don’t need a long lifetime to make an impact on this world. You just need the will to do so.”
“Once she was in the main room, surrounded by the tall wooden shelves and the familiar scent of thousands of pages, Amie felt herself relax. There were few places where she felt more contented than a bookstore.”
“The beginning and the end may have been chosen for us, the string already spun, but the middle has always been left undetermined, to be woven and shaped by us.”
“I think we’re raised to believe that happiness is something we’ve been promised. That we all deserve to be happy. Which is why this really fucked-up thing that’s happening to some of us is so hard to accept. Because we’re supposed to be happy.”
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