Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

A Continuous Book Review and Vocabulary Assignment

June 6

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Recent Arrivals: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

by Ann-Katrina

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

TheUnitCoverFirst line: It was more comfortable than I could have imagined.

Initial thoughts: I’m eager to read this book because, in a sense, it reminds me of 1984 and I loved that book. It made you stop and reevaluate the direction society is taking. My fear, however, is that this book will not live up to my expectations because many have tried to follow in the footsteps of Orwell and fallen flat. But I’m hopeful.

Book description:

One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty–single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries–are sequestered for their final few years; they are considered outsiders. In the Unit they are expected to contribute themselves for drug and psychological testing, and ultimately donate their organs, little by little, until the final donation. Despite the ruthless nature of this practice, the ethos of this near-future society and the Unit is to take care of others, and Dorrit finds herself living under very pleasant conditions: well-housed, well-fed, and well-attended. She is resigned to her fate and discovers her days there to be rather consoling and peaceful. But when she meets a man inside the Unit and falls in love, the extraordinary becomes a reality and life suddenly turns unbearable. Dorrit is faced with compliance or escape, and…well, then what?

The Unit is a gripping exploration of a society in the throes of an experiment, in which the “dispensable” ones are convinced under gentle coercion of the importance of sacrificing for the “necessary” ones. Ninni Holmqvist has created a debut novel of humor, sorrow, and rage about love, the close bonds of friendship, and about a cynical, utilitarian way of thinking disguised as care.

Get The Unit at Amazon

Comments on Recent Arrivals: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

  1. # Mailbox Monday: Another Great Week - Today, I Read… wrote on June 8, 2009 at 1:21 pm:

    [...] The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist: The Unit is a gripping exploration of a society in the throes of an experiment, in which the “dispensable” ones are convinced under gentle coercion of the importance of sacrificing for the “necessary” ones. Ninni Holmqvist has created a debut novel of humor, sorrow, and rage about love, the close bonds of friendship, and about a cynical, utilitarian way of thinking disguised as care. [...]

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