Book Review: Debbie Stone and Gini Cunningham
Gini: While trying to keep ahead of my reading for the variety of book clubs to which I belong, I jumped on this one early. Writing in advance of Debbie, I’m wondering what her reaction will be to this futuristic novel. Chosen by the “Read with Jenna Bush Today Show Book Club”, I had hopes. At the beginning, my interest grew.
Then about midway I had to stop and check just how many more tedious pages lay ahead – too many! I persevered but feel like I would have had a much more positive reaction to about half the number of pages. I love long books; I’m a James Michener and usually a Stephen King fan. But long should entail intricate details, nuances, critical meanderings, and terrific language. This book starts with these, but they rapidly deteriorate. After all, how many exciting, scintillating, earth-shaking messages are possible for the crux of The Measure?
Suddenly a shower of small boxes rains over the Earth, each one destined for every individual 22 years of age plus. The fall continues daily as each person around the globe receives a specially labelled box when #22 arrives.
Within rests a string – some are long while others are short and the remainder fall in-between. Some people open their box and study the content; others refuse to acknowledge its existence. A third group not only refuses to view the contents but works diligently to destroy the box to no avail. The string foretells the length of life that each person has coming. Readers enter the lives of several characters to learn of their actions and reactions to this thread message. Many disbelieve that a string can predict longevity, however when short-stringers begin to die, often for no apparent reason, the truth appears to be revealed. I suppose the true mind-probe of this book is “What would you do?”
Would you cram every dream and hope into a short remainder of life? Would you live wildly and crazily knowing that no matter what you do, it doesn’t matter – the string has predetermined your life’s termination? Would you work harder at your job because you realize you have many years ahead or would you walk out of the door, knowing that more fruitful potentialities might be found? The questions are endless; the choices multitudinous. I enjoyed reflecting on the characters decisions as I pondered what my own might be. It is just that the book blithered on…
Debbie: I realize that every book is not for everybody, but sometimes when I love a book so much, it shocks me when my friends do not. Case in point this book. Gini did not like it and I loved it. She thought it blithered on. I read it in one day.
The Measure hits all my emotions! It covers about the meaning of life. Why are we here? Is the meaning of life measured by the length or by the quality? What would you do if you were able to know the length of your life? Would you choose to find out, or would you rather let life play? If you choose to find out, how would you react to knowing when your life would end? How would you treat others differently? How would others treat you? Not to mention the slippery slope of government agencies knowing your life span (as well as insurance companies) and using that to determine services and resources that you are allowed to receive. In the book, the knowledge of short-stringers or long-stringers rocks world politics! The storyline is intriguing. Part of the reason this book resonates with me is because I think we are already headed that way (slightly) and it’s terrifying.
Erlick touches on many prejudices, although she doesn’t delve deeply into them – just enough to make the reader think. While the characters aren’t dynamic, the issues they face are captivating. There are a few problems with the narrative where you might have to suspend belief, but that is easy for me to do. If you are someone who might roll your eyes and think ‘this could never happen’, then this book, which is light sci-fi/dystopian, might not be for you. The story is so thought-provoking - it’s one of my favorites of the whole year (and I do keep track). Book clubs take note, this book leads to terrific discussion. My favorite quote: “Living long is not the same as living well."
