Comments (14)

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Aug 09, 2019rjmaley rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Extremely well-written (and well-translated, too!). This book asks some very hard questions about the value of human life, and if some lives are worth more than others. I would love to see this book as part of a college course, either in…
Sep 17, 2018bacoghlin rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A very disturbing story.
Aug 23, 2018riverbedp rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Kind of a grim story for a person who, like me, has any failing essential organ.
Aug 20, 2018melwyk rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Powerful read about what is valued by society and the way we treat those we deem 'dispensable'. Terrifying bland and realistic, this dystopia is scarily plausible.
Feb 09, 2018
In this world, the childless are "outsiders". When women reach fifty (sixty-five for men), they are sent to The Reserve Bank Unit for Biological Material. They have become expendable.
Jan 22, 2018wmtlady rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I expected a dystopian theme but was given so much more. I regard this debut novel excellent because it not only gives much to think about the worth of people beyond their external "contributions" to society but delves into the worth of…
Mar 15, 2016abcDena rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Fantastic! This is a seemingly simple tale about a seemingly simplified future. So good I had to read it twice.
Dec 21, 2014luzeng rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
It's a pretty typical dystopia (similar model as Ishiguro's 'When We Were Orphans'), but with more heteronormativity and a problematic evaluation of current movements towards gender equality. Included: the most Swedish defense of female…
May 23, 2013StarGladiator rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
An intriguing and somber novel, about a not so improbable future. A good read.
HaroStrait
Oct 20, 2011HaroStrait rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The premise of this book - that those of us that don't 'contribute' to society are disposable - is truly horrifying. And it's not marginalized people that are at risk - it's normal middle class types who don't have kids or jobs that…
Oct 24, 2010lightbytheway rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist Good. Makes us think of what men going to do in the future with "dispensable people". Or did it start already? Could it be? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw8cFzrIG...
Jan 03, 2010
A chilling read about a (not so) future society in which the value of a human life is clinically determined, and the so-called undesirables are used to prolong the life of the desirables. You can see vestiges of this type of thinking…
Aug 16, 2009VanessaM rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I read this short book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Set in the near future, it's an interesting look at what life would be like if some people are deemed more valuable than others, and what life would be like if you're…
Aug 07, 2009MaryBee rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Chilling, but also very readable!