Nikki Erlick is a writer and editor whose work has appeared on the websites of New York, Harper's Bazaar, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, the Huffington Post, Indagare Travel, BookTrib, and the Verge. As a travel writer, she explored nearly a dozen countries on assignment—from rural villages in France to the arctic fjords of Norway. As a ghostwriter, she has lent her voice to CEOs, academics, and entrepreneurs. She graduated Harvard University summa cum laude and is a former editor of the Harvard Crimson. She earned a master's degree in global thought from Columbia University. The Measure is her first novel.
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? The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn't have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.
I love books with casts of characters like this, and was excited to see how Erlick would set this all up. I was pleased by how each characters was introduced slowly into the story. Erlick starts with just two characters, slowly hinting at the future characters that would be introduced, and all of a sudden you're flipping between all eight characters with ease. Doing so in this way allows readers to become acclimated to this world that's different from our own—the string situation is definitely something that needs getting used to, before being introduced intimately to eight different people who have eight different reactions! I also loved how all the characters were intertwined with one another, and how even side characters had the opportunity to be recurring, in a way that made finding them feel like easter eggs.
I also appreciated that there was a large cast of characters to begin with. Erlick has a world with something difficult to swallow—everyone has the chance to know their lifespan. With this knowledge comes different reactions. Getting to explore people's reactions to short strings versus long strings, getting to know people who didn't want to open their boxes at all, people who used the knowledge to become better versions of themselves, watching people become the worst versions of themselves—all of these characters contributed to the overall discussion on how to be a better human being, and it was necessary to have this large cast in order to hit that point home. While I may have liked more characters from different parts of the world (say, small town folk or people on other continents), I still felt like Erlick had a global outlook on the situation, especially when you read about the effect the strings have on politics, and on the Strung Together movement.
This novel delivers on its promise to be entertaining and thought provoking, a book that can be read by adults looking for a quick read and young adults maybe thinking about trying a book in the adult space. I loved the accessibility of Erlick's writing, as it distilled this deep and heavy question (and the subsequent attempts at answers) in a way that felt real. She also doesn't hide from the nuance of the world, and really painting a vivid picture of what could happen in America if her fictional universe was reality. It was sometimes disturbing, and a commentary on the current world itself. Overall, though, the book has a hopeful outlook on life and humanity. That's exactly what you would want from something with this premise. While Erlick gets us there, I appreciate that she doesn't pull punches throughout the journey.
I definitely want my own hard copy of this one, because I'd love to have it on my shelf and to recommend it to friends looking for an entertaining and hopeful read. I think this one is perfect for the beach, and that it belongs on everyone's summer reading list.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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