The Measure by Nikki Erlick

 

The Measure by Nikki Erlick.

Published 7th July 2022 by The Borough Press.

From the cover of the book:

Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like just another morning.

You make a cup of tea. Check the news. Open the front door.

On your doorstep is a box.

Inside the box is the exact number of years you have left to live.

The same box appears on every doorstep across the world.

Do you open yours?

***********

One otherwise typical March night, mysterious wooden boxes suddenly appear on doorsteps all over the world. Each box bears the name of its recipient and the cryptic message "The measure of your life lies within". Not a single person over the age of 22 years-old fails to receive one, no matter where they live.

No one knows where they have come from, but inside they all contain the same thing - a length of string made from a curious unbreakable material. At first, their meaning is uncertain, but it soon becomes clear that the length of each string is a representation of the lifespan of each person named. Not everyone chooses to look inside their box, many preferring to simply not know their fate, but for those that do their lives are changed significantly - especially those who become known as the 'short-stringers'.

Through the experiences of eight different, but otherwise ordinary people, we are about to learn the effect of the boxes on the way they are now able to live their lives - especially around the decisions they must make, and the freedoms that are suddenly taken from them...

The concept of this brilliant speculative novel is startlingly simple. A box arrives on your doorstep containing a string that tells you how many years you will live. Do you choose to open you box and try to come to terms with what lies within, or do you leave your fate unknown? Not an easy choice to make, I'm sure you will agree. 

Interestingly, the origin of the boxes bears not a jot of importance in terms of what Erlick cleverly examines in this novel, so the fact that she never explains this is not an issue at all. Instead, this is a tale all about the impact of their very existence on humankind, and she uses this idea to craft an extremely poignant and though-provoking story.

I don't want to go too much into the make up of the characters, as the magic lies in following their very personal stories as they try to deal with the knowledge that the boxes impart, especially those who are set reeling by the discovery that they have distressingly short strings. However, I can tell you that Erlick deftly and sensitively explores the impact of the strings on many aspects of their lives, especially in terms of the relationships between family members, romantic partners, colleagues, friends, and even enemies, and she gives your emotions a thorough work-out in the process.

Beyond the more intimate elements of the tale, this book also delves deeply into the wider societal changes that might happen if it became possible to determine exactly how many years each person would live, particularly the stereotypical behaviour traits that suddenly become attributed to people based on their string length alone, and the discrimination that comes with it. The kind of consequences Erlick proposes are shocking, but at no time do they feel far-fetched, and intriguingly they manage to be an insightful look at the stark reality of bigotry and injustice in wider terms, as well as an unsettling prophecy. As with all the best dystopian tales, it serves to make you think about your own life, and the world you live in as well.

There is an enchanting flip-side to the disturbing vision that Erlick imagines too, and this is where the solid gold charm of this story carries you through from highly imaginitive start to sob-fest ending. For all the madness, grief and loss that this novel throws at you, there is also so much about hope, the strength of the human spirit, friendship, and true love - and these qualities make this book one that works its way into your heart.

This is exactly the kind of book that stands out as one which is ripe for book clubs and juicy little gossip sessions at the water-coolers in offices everywhere. There is so much to discuss around the issues Erlick forces you to ponder about what it is that sums up the measure of a life. Is it just the years we are allotted or actually what we choose to do with them that counts? And of course, the "Would you open your box?" question is sure to be a hotly debated one in itself! 

I loved the whole fabulous debut from start to finish, so completely caught up in the fates of the characters that I spent a good many minutes crying my eyes out when the time came to say good-bye to them. It leaves you with so much to think about too. This is easily one of of favourite reads of the year.          

The Measure is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to The Borough Press for sending me a hardback copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Nikki Erlick is a writer and editor whose work has appeared online with New York Magazine, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, The Huffington Post, Indagare Travel, BookTrib, and Vox Media. 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’s written for CEOs, entrepreneurs, and academics. She graduated Harvard University summa cum laude and was an editor of The Harvard Crimson. She earned her master's degree in Global Thought from Columbia University. The Measure is her debut novel.