#marlain mention

[fruchtgummii]

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Unit. By Ninni Holmqvist (trans. Marlaine Delargy). Other Press, 2006 (English 2008).

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: science fiction, dystopia

Series: N/A

Summary: 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?

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: suicidal thoughts, sexual content, ableism

OVERVIEW: I don't remember how I came across this book, but it has been sitting on my shelf for a long time. I decided to pick it up and plow through it, and boy, did I need to plow. While the premise is interesting, this book was somewhat hard to read because the writing style felt inexeprienced and uninteresting. I don't know if that's because the prose in Swedish is constructed that way or because the translation doesn't capture the feeling of the original, but regardless, I struggled to enjoy this book, so it only gets 2 stars from me.

WRITING: As I mentioned above, the writing in this book feels extremely inexperienced. The sentences don't vary much in length or construction, and there's a lot of telling over showing. There's also a lot of hedging and filter words, and descriptions are so straightforward that the author fails to create any sort of emotion or atmosphere. I know that all seems very harsh, but I can't describe the writing in any other way: it doesn't feel affective.

On top of that, the style didn't quite read in a voice that I would associate with a 50 year old narrator. This is not to say that the sentences or vocabulary should be archaic, but I felt like the voice was somewhat young.

Lastly, the level of unnecessary detail was a bit hard to absorb. Holmqvist appears to flesh out her world by adding a lot of lists: the various food items on order, the plants in the garden, the tests our protagonist undergoes. These lists are inserted into scenes that seem to have little or no purpose, perhaps only existing to show what life is like in the Unit. Personally, I didn't think all this detail didn't make the world feel any more real, nor did I get the sense that the author was trying to convey a sense of being overwhelmed by luxury. It instead just felt like a poor attempt to show how much thought Holmqvist put into imagining this place, and frankly, she doesn't do a good job creating a sense of subtle threat or dark undercurrent to all that's going on.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows Dorrit Weger, a single childless woman who is whisked away to a "Unit" when she turns 50. In Dorrit's world, law states that childless, unmarried persons must submit to these Units, which use their populations to conduct "humane" scientific testing and organ donation. As Dorrit begins to settle into life on the Unit, she falls in love with a man named Johannes, and after something impossible happens, the two must decide whether to accept their fates or try to escape.

The worldbuilding of this novel is somewhat confusing. Dorrit seems to live in a world in which gender abolition has seeped into law. Gender roles, for example, seem to be illegal, and men aren't allowed to do things that "improperly" show off their strength. Dorrit is also encouraged from childhood to refuse to submit or be dependent on a man, and putting off childbearing until one's career is established is praised. At the same time, however, there are laws that designate unmarried, childless people over a certain age as unneeded, and Dorrit fetishizes being a feminine woman and submissive partner. As a result, I wasn't sure what Holmqvist was trying to critique - was it overzealous feminism? The idea of "usefulness" to society? It was never clear, and the politics seemed to contradict what I understand of feminism, leftism, and so on.

On a similar note, I felt like there was a lot of potential that simply didn't get utilized. For example, Dorrit thinks a lot about her dog, who was her closest companion before arriving at the Unit. Such a bind could have been an excellent opportunity to explore the value of relationships that aren't between married people or parents and children, but Holmqvist doesn't seize this opportunity, so Dorrit's pining feels repetitive. The same is true of the friendships Dorrit forms inside the Unit; before, Dorrit struggled to make friends because she always felt like a third wheel, but in the Unit, she finds more people like her. Again, Holmqvist doesn't seize this opportunity.

Lastly, I wasn't sure if the ending was narratively satisfying. Without spoiling anything, I will say that I can kind of see how it fits with the story. However, the author doesn't really dwell much on why Dorrit makes the decision she does, so it doesn't fully resonate with the narrative as a whole.

TL;DR: The Unit tries too hard to be a dystopia about the "usefulness" of human life but ultimately fails to be a thoughtful commentary on feminism, reproductive rights, parenthood, or any other theme it touches. Because the prose is more focused on telling than showing, it's difficult to feel invested in the protagonist and her world, and without a coherent message, it's unclear what readers are supposed to take away from the plot.

CHARACTERS: Dorrit, our protagonist, isn't exceptionally compelling, but there are some aspects to her character that make her more interesting than some. She had this strange fetish for being submissive and feminine in a world that seems to be structured against those things, but I couldn't tell what Holmqvist was trying to do with the situation. I also was never quite sure of Dorrit's beliefs. One minute, she seemed to resent being considered disposable and sneered at the concept of parenthood; the next, she seemed to fully believe that people must have a "use" for society. By the end of the book, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to get out of Dorrit's story, whether it was supposed to be a tragedy, a triumph, or something completely different.

Johannes, Dorrit's lover, was not entirely compelling either. While he was kind and gave Dorrit the sex she desired, I didn't feel like the two had an exceptionally strong emotional bond. Their relationship thus felt very surface level.

Dorrit's various friends around the Unit seemed kind, but many of them lacked depth. Elsa was probably the best written of all them, but even she was a little confusing because of her attitude towards people with children.

Even the staff at the Unit didn't make much sense to me because of the sheer number of people who were willing to bend the rules and help Dorrit. It was difficult to me that something like the Unit could exist when its own staff seemed morally opposed to its operations, and it just reinforced my belief that this story had no coherent vision.

[naelys-the-aster]

thats not the point… i get that nothing has ever been traced back to her and i also understand she has yet to be caught… but she also is part of a more elite movement in society and daddy’s money will always make sure she has her way. regardless if she cut ties with Mr. Watson recently..

exhibit A: she was known to hang around the higher ups of Wall street…. don’t you think it’s a bit strange that one by one they all have been disappearing lately? not to mention one of their bodies being found carved into a hunk of unrecognizable meat? and the last time this victim was seen was at one of her many residences?

or we can also discuss how her family is very intwined with the legal system and police department.

or how shes been placed as a person of interest at every case file but its cleared up within weeks.

but i guess that’s “irrelevant.”

whatever, don’t say i didn’t warn you. id watch your back around the one you claim to be a saint.

and get the fuck out of this town. its riddled with too much dark secrets.

yours truly, someone who knows your father very well and watched you grew up.

Well of course she is part of the elite society, she has grown into the vast pools of wealthy socialites those of which are involve big wigs and CEOs.

I mean imagine my suprise when I found out that she was the daughter of the "Lord Watson" (as their servants address him) as well as the only heir to the Watson fortune. She does not meddle with her fathers business nor anyone connected to it, because as mentioned, her daddy cut her off.

Though im not suprised that she used to be involved with Execs on Wallstreet.

I will say they did find Robert Whineharts body floating in the Bay Area, the CEO of Hartland Insurance Co. The media and law enforcement are stating that his demise was a result of suicide.

Even more so his wife was interviewed, and she claimed she had found Robert's suicide note in his office the day of his disappearance.

Yes yes yes, those accusations of Pierce being the last person to be in the presence of an ALLEDGED were also in this morning news report as well as the print media.

May I mention the eyewitness police interviewed was a 70 year old woman who could not pick out a photo of Whinehart in a photo book or line up. And you've said it yourself, Pierce owns many properties, meaning that she has servants, maids, and maintenance staff. This sighting could possibly be one of the persons employed by Pierce IF Whinehart was even seen on sight. I mean the man did have a history of purchasing sexual favor of Watsons staff as well as his own.

Pish posh, I say, the bodies you mention if you haven't read any of the papers recently- where those of three Wallstreet Execs that Identified as Hao Makisake, Anthony Labode, and Thomas Marlain. A simple hunting accident, mauled by a bear during seasonal trip between the three men.

And for her fathers involvement with the cities police force, the Watsons are from a long line of blue bloods, her heat heat grandfather founded the law enforcement branch of this city. Each male having a role as an officer mostly high ranking.

Haha I mean it makes sense he has some impressionable influence through police and the community, the checks all those officers receive come from her father's banks. Mr. Watson Aldo funds the law enforcement department as a pull for his campaign as Mayor.

They simply respect him and the fact that his daughter is a circumstantial person of interest.

Oh... you know my father? Then you must know the business archetype my daddy runs. I would let you know he's a powerful man with just as much influence than Mr.Watson.. so

I'd be watching my back if I were you.

I am a daddy's girl, be ashamed if he had to get his hands dirty to protect his princess..

@absynthhh

[janimather913402-blog]

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