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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I found a copy of this book at a Free Little Library and thought it sounded interesting.
“The Measure” is a novel that follows several points of view as they all try to come to terms with the knowledge of how long their life will be. One morning, everyone over the age of 22 wakes up to find a box addressed to them with a length of string on the inside. Every string corresponds to the length of that person’s life. Now, with the knowledge of how long or short their life may be, everyone is left to decide how they want to live.
This novel follows many points of view, and not all of them are connected to all of them. I really enjoyed and appreciated this because it gives the reader such diversity in experiences. Some of the characters have short strings and some have long, some do not want this to define them, while others do not want to know the length of their string. Everyone brings a different experience to the table and I think as a reader, seeing so many people react to this, really made the story feel more plausible. I think if something like this were to actually happen, people would react in the very same way. We would have people who would think short stringers are not worth as much because they might die. In the novel, one thing people pushed back on was that politicians with short strings should not be elected because they will not be able to serve their people well. I 100% think people would react much the same way.
I think the idea of this book in general is interesting. Would knowing how long your life is going to last change how you choose to live it? Would knowing you have less time light a fire in you to live unapologetically? Would knowing you would live a long life bring you peace? I feel like part of what makes beautiful is that we do not know how much time we have, and I think knowing is such a double edged sword. Once you know, you cannot erase that knowledge.
I found this novel to be extremely well-written. With so many points of view, it would be easy for the reader to not feel connected to certain characters, but I felt invested in everyone’s stories. The author really fleshed out all of the characters, and I felt drawn to everyone, almost, equally. Additionally, I felt like the messages behind this story were well said without being heavy-handed. My one critique is that I felt like some of the character’s stories were rushed at the end.
I really enjoyed this thought-provoking work of fiction, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys analyzing human behavior.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
ivi_reads_books's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
The book talks about what makes a life worth living, the level of pain you are willing to endure for the sake of yourself and others. It discusses discrimination, change and solidarity in light of the new information that the mysterious strings that showed up on everyone's doorstep brought up.
I enjoyed every charachter and storyline. They showed the individual struggles but also had a connection to the bigger picture.
Julia Whelan is a great audio book narrator!
I enjoyed every charachter and storyline. They showed the individual struggles but also had a connection to the bigger picture.
Julia Whelan is a great audio book narrator!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, Outing, and War
Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
kregs910's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Mass/school shootings
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was an incredibly thought-provoking story. A concept like this, where everyone in the world has the ability to figure out how long they will live through a tangible material object, can only be told best in multiple perspectives, and there was a wide variety in the character personalities themselves. Some were long-stringers, some short-stringers, some who refused to look, some who took advantage of their string to get to the top, etc. I loved how the storylines of some of the characters intermingled yet remained predominantly separate. My favorite thing about this book was the deep dive into the dark consequences and impact this event would have on society particularly about the corruption and bigotry. A dark thing to like, yes, but it really made you think!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
maggiekate's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Cursing, Car accident, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
kaitlynnnng's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book started off STRONG, so I thought I would end up rating it 5 stars, classifying it was one of my favorite books I read this year. I certainly still enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t what I expected.
I liked how the characters and their stories connected. I was frustrated, though, that we never got an answer as to how or why the strings appeared. I get the symbolism: in life, we don’t always know the “why” nor can we always control what happens to us, but we can control our reaction to it; I just wish we got an answer in the story.
I liked how the characters and their stories connected. I was frustrated, though, that we never got an answer as to how or why the strings appeared. I get the symbolism: in life, we don’t always know the “why” nor can we always control what happens to us, but we can control our reaction to it; I just wish we got an answer in the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Terminal illness, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Outing, and War
marareading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What would you do if one day you woke one day to find out that every single adult in the world could know the length of their life? As you can imagine the world could easily fold to chaos. Wow. This book will stay with me.
Eight people. All wake one day to a world who all have a small chest with a string inside showing how long they'll live. Governments, religions, families, jobs, friends, marriages, all changed overnight. Looking at everything differently. The value of life changing and being argued.
The different perspectives, and human experiences. The way people's experiences were intertwined. I was gripped, and touched. This reflects SO WELL the world we live in. I'll be thinking of this book for a long time to come. Absolutely brilliant. 10/10 recommend.
Eight people. All wake one day to a world who all have a small chest with a string inside showing how long they'll live. Governments, religions, families, jobs, friends, marriages, all changed overnight. Looking at everything differently. The value of life changing and being argued.
The different perspectives, and human experiences. The way people's experiences were intertwined. I was gripped, and touched. This reflects SO WELL the world we live in. I'll be thinking of this book for a long time to come. Absolutely brilliant. 10/10 recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Car accident, and War