Reviews with content warning for Car accident - The Measure

Last year I read The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier and while I absolutely loved its premise, the book didn't work for me. It was all too much for my liking: too many characters and too many ideas explored. This book was similar in many ways: its starting point is an inexplicable mysterious shift in the universe that changes life as we know it, on both a societal and personal level. Furthermore, this book also followed many characters while exploring philosophical and political ideas that resulted from the shift. The reason why I feel it did work this time, is because the plot actually acted as a supporting character, successfully tying people, ideas and events together. The result is a beautiful novel that succeeds in being thought-provoking as well. The way things played out around the country felt very real; even when it shifted to a more hopeful approach, it never crossed the line to becoming unrealistic. Enjoyed this one, and I am curious to see what future work this author will bring.

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readbycarina's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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st61826's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

One morning the whole world changes. Everyone 22 years and older wakes to find a box at their front door holding a string. This string is the measure of their life. And so ensues a new way to segregate humans. Those with short strings and those with long. With this comes the propaganda of the reckless and dangerous short stringers who should be restricted from holding positions of power and denied jobs, loans and other privileges for those long stringers.

We follow the stories of 8 (don’t test me on that number) characters and their decisions around their strings and what they mean. Of course as many multiple point of view novels as we wind our way though the first year of “having the strings” their lives all slowly and subtly intertwine.

I enjoyed the social justice aspects of the novel and seeing again how easily the human race can be pitted against each other in fear of differences. I did find some of the book predictable and even in the most dramatic moments the book was too calm. I wanted more tension, more angst.

Overall a really good story of human relationships fighting diversity.

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karyan1's review against another edition

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reflective sad 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

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kaitlynnnng's review against another edition

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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.

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tctimlin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I loved the premise: what would happen if suddenly everyone knew how much longer they had to live? The author explores this question through the lives of several initially unrelated New Yorkers - weaving in the political responses of various governments, the role of the media, themes of discrimination, and the effect on interpersonal relationships. Yes - the characters all read as if they are upper-middle-class white, even when they are not. Yes - the author ties up all the connections in a too neat bow at the end. But I liked the way she played around with the question and I liked the ultimate resolution. My work book club, with whom I read and discussed this, were much more harsh in their critiques.

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kcelena's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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