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A review by marypaz13
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.75
Would you open your box?
Format: Audiobook
Resource: Scribd
Narrator(s): Julia Whelan
So, I get the same vibe as when I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I know, I know, they are different, talking about different things, but the vibe is there. And maybe it's because they both contemplate life. One takes place in one's own limbo vs this one, which takes place in present time.
The Measure brings about a lot of life questions. And yes, most of them are generic:
• What would you do if you knew how long you had to live?
↳ What would you do if you find out your partner only has x-years left to live?
↳ Would you have kids?
↳ Would you spend time traveling?
• What are you new priorities in life?
• Are you willing to die alone?
• Are you a good person?
↳ Does living make you a bad person?
• Does not knowing make you a selfish person?
↳ Does not wanting to die make you a selfish?
↳ What about survivors guilt?
Those kind of questions. I mean, shit (T_T), like, way to put us on the spot, ya' know!
I don't know, I mean, we just got through a pandemic (easy now, we technically are still in one, but at least it's not a "surprise" like it was in 2019/2020). And it's situations like those that force people to contemplate their own life and priorities. And that what this book this.
Told in various POVs, the plot travels between the various characters, all of which are somehow related. Some we know right off the bat, other take time to find the "connection." To me, I will always assume that the first characters mentioned will the MC's, in this case, that'll be Nina & Maura. We do get a glimpse in the lives of all the characters, with all their fears & ambitions. That also just leaves me too many options to dislike characters. I did find that Erlick did a decent job at not making me dislike a character unless it was meant to be disliked -- like Anthony (the politician -- he was such a dick).
There were times that I found this book to be inspiring, and other times too real -- like the whole politics & inequality aspect -- and I don't know how I feel about that. Like is Erlick trying to make a political statement on inequality among various marginalized groups by creating something so simple as life expectancy? Or are they trying to make a statement of "put yourself/family first" type of thing? And I feel like that's what bugged me. To me, it should have been one or the other. Having both aspect made the storyline seem so superficial & trying to be something "deep" 🙄. Idk, maybe listening to it left me unsatisfied (also, I'm still on that reading high from previous novel so....).
I did find it curious that Erlick chose 22 as the age to receive the boxes.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite [out of context] quotes:
Format: Audiobook
Resource: Scribd
Narrator(s): Julia Whelan
So, I get the same vibe as when I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I know, I know, they are different, talking about different things, but the vibe is there. And maybe it's because they both contemplate life. One takes place in one's own limbo vs this one, which takes place in present time.
The Measure brings about a lot of life questions. And yes, most of them are generic:
• What would you do if you knew how long you had to live?
↳ What would you do if you find out your partner only has x-years left to live?
↳ Would you have kids?
↳ Would you spend time traveling?
• What are you new priorities in life?
• Are you willing to die alone?
• Are you a good person?
↳ Does living make you a bad person?
• Does not knowing make you a selfish person?
↳ Does not wanting to die make you a selfish?
↳ What about survivors guilt?
Those kind of questions. I mean, shit (T_T), like, way to put us on the spot, ya' know!
I don't know, I mean, we just got through a pandemic (easy now, we technically are still in one, but at least it's not a "surprise" like it was in 2019/2020). And it's situations like those that force people to contemplate their own life and priorities. And that what this book this.
Told in various POVs, the plot travels between the various characters, all of which are somehow related. Some we know right off the bat, other take time to find the "connection." To me, I will always assume that the first characters mentioned will the MC's, in this case, that'll be Nina & Maura. We do get a glimpse in the lives of all the characters, with all their fears & ambitions. That also just leaves me too many options to dislike characters. I did find that Erlick did a decent job at not making me dislike a character unless it was meant to be disliked -- like Anthony (the politician -- he was such a dick).
There were times that I found this book to be inspiring, and other times too real -- like the whole politics & inequality aspect -- and I don't know how I feel about that. Like is Erlick trying to make a political statement on inequality among various marginalized groups by creating something so simple as life expectancy? Or are they trying to make a statement of "put yourself/family first" type of thing? And I feel like that's what bugged me. To me, it should have been one or the other. Having both aspect made the storyline seem so superficial & trying to be something "deep" 🙄. Idk, maybe listening to it left me unsatisfied (also, I'm still on that reading high from previous novel so....).
I did find it curious that Erlick chose 22 as the age to receive the boxes.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite [out of context] quotes:
⇒"There could be a lot of pain waiting inside that box too."
⇒"...even before the boxes appeared. The traditional barriers of privacy, had long been collapsing."
⇒"...until finally, even the act of looking at your string, which should've been the most intimate, the most personal of moments, become just another insight into your life that no longer belonged to you alone."
⇒"Did a patient receive less care because her string was short, or was a patient's string short because she received less care."
⇒"It takes real strength to keep on fighting, and yes, usually that's the right answer; 'Keep fighting, keep holding on no matter what,' but sometimes I think we forget that it also takes strength to be able to let go."
⇒"living long is not the same as living well"
⇒"'...but I reread the inscription: "The measure of your life lies within." Sure it's pointing at the string inside, but maybe that's not the only measure we have. Maybe there are thousands of other ways that we can measure our lives, the true quality of our lives that lie within us, not within some box. And by your own measure, you can still be happy. You can live well.'"
⇒"'...But he and Javier both made such a difference with their lives. Their impact will be felt for years, even generations', she said. 'In a way the two of them had the longest strings I've ever seen.'"
⇒"And though her own string still stretched out long before her, Nina wondered if perhaps she herself could try living as if it were short, unafraid of the expected, embracing the chance to say yes"
Rating Breakdown
Writing Style & Pacing: 3.5
Characters: 3.75
Storyline/Plot: 3
Audio Narration: 4.5
Overall Rating: 3.69 rounded ↑
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Cancer and Mental illness