Sophia C. reviewed on 6/16/2011 + 289 more book reviews

The Unit is an age-reversed Never Let Me Go. In a near-future democratic Sweden, women over 50 and men over 60 who are single, childless, and not deemed to have professionally contributed are labeled dispensable. Such individuals are then deposited in the Reserve Bank Units for biological materials, where they are to participate in ''humane" medical experiments and donate organs as needed. Dorrit is one such dispensable, a writer who chronicles her life immediately before and after moving into the Unit. Although the residents are well looked after, they are constantly under surveillance in their very pleasant surroundings. There are poignant moments, but the prose has a flat affect throughout—I'm not sure if that is the author's intent or a result of the translation. Although the details of the society are not fully explained, there is enough to be thought-provoking in this well-written debut novel by Ninni Holmqvist.

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