The Measure

A Novel

English language

Published June 28, 2022 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:
978-0-06-320420-1
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Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, get ready, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small box, holding the answer to the number of years you will live.

Suddenly, everyone on earth is faced with the same choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

7 editions

Good for a Book Club

Mysterious strings contain the length of your life. They appear in fancy boxes on your 22nd birthday. Why? Nobody knows. This book has a lot of good conversation potential especially as the people in the story divide into “short-stringers” and “long-stringers” and the potential for discrimination arises. Should a “short-stringer” be allowed to adopt? Work in certain jobs? However, the multiple viewpoints are dizzying to keep up with and there’s not much of a conclusion at the end.

It’s not about the strings

I teared up multiple times, even though a book about sealed fates has few surprises. It’s not the fates themselves that are touching, it’s their interconnectedness. Suspend your disbelief and don’t think too hard about the immutability of the strings. The real story is what everyone does with the lives their strings represent.

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