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3.5 

The Unit

By Ninni Holmqvist & Marlaine Delargy
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist & Marlaine Delargy digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

"I enjoyed The Unit very much...I know you will be riveted, as I was." —Margaret Atwood on Twitter

A modern day classic and a chilling cautionary tale for fans of The Handmaid's Tale. Named a BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH by GQ.

“Echoing work by Marge Piercy and Margaret Atwood, The Unit is as thought-provoking as it is compulsively readable.” —Jessica Crispin, NPR.org

Ninni Holmqvist’s uncanny dystopian novel envisions a society in the not-so-distant future, where women over fifty and men over sixty who are unmarried and childless are sent to a retirement community called the Unit. They’re given lavish apartments set amongst beautiful gardens and state-of-the-art facilities; they’re fed elaborate gourmet meals, surrounded by others just like them. It’s an idyllic place, but there’s a catch: the residents—known as dispensables—must donate their organs, one by one, until the final donation. When Dorrit Weger arrives at the Unit, she resigns herself to this fate, seeking only peace in her final days. But she soon falls in love, and this unexpected, improbable happiness throws the future into doubt.

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The Unit Reviews

3.5
“This book is definitely thought provoking, but I fear it falls a bit flat. I think the similarities to Never Let Me Go (one of my favourite books of all time) mean it's impossible not to compare them - and unfortunately this doesn't hold up. It felt very long and drawn out with nothing really happening, I did not like the narrator, some of the relationships felt forced... I read this for my work book club, so I think it will provide lots of discussion!”

About Ninni Holmqvist

Ninni Holmqvist

Ninni Holmqvist was born in 1958 and lives in Skåne, Sweden. She made her debut in 1995 with the short story collection Suit [Kostym] and has published two further collections of short stories since then. She also works as a translator. The Unit marks Holmqvist’s debut as a novelist.


Marlaine Delargy

Marlaine Delargy has translated novels by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Kristina Ohlsson, and Helene Tursten, as well as The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (Other Press) and Therese Bohman’s Drowned (Other Press). She lives in England.

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