Book Review: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

Oct 16, 2009 by Kay Elizabeth

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (ISBN: 978-1590513132, Other Press) is a Dystopian book. Be prepared for a novel that seeps silently into your psyche and gives you the chills.  This is one unusual and absorbing story that is not easily forgotten.

Dorrit Weger lives in a future society where if you’re a woman that’s not considered to be the cream of the crop, neither holding down an important job nor needed by anyone, you’re considered of little value after you reach your fiftieth birthday. You become a “dispensable”. (For males, it’s sixty).

After your birthday, you leave your home and live out the remainder of your days sequestered in an institution known as The Second Reserve Bank Unit. Dorrit fulfills the criteria of a “dispensable”. Being both childless and a writer with no-one counting on her means her participation in the program. The story begins with Dorrit’s arrival at The Unit.

The apartments within The Unit are beautiful. The inhabitants have all kinds of free entertainment and activities at their disposal – pools, parties, indoor gardens, gyms, restaurants to name a few. The distractions are diverse and designed to suit varied and creative tastes but the underlying reason for their presence in The Unit is universal. The “dispensables” are there for a dual purpose: 1) to supply those on the outside with much needed organs and 2) to participate in scientific and psychological testing.

There’s no denying that The Unit is a very comfortable, relaxed and loving environment. Life there is akin to incarceration nonetheless. No one can ever leave The Unit once they arrive. The unswerving eyes of security cameras constantly monitor their movements. This continues until the individuals gradually become so debilitated that they are quietly removed to make their final donation. To put it bluntly, classification as a dispensable ultimately determines whether you live or die at a relatively young age and sacrifice yourself, bit by bit, for those deemed essential.

What is most disturbing about The Unit is how easily a reader can see this Dystopian setting evolving in the not so distant future. In this 272 page book, The Unit is accepted as the norm. It’s how the world works. Dorrit accepts, albeit a touch grudgingly, that this is what happens. She gradually settles into a kind of acceptance of this lifestyle and her fate. After all, the place is the most comfortable she’s ever lived in, the people are friendly, she can take up any activity she wishes, and has no responsibilities nor schedule apart from turning up for the research programs she’s involved in.

The spanner in the works occurs when Dorrit falls in love with Johannes and the reality of The Unit’s cloistered, monitored existence, the inevitability of her demise and lack of personal freedom all hit home. Dorrit watches close friends disappear one by one and knows she has a decision to make: cooperation or escape.

I have never read such an unusual paperback as The Unit before. This is no horror-fest nor is it set in an unimaginable futuristic landscape. Stealthy is how I’d describe the way the story reveals itself. Hidden in amongst the perceived normality of The Unit‘s pages is another side of this book. The words appear to bury themselves into your subconscious as you read.

By the end, I had came to a gradual conclusion: The Unit holds a stern yet loving lesson for us all. It illustrates what happens when respect for and understanding of dignity and individuality aren’t held in high regard by a society. Like oracles of old, Ninni Holmqvist subtly forewarns us with this exquisite novel of the perilous path we’re treading in our own universe.

Laced with occasional humor and touching displays of love and friendship, The Unit isn’t doom and gloom. The novel does have its lighter moments in amongst the dark undercurrent. The deeper you get into this novel however, the more aware you become of how much modern day society values money over people. I found it impossible to shake that recurring thought. In The Unit‘s world a person’s value is determined not by who they are but an unnamed bureaucratic perception of their societal worth. The decision on their classification as “dispensable” or not rests on that alone.

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

For all of its complexities, The Unit is a compelling but not difficult read. This book shouldn’t be rushed. It’s a story to be savored and mulled over. Holmqvist does an admirable job creating a believable, futuristic scenario that feels so real you could imagine it happening.

What’s so eerily disturbing about The Unit is the ordinariness and acceptance of the institution’s place in the grand scheme of things by the populace. This is so well written by Holmqvist that the concept doesn’t feel far fetched at all. The Unit feels more like a premonition of ominous times ahead than a fantasy that would never be.

Author Ninni Holmqvist, who resides in Sweden, has captivated me with this mesmerizing debut novel. I sincerely hope it won’t be her last.

Available at all good book stores including Amazon.


Kay Elizabeth is the Editor and Co-Owner of The Cuckleburr Times. She always loves to hear from visitors here and especially the authors of books she reviews.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

1 Comment

  1. diane
    January 31, 2010

    oooh, sounds creepy, but I’m hooked by your review. I will be checking this one out!!