The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

I could hardly wait to get my hands on this book and in some respects I wasn’t disappointed and in other ways I was. Mix a good story with a bioethics plot and generally you’ve got me hooked.
Holmqvist’s dsytopia involves a society where single men (60 +) and women 50 (+) must report to The Unit, also known as the Biological Materials Unit. They live there, in relative luxury, making body-part donations and undergoing experimentation, until they make the final donation.

We follow 50 year old, Dorrit Weber as she enters the unit. A writer who followed her mother’s advice and put career first ahead of marriage and family, Dorrit finds society at 50, very different from the one her mother grew up in. Utilitarian ethics now dominate the way society functions and a person’s worth is determined by who needs them. And Dorrit has no one who needs her: she is as independent as her mother recommended thus the dreadful situation we now find her entering.

Along the way, we do get some sense of what life is like for people in the unit as we meet people who have made “donations” and people who have suffered through experiments. But, Holmqvist always seems subdued in her descriptions of how characters behave, what they have endured and what they are feeling and this was frustrating. The portrayal of the suffering, the personal tragedy and even the camaraderie never quite matches the intensity of the situation.

As an example, Dorrit had an abortion when she was in her late teens. Of course, the reader immediately realizes that if Dorritt had kept her baby she would not be in the Biological Reserve Bank Unit because she would be an “indispensable” person, having had a child who needs her. How Dorrit feels about this was only superficially explored.

I wanted to feel an empathy or even antipathy for the characters in their various situations but Holmqvist didn’t take me there. Perhaps, Holmqvist leaves much unsaid so the reader can consider for themselves the implications of a society like this. Nevertheless, the book was somewhat unsatisfying for me and therefore, unconvincing.

Holmqvist's book could have provided a fascinating examination into a world that we already share many characteristics with in terms of ethics. The trend towards utilitarian ethics in our society already matches the changes society in Dorrit's world during her stay in the Unit. In this regard, The Unit is creepy, relevant and left me queasy.

Recommended for adults. Mature sexual content.

Book Details:

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
English translation published by Other Press, 2009
272 pp

The Soldier's Secret

The soldier’s secret: the story of Deborah Sampson by Sheila Klass is a historical novel based on the true story of Deborah Sampson. The time is 1776 and Sampson enrolls in the Continental Army to fight the British. The opening chapter is riveting, with Sampson under the name of Robert Shurtliff, in an army hospital and taken for dead.


Although very much not dead, Sampson must pretend to be so because to be discovered a woman, would be as good as dead. Her secret however, is discovered by army doctor who removes Shurtliff from the hospital and cares for her. At his request, she writes her story, telling about her difficult childhood and her motives behind deciding to serve in the army. Along the way there is a tender love story and a bit of tragedy too that will pull young readers in.

Two major reasons I enjoyed this book were the beginning chapter: Klass’s hook is excellent, drawing the reader into what promises to be a fascinating story and that promise is fulfilled. The book begins in the present and then proceeds to fill in the history.

Secondly, the book is a quick read, not drawn out and therefore likely to interest young adult readers.

Highly recommended for ages 12 and up.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

I"m not really sure just what to say about this one! If you enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, then Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters is the newest mashup for you! This book trailer is well done and better than P&P& Zombies.