Poetically written, Heng weaves a dystopian nightmare that is plausible; however, I struggled to connect to the story as I had expected to and was left wanting much more.
About the Book
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. | Release Date: July 10, 2018 | Pages: 339
Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia | Format: eARC | Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Lea Kirino is a “Lifer,” which means that a roll of the genetic dice has given her the potential to live forever—if she does everything right. And Lea is an overachiever. She’s a successful trader on the New York exchange—where instead of stocks, human organs are now bought and sold—she has a beautiful apartment, and a fiancé who rivals her in genetic perfection. And with the right balance of HealthTech™, rigorous juicing, and low-impact exercise, she might never die.
But Lea’s perfect life is turned upside down when she spots her estranged father on a crowded sidewalk. His return marks the beginning of her downfall as she is drawn into his mysterious world of the Suicide Club, a network of powerful individuals and rebels who reject society’s pursuit of immortality, and instead chose to live—and die—on their own terms. In this future world, death is not only taboo; it’s also highly illegal. Soon Lea is forced to choose between a sanitized immortal existence and a short, bittersweet time with a man she has never really known, but who is the only family she has left in the world.
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My Review
Suicide Club is a chilling tale of a near-future dystopia where population decline has led to strict Sanctity of Life laws and systems to extend life even longer. Poetically written, Heng weaves a dystopian nightmare that is plausible; however, I struggled to connect to the story as I had expected to and was left wanting much more.
“Something has to change. In being robbed of our deaths, we are robbed of our lives.”
The novel takes place in a New York City that closely resembles modern day, which both adds to the fear of this potential reality as well as creates a dissonance between the futuristic technologies that are not really explained. There is a lot of jargon used that did not seem to be explained, which I found to be distracting – like DiamondSkin is something that I should be intimately aware of, or that a Tender is something that I personally understand.
Suicide Club is told in two alternating points of view, something that I didn’t realize right away. I found myself confusing backstories and just being confused until I went back and re-read. I love dual-POVs done well, but I struggle when the narrative shift isn’t clearly notated and the perspectives bleed together. The first 20% of the book or so recalls the back histories of the two main characters and I struggled to keep everything straight.
I found myself not really caring much about the characters at the beginning of the book, although by the end I did care a bit for Lea and Anja. For me, the story was lacking in explanation of what steps led the population to this point, the political Ministry and its purpose left largely unexplored. With comparisons to Margaret Atwood, I found this to be particularly disappointing as I find Atwood’s writing to be largely about the political systems as well as the system’s impact on the central characters. I can see what Heng was trying to emulate, but for me, it missed the mark.
“Someone once said that death was the best invention life had to offer.”
In my opinion, the overall story would have been stronger if the beginning of the novel spent a bit of time directly exploring the political climate, explaining what it meant to be a lifer or antisanc, how the tests at birth and the numbers play into the scheme of things. I found a lot of compellingly interesting tidbits about the society that wasn’t explored. What is causing the population decline, what is the history of the Replacement business, why all the laws about taking care of yourself? Why the Lists and WeCovery? In a world where suicide is a sin and used as a form of civil disobedience, I feel that answering some of these questions would have strengthened the narrative. I found the lack of world-building in a near-future dystopia to be the main reason that I struggled to connect with the story, and I was left wanting more.
I found Suicide Club to be an interesting and innovative premise, Heng writes with lyrical prose and I look forward to reading her future work and seeing her develop as a writer. This is more of a story about family and choice and less about the dystopian world. I think readers who are interested in family dynamics and the personal story of the characters will enjoy this book, but those who are looking for a dystopian thriller with political intrigue may be disappointed.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Henry Holt & Company, for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Let’s go on another adventure together!
I love you review!!! Although I do disagree about the politics. Given the overall theme, I felt the decision to omit them was what actually worked for me. But so much of this reflecting back, I can where you are coming from. You uses simple one liners to describe a lot of the jargon like Diamondskin, which for me was brilliant, but could honestly be missed easy I think. I always love seeing how we stack up with books 🖤
*She uses.. not You uses. Stupid phone 🤬
I definitely saw those one liners, but for me it wasn’t enough. I don’t know why, but I feel like not going more in depth felt disjointed from the future aspects? Like everything else but these words seemed so much like present day and without the politics I just wasn’t able to fully immerse myself. This is totally a preference though because I like the political aspects of dystopia, and I think that the book blurb doesn’t adequately describe what you are really getting here.. I think I had expectations that just couldn’t be met. But this was a good book and I think people will enjoy it provided they go in knowing what they are getting instead of expecting something in the vein of Atwood’s work.
Yes, I totally get where you are coming from! And I do wish we would move away from Atwood comparisons. It needs to stop. It is like seeing the Night Circus on every MR title. I can see how you expected something more or different.
I requested this one on NG. Haven’t got the approval yet tho.
I really like dystopia and was really excited about this. I saw in other reviews as well that the world building is not so good.
The family dynamics part could still be interesting!
I think that as long as you go in with realistic expectations of what you are getting it would be a different experience, and the family dynamics were incredibly interesting for me! I hope you get a chance to read it!
I am reading this currently. It’s interesting, and can’t say it’s bad but not hooked me in enough..I am halfway but agree with world building. Thanks for the excellent review!
I definitely agree, I wanted a bit more in the case of worldbuilding. It is such a neat book and not bad… just didn’t captivate me. Thanks for commenting!
HMMMMMMMMMM it’s interesting but not interesting enough to make me put it up on my growing tbr. Lovely review though!
Thank you so much! I definitely think that in the right hands it will be coveted, but it isn’t for everyone.
Great review!
I am currently reading this and I am struggling so much with it. I agree that the world, while interesting, could have used with some more worldbuilding.
Thank you Hannah, and I am glad that I am not the only one wanting a bit more worldbuilding! I hope your next read is more your speed, love!
I am still struggling my way through the book because I am determined to finish it. But I am also binge-reading the Kate Daniels series and everything else is taking a bit of a backseat..
You can do it… sooner or later! It does pick up a bit once you get through the slog of a backstory infodump so I hope it gets easier for you.
gotta go read this now. curious of what looking what others thought. thanks for review
Thanks for commenting and I hope you enjoy it!
I did. I hope you continue to write