The Measure by Nikki Erlick

Synopsis
Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.
It seems like just another morning.

You make a cup of tea. Check the news. Open the front door.

On your doorstep is a box.

Inside the box is the exact number of years you have left to live.

The same box appears on every doorstep across the world.

Do you open yours?

My Review
When I received my blog tour invite for The Measure from Tracy Fenton and Borough Press I said yes, without hesitation. What intrigued me and drew me to this book was the premis where boxes arrive world wide to everyone twenty two and over. Each one arrives with the cryptic motto ‘the measure of your life lies within’ and inside is a piece of string, that correlates to the amount of years or months you have left to live. Through the eyes of eight characters, Nikki Erlick shows the implications of these boxes, taking the reader on a fascinating and intriguing journey that had me asking the same question through out; what would I do?’

The Measure is one of those books with the premise of ‘what would I do? that can be a bit cliched, but Nikki Erlick has created a masterful tale, full of intrigue, empathy, emotion and warmth and far from clichéd The eight characters are all from different demographics, all with different views but as we all are in life, facing the inevitable death. I was fascinated at how some of the characters opened the boxes and had to cope with very different futures that now impacted their presents. There were others that didn’t want to know, and those whose box was opened without their permission. There were some stories that stood out for me, those who tried to use their time to make memories and support those around them with shorter strings, those who use the longer strings to their advantage, those that sacrifice their lives to save others, and those who were reckless knowing they had a long life ahead.

The Measure would make a brilliant book club read as there are so many discussion points. There is the obvious dilemma of human curiosity, and would you want to know how long you had to left to live. I was intersted in how Nikki Erlick wrote of the dynamics of religion and politics and how they put their spin on the delivery of these boxes. She also shone light on how prejudice arose about those with the shorter strings where they didn’t receive full medical care, could lose their jobs and were generally discriminated against.

The Measure is an immersive and intriguing read on many levels. There are the analogies of Pandora’s Box and Eve biting the forbidden fruit, where there are consequnces to the actions taken, good or bad. Each character’s story had me rethinking my own ideas and feelings and I really felt invested in there lives. Nikki Erlick’s writing and plotting is compelling and accomplished and it is hard to believe this is her first novel. What I ultimately got from this book is that life is for living and we should live it to the full as we never know how long we have.

I would would like to thank Borough Press and Tracy Fenton for inviting me to be art of this blog tour in return for my honest review.