This book was originally written in Swedish, titled Enhet. It is a very disturbing prediction of the possible future for any society focused primarily on procreation and population augmentation above all else. While it is mostly set in what seems to be Sweden, it could easily apply to North American society as well. Especially to Canada where there are many who fear that not enough canadians are having children.
The Unit is a dystopian novel set in the not too distant future. It is a democratic society with no flying cars, no freaky foods, and nothing terribly unfirmiliar except the existance of a horrible place called the Unit. If you are are a woman who turns 50 (or a man who turns 60) and have no children, then you are labelled "dispensable" and are permanently sent to the Unit on that milestone birthday. The Unit is a term used to describe facilities scattered throughout the country where "dispensables" are sent to be used as guinea pigs in various human experiments and where they are also used as organ donors. "Dispensables" live in the Unit until their "final donation" is given; a donation where an organ is taken that the donor cannot possibly survive without (liver, pancreas, heart, etc.) and the rest of the body is bagged and banked for future need. The terror that would normally be caused by a place like the Unit is smoothed over with every freedom and luxury that a person could ever ask for. There is unlimited free shopping, unlimited entertainment, free gyms, beautiful gardens, delicious food, private quarters with no rent, and everything else a person could desire aside from freedom and the right to live. The Unit is a superficial no-stress zone designed to brainwash these people into submitting to death. Ultimately, these people have no power over their fate. Suicide is impossible with the top notch Big Brother style security system and all these people can do is wait for their turn to die, when their organs are more valueble than they are. The book looms with sadness all the way through to its tragic ending.
In the book they also show the consequences of making people feel that procreation is the ultimate societal goal. By making procreation mostly about self-preservation, the book shows some interesting cause and effect scenarios because people become so over-burdened by the thought of being sent to the Unit. The number of kidnappings and teen pregnancies rapidly rise, the rate of STDs soars due to abnormally high levels of sexual encounters and multiple partners, and family values decrease because people who don't want kids are having them just to save their own skin.
What's funny is that the society in the book is very much focused on the idea of democracy as a shield; since the majority decided in favour of the Unit through democratic politics then it's okay. There is also an emphasis on morality and human rights when it comes to the treatment of those in the Unit, even though all dispensables are really there as objects for the abuse of society. The book also mixes up what humans value most. For example, healthy and highly intelligent people are being physically used for unhealthy folks with lots of children because the latter is considered to be more valueble to society. What is also interesting is that the most commonly donated organs in the book are kidneys and livers, and it doesn't take a doctor to know that those are organs commonly destroyed by human habits. I don't think the author did this by accident.
I think it was also interesting that during Dorrit's escape, she is using the North Star to find her way to freedom, drawing a direct parallel to the slaves on the underground railroad. What was also interesting is that this book is supposed to be a book written and left behind by the main character after her final donation, similar to the manuscript found in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
This book also shows the power of relationships. This book shows the bond between partners, the bond between friends, the bond between mother and child, and the bond between man and dog (strange I know, but this part really reached out to me). It also shows how powerful human support really is when you read about the interaction between all the inhabitants of the Unit.
All in all, The Unit is a very powerful book.
This book is a great add to any dystopian lit list. It's a must read for anyone who loves Orwell, Atwood, and the many other authors who remind us of the fragile balance between freedom and security.
Book Information
Title: The Unit
Author: Ninni Holmqvist
Year of publication: 2006
Year of translation: 2008 by Marlaine Delargy
Publisher: Other Press
Pages: 268
Purchased at: Chapters-Indigo
E-Book or Real Book (that's right, real book): Real Book
Rating: 5/5
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