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Mark's Reviews > The Measure
The Measure
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I think at time of writing pretty much every review of this book is five stars. So I guess I'm an outlier!
The Measure has an interesting high concept pitch... What if everyone could find out how long they had left to live? It does feel like this idea MUST have been done already (?) but if not credit to the author for a nice hook.
However, the execution for me just fell flat. I gave up around a third of the way through the book. I just wasn't interested. The characters literally felt like just names to me with no depth or interest.
And after the initial kick off of the plot, when people find boxes with strings in them which indicate how long they have to live, nothing much has happened. Its just a bunch of people agonising over having a short string or knowing someone with a short string.
Maybe it picks up as the book continues but I'd read enough to know the style wasn't for me.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.
The Measure has an interesting high concept pitch... What if everyone could find out how long they had left to live? It does feel like this idea MUST have been done already (?) but if not credit to the author for a nice hook.
However, the execution for me just fell flat. I gave up around a third of the way through the book. I just wasn't interested. The characters literally felt like just names to me with no depth or interest.
And after the initial kick off of the plot, when people find boxes with strings in them which indicate how long they have to live, nothing much has happened. Its just a bunch of people agonising over having a short string or knowing someone with a short string.
Maybe it picks up as the book continues but I'd read enough to know the style wasn't for me.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.
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Reading Progress
November 4, 2021
–
Started Reading
November 4, 2021
– Shelved
November 7, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 55 (55 new)
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Sue Thompson
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rated it 1 star
Jul 26, 2022 11:31AM
Totally agree with you Mark. So disappointed. I got half way through and it bored me to tears. I could not connect with any of the characters. They all could have died and I don't think I would have been upset. This probably should be made into a Whitehouse Down style film lol!
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🙂 Thanks Sue! Life's too short so on to the next book.
I am so with you on that! On page 128 and trying to decide whether to keep going. Wonderful premise…..boring execution!
My advice is move on to the next book Linda. 🙂
Mark wrote: "My advice is move on to the next book Linda. 🙂"Yes I probably will….although I might have to peek at the last chapter as I do sort of wanna know how everything turns out lol
Thanks!
100% agree. Thanks for verbalizing my thoughts, as well.
Great I am not alone :) I gave up after 20% in... While the concept is intriguing, the writing is juvenile, the characters have little depth and I lost patience.
Yes Siyun, it's a shame that such an interesting concept wasn't fleshed out more effectively.
This summed up my thoughts on the book exactly.
Thanks Apple, hope you have better luck with your next book. 🙂
It never picked up. If anything, it got slower. I swear the last hundred pages took me forever to wade through.
Good to know Jennifer, thanks!
Agree. Interesting premise but I could not get into the characters, and writing did not flow.
Agree with all of this!!
It never picks up except for the predictable ending
I came here looking for any reviews that shared my sentiment. 20 chapters in and not feeling like this is going anywhere
I’m about 20% through the audiobook and just can’t get into it. I love Julia Whelan but I think this has to move to my DNF list. Thanks for your review confirming my thoughts!
Struggling to get through it. Find it boring. On page 88. Ugh.
One dimensional characters. Very predictable ending. Boring!
Couldn’t have said it better myself. I just finished and said “thank god that is done”
Agonizing is the right description.
The premise interested me but the trite book is a big disappointment. Not thought provoking.
So glad, I am not the only one thinking where the hell is this book going! So flat, and just boring, it was drama for the heck of it.
Me too. Maxed out on Cliched characters.
I made my way to the end of this book, and I’m sorry to say it doesn’t pull up the plane. Boring until the end.
I read half the book, finding the premise intriguing, but like you, characters had no dimension! I was so bored and waiting for the " good" part. When I realized I was three weeks in and it worked well as a sleeping pill, I was done.
Chloe Benjamin's The Immortalists has basically the same story - a fortune teller tells 4 siblings when they will each die
God, I was so bored with this book. I'm bailing at 30%, it just feels like the same people saying the same things over and over. Gah!
Same! I read ⅓ of the book, and skipped ahead to the last 20 pages or so to read the end. Even the ending was anti-climactic with too many characters that don’t meaningfully connect.
I found my people. I am 60% of the way through this book and I am still trying to figure out who is who. There is no award given for trying to put the most characters in a book as possible. None of them really had any dimension and I am finding myself really bored and wondering what I am missing???
I've only made it 16% and was debating whether it was worth it to finish. Do they just talk about their lives the entire book? I can't.
Agree completely! No depth to the characters and the plot fell flat midway through the book. Also, the range of vocabulary is narrow—uninteresting word choices. The author tells not shows what’s going on, which is poor writing. I pushed through the book because I did have a measure (ha!) of curiosity, and everything at the end is tied up in a neat and predictable bow, which is another sign of an immature novelist.
I’m at 43% and came here to see if anyone else was as bored as I am! I keep waiting for something to happen but I think I’m going to give up.
Complete agree. Also, the holes become more glaring.
I totally agree! I made it to 52% and came here to see if anyone else felt the same boredom as me. I cannot get into this book. The characters are flat and it just drags on about the short strings and it is sooooooo uninspiring and dull. I’m moving on, I cannot spend another minute trying to get through this sludge.
Same. All the characters sound the same and they're not realistic. They don't have personalities and I'm SO bored. I don't even care what happens to them and I'm 2\3 of the way through the book.
Totally agree with the above comments. I finished this slog of a book but not without several naps. I also found myself doing a significant amount of eye rolling during the process. The author beats us over the head with one concept and dull characters. What started as an interesting concept could have gone in so many different and creative directions.
I agree, this book didn’t work for me either. Interesting idea but uninteresting writing. The characters were so stereotypical I pictured Anthony Rollins with with long black Snidley Whiplash ‘stache I did finish it though since it’s my book clubs pick. I don’t like to Leave negative reviews but I can’t recommend reading this book, noMatter how long your string is.
I feel the same. This book was recommended in a “Thriller Book” group, but I feel like I’m just hearing excessive details about mundane lives.
I have about 50 pages left and I wished I'd DNFd it long ago because it never picks up at all, but now I'm in too deep to leave the last 50 pages unread lol I feel the exact same way though. The characters are so flat which does not work at all in a story that's more character driven than plot driven. It's a big yawn for me lol
I agree with all these comments. I rarely DNF a book, but this one might be the rare exception.
I felt exactly the same! Really interesting concept, but poor execution.
Exactly what i was feeling. The idea grabbed me in but after approx 1/5 of the way in, i felt it wasn't going anywhere. I really did try though.
Exactly what i was feeling. The idea grabbed me in but after approx 1/5 of the way in, i felt it wasn't going anywhere. I really did try though.
Such an interesting response! I think this is one of those unique books that gets classified in a genre that doesn't really fit - it's listed as science fiction, which I suppose it technically is, but this is much more literary fiction. I imagine a lot of folks picking this up were looking for a story that builds and moves, but this is definitely a book that focuses on people. I LOVED this, but mostly because I liked reading different perspectives and the parallels to things happening currently in the world. Totally understandable why it wouldn't grab some folks thinking it's something else though.
I agree 100%. I did finish reading the book but could not understand the hype. It was a long story about rather uninteresting people. The main idea of the book was great and that's what drew me in but it was a lackluster book at best.
