Big brother

It’s my first dystopian novel. The genre never appealed to me. Was I right?

No, absolutely not. After reading the synopsis, it still didn’t appeal to me much, but after reading the first chapter I was sold.

This is a book about the big questions of life. About family, about mourning and not giving up.

The story is told in the present and the past. It is clear in which part of the story you are, the chapters in the past mention it at the beginning.

Special about the story is that it all takes place within a day. And a lot happens on that day. Main character Simon goes through a rollercoaster of emotions and doubt. A lot of doubt. About what is the best thing to do. Give up, or go on, as he promised his dying wife.

I don’t know what I would do in his situation. It feels wrong in every way to go on. But what else? Choosing death is not easy.

The book is about “big brother is watching you” and how far can you take it before it all goes wrong. How much power can you give the government? What is democracy?

It makes you think about modern society. And what you share and with who. And how much do you really know about that sharing, how much is saved, without us even knowing. It’s about the power of the chosen ones. And no chance of control for us “normal” people.

At the end there’s a big twist. A twist that surprised me, but on the other hand was so logical that I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of that possibility. Like that!

My opinion: GOOD