One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apar...
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Jul 04, 2011
Brad
rated it: 
The Unit is billed as a Sci-Fi dystopia. If so, it's just barely so. It's speculative with a lower case "s" but little more than that.
Told in the first person by Dorrit Weger -- the most insipid, pathetic, annoying narrator I've read in years -- The Unit is about a future in Sweden where old "dispensable" people (women at fifty and men at sixty who have no families or partners who've avowed love for them), are harvested for their organs and made subjects for medic More...
Told in the first person by Dorrit Weger -- the most insipid, pathetic, annoying narrator I've read in years -- The Unit is about a future in Sweden where old "dispensable" people (women at fifty and men at sixty who have no families or partners who've avowed love for them), are harvested for their organs and made subjects for medic More...
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Dec 05, 2011
Denae
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The Unit is the saddest piece of dystopian fiction I have ever read. Normally the genre leaves me angry or frightened or feeling the need for a good shower, but this made me feel heartbroken. The Unit is a place where women who have reached the age of 50 and men who have reached the age of 60 without having children are sent to live in order to participate in "humane" experiments and act as organ donors for the so-called needed. These people are known as dispensable.
The sto More...
The sto More...
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Jan 29, 2012
Daniel
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Ninni Holmqvist entführt uns in "Die Entbehrlichen" in eine Welt, in der man gelernt hat die Logik über die Ethik zu stellen. Was "Gut" und was "Böse" ist, wird an Hand der eigenen Nützlichkeit festgelegt. So erscheint es selbstverständlich, dass ein Mensch der zum Beispiel nicht für Kinder zu sorgen hätte oder keine nennenswerten Erfolge im Berufsleben aufweist, weniger Wertvoll für die Gesellschaft ist, als jemand bei dem dies schon der Fall ist.
Diesen G More...
Diesen G More...
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Aug 07, 2011
Amanda
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Imagine a world where economic productivity comes first, a world perhaps not so different from our own, if you really think about it. In this world, people are considered necessary to society if they marry, have children (future workers), and/or have productive, useful jobs (teachers, doctors, engineers). What happens, then, to those people who never manage to find partners, who don’t have children, who work in “unnecessary” jobs (writers, artists, etc)? In this world, they are considered “dispe
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(7 people liked it)
Aug 09, 2010
Misha
rated it: 
Meh. There's an interesting idea at the heart of this book, a sort of Logan's Run kind of idea, that asks "What if childless people were considered so worthless by society they just become living organ farms once they hit 50 (for women) or 60 (for men)?" The problem is the execution is so full of logical holes I kept wanting to throw the book at the wall. There are so many my head hurts just trying to think of them all for the purpose of a review.
I was also highly annoyed More...
I was also highly annoyed More...
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Mar 02, 2010
Joshua
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This was nearly a five star book for me and I don't give those out very often--probably only a few of them in the hundreds of books I've rated since starting this a few years ago. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars was because of the ending--big mistake for Holmqvist that didn't ruin it for me but it could have been a real classic dystopian novel. It was still really, really good but five stars is for the elite of the elite to me.
The Unit is set in Sweden in the near future and i More...
The Unit is set in Sweden in the near future and i More...
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(5 people liked it)
Nov 13, 2010
Suzanne (Chick with Books)
rated it:
Ninni Holmqvist's novel is compelling and disturbing at the same time. From the first turn of the page I was drawn into the futuristic world where childless women who have reached the age 50 and childless men at age 60 are "welcomed" into The Unit. A beautiful spa like setting with walking paths, beautiful gardens', wonderful food, medical experiments and body harvesting from their "residents". Our protagonist is Dorrit, a woman who never had a steady job, had a lover who liv
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(4 people liked it)
Aug 31, 2011
Nadine
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"The Unit" spielt in Schweden zu einer Zeit, in der Frauen über 50 und Männer über 60, die aus Sicht der Regierung und der Gesellschaft bis dahin ein "selbstsüchtiges Leben" geführt haben und keine eigenen Kinder zum Wohlergehen des Landes beigetragen haben als "entbehrlich" angesehen werden. Sie müssen ihr bisheriges Leben aufgeben und in eine geschlossene Wohnanlage übersiedeln. Dort werden medizinische Experimente mit ihnen durchgeführt, so dass sie der Gesellsch
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(2 people liked it)
Nov 21, 2011
Sabiel
rated it:
A very strong four stars, and I'm so pleased! This could not have been paced more salubriously. I also finished Girl With the Dragon Tattoo recently, and I'm just loving these Swedes' plotting and pacing. (Then again, I've always been a sucker for anything remotely Scandinavian.)
I've been a rabid Dollhouse fan since the beginning, so I was already familiar and infatuated with the premise of the "serene spa-like environment*" in which inhumane, insidiously pseudo-consensual More...
I've been a rabid Dollhouse fan since the beginning, so I was already familiar and infatuated with the premise of the "serene spa-like environment*" in which inhumane, insidiously pseudo-consensual More...
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Feb 21, 2011
Florinda
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READ MORE of this review: http://www.3rsblog.com/2009/06/thursday-... Unit takes place in a modern society where, if you make it to the age of fifty (if you're a woman - it's sixty for men) without becoming a parent and/or pursuing a socially-beneficial profession, you are considered 'dispensable.' You're not 'needed' - relationships with spouses, siblings, and even pets don't count, nor do many jobs. However, there are still a few things you can do for 'the community;' the Unit will make all th
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Jan 21, 2012
Lainy
rated it: 
Blurb From Goodreads
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty–single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries–are sequeste More...
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty–single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries–are sequeste More...
Jan 10, 2012
Bookworm
rated it:
About:
The Unit is set sometime in the not too far off future. According to a new law, if adults cannot contribute to society in some way, they are considered to be dispensable. Contributing to society means having children or having a high demand career.
Dispensable adults are taken to Second Reserve Bank Unit for Biological Material, where they will live out the remainder of their lives donating body parts and organs, until their 'final donation'. In The Unit, they are also ex More...
The Unit is set sometime in the not too far off future. According to a new law, if adults cannot contribute to society in some way, they are considered to be dispensable. Contributing to society means having children or having a high demand career.
Dispensable adults are taken to Second Reserve Bank Unit for Biological Material, where they will live out the remainder of their lives donating body parts and organs, until their 'final donation'. In The Unit, they are also ex More...
Dec 23, 2011
Nikki
rated it:
This is a Swedish novel however, the translation of this book is pretty good as other than the strange names and places, I would have thought it was a American novel. I really enjoyed this book even though there were a few things that did not quite mesh with reality and science. This story gave the reader a look through a crystal ball into the near future in which the world overtly prefers married couples and people with children. All persons deemed dispensable are literally used for spare pa
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Nov 08, 2011
Jennifer
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Book Description
In the not-to-distant future, Sweden has adopted some new societal norms. Those who are “needed” (i.e., work in necessary industries, produce children) live their lives normally. Those who are “dispensable” (i.e., work in marginal industries such as the arts, have not produced children) live on the outskirts of society until the age of 50 (for women) and 60 (for men). At that point, they enter the Second Reserve Bank Unit for Biological Material (or The Unit) for the re More...
In the not-to-distant future, Sweden has adopted some new societal norms. Those who are “needed” (i.e., work in necessary industries, produce children) live their lives normally. Those who are “dispensable” (i.e., work in marginal industries such as the arts, have not produced children) live on the outskirts of society until the age of 50 (for women) and 60 (for men). At that point, they enter the Second Reserve Bank Unit for Biological Material (or The Unit) for the re More...
Apr 30, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
During dinner the conversation moved through a range of topics. I didn’t take much part in it, I just sat there listening most of the time. Eventually they started talking about the outside world. The community. Things were changing out there. The number of childless fifty-year-old women and sixty-year-old men was dwindling significantly, and dispensable individuals were now being taken from professions that had previously been completely protected. It no longer mattered if you were a schoolteac
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Nov 09, 2010
Cally
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 27, 2010
Teresa
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Shortly after her 50th birthday, Dorrit Wenger packs a suitcase of her most prized possessions, gets into a van, and checks into the Second Reserve Bank Unit. There, she and many other single childless women over 50 and single childless men over 60 are given comfortable apartments, free food at lovely restaurants, access to recreational facilities at no cost, and the opportunity to be a family to one another. The catch? Dorrit and the other dispensables at the unit must participate in medica
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Sep 04, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
I love me a dystopian. You all know I love me a dystopian. Even a slower paced dystopian? Well yea, even then I love me some dystopian. But sadly, in this case I wouldn’t stretch quite that far in my declarations. I fall short of adoration with The Unit, but I sure did like it a great deal. It was very well done and I enjoyed it much more than I had anticipated I would, but still it was a bit too leisurely.
My first book in translation it took me awhile to adjust to the lengthy des More...
My first book in translation it took me awhile to adjust to the lengthy des More...
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Aug 11, 2010
Becky
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The Unit is at once a painful book to read and yet remarkably absorbing. It is so believable that it horrified me. Once I finished reading it, I felt like a swimming pool inflatable with all the air let out, left to bob hopelessly under a darkened sky. The story (which is a first person narrative) tells us about Dorrit who has just turned fifty and is taken to the unit. Any woman who gets to the age of fifty and any man who gets to the age of sixty without having any dependents are classed as di
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Jun 23, 2010
Jim
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I read The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist cover to cover last night. I rarely do that. The book takes place slightly in the future in Sweeden where social and political changes, passed into law, stipulate the "dispensibility" of people based on whether they have children or not by a certian age. Those without children are deemed "dispensible" . At age 50 for women, and 60 for men, these aging Sweeds are ushered to a government run "Unit" where everything they could want is
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Feb 17, 2010
Kay
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The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (ISBN: 978-1590513132, Other Press) is a Dystopian book. Be prepared for a novel that seeps silently into your psyche and gives you the chills. This is one unusual and absorbing story that is not easily forgotten.
Dorrit Weger lives in a future society where if you’re a woman that’s not considered to be the cream of the crop, neither holding down an important job nor needed by anyone, you’re considered of little value after you reach your fiftieth birthday More...
Dorrit Weger lives in a future society where if you’re a woman that’s not considered to be the cream of the crop, neither holding down an important job nor needed by anyone, you’re considered of little value after you reach your fiftieth birthday More...
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Jan 31, 2010
Amy
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Dystopian novel, The Unit, is subtle and chilling. A very fast read. What it really reminded me of was Never Let Me Down. Children are valued above everything, as they are what gives you the right to stay alive, rather than becoming a dispensable and entering the Hospital for Biological Material. There's a subtle weave on male/female relations: it is illegal for men to do physical tasks for a woman, like changing out the snow tires, or chopping wood. The sexes are equal, and the housewife i
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Jan 22, 2010
Alyce (At Home With Books)
rated it:
The Unit is sure to become a modern classic in the dystopian fiction genre. I was moved by this haunting story about Dorrit, a fifty-year-old woman who is forced to become a living donor because of her age and position in society.
Dorrit is a quiet, unassuming lady who is a bit of an intellectual and loves to write. Her main fault is that she has not become a productive member of society - in other words, she hasn't married or had children. Therefore, in this society, her life is dispen More...
Dorrit is a quiet, unassuming lady who is a bit of an intellectual and loves to write. Her main fault is that she has not become a productive member of society - in other words, she hasn't married or had children. Therefore, in this society, her life is dispen More...
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Dec 12, 2009
Booklist Editor's Choice Selection Winner 2009
ABOUT THIS BOOK
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty–single, childless, and w More...
ABOUT THIS BOOK
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty–single, childless, and w More...
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(1 person liked it)
Nov 10, 2009
Karen
rated it:
This was a very upsetting and uncomfortable book to read. I actually cannot remember reading a book that made me so upset and downright angry. I think the most upsetting part was the idea out forth in the book that if you didn’t make the right life decisions, specifically have children or find someone who love you, you became a unwanted person. In “The Unit” self worth is only determined by others. It doesn’t matter how happy you are or comfortable you may be in your own skin, you are only w
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Sep 29, 2009
John
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 30, 2009
Heather
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When I read about this book, it brought to mind The Handmaid's Tale and another futuristic feminist novel I'm forgetting the name of. The Unit is set in Sweden in the not too far off future. Women over 50 who don't have children and men over 60 who don't have children have to move into one of the reserve banks when they turn that age. They are considered "dispenseables" and basically live to do experiments and provide organs to people in society who have children. It is a democratic s
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Aug 04, 2009
Weavre
rated it:
Interesting. The Unit is a well-written dystopia that raises worthwhile questions for readers who might otherwise not have considered them.
There were times, though, when I felt that Holmqvist was a bit too heavy-handed with her anti-leftist imagery. In the world she portrays, for example, it's actually illegal for a man to chop wood while his female partner prepares a meal, even if both parties are truly happiest with this arrangement; traditional gender roles have been banned, as ha More...
There were times, though, when I felt that Holmqvist was a bit too heavy-handed with her anti-leftist imagery. In the world she portrays, for example, it's actually illegal for a man to chop wood while his female partner prepares a meal, even if both parties are truly happiest with this arrangement; traditional gender roles have been banned, as ha More...
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Jul 24, 2009
Lisa
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The Unit is a thought-provoking and beautifully written debut novel for Swedish author Ninni Holmqvist. Dorrit Weger, upon turning 50, checks into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. Because she has no children, no spouse or lover with whom she households, and no job in a progressive industry, she is deemed dispensable by the government. She is not a "needed" one.
Set in the not-too-distant future, The Unit takes us through the progress of the dispensabl More...
Jul 16, 2009
Al
rated it:
Got this from my Amazon Vine account or I'd probably have skipped it. Those of you without a Vine account should really apply. Great way to get in on books early and free. Yep, free. Just for reviewing.
Anyhow, an interesting book with an all-too-real premise. Those of us who are not contributing get sent off at either age 50 for women or 60 for men to be used as donors and test subjects. I guess in the society in the story they do a lot more organ transplants, otherwise I can't see More...
Anyhow, an interesting book with an all-too-real premise. Those of us who are not contributing get sent off at either age 50 for women or 60 for men to be used as donors and test subjects. I guess in the society in the story they do a lot more organ transplants, otherwise I can't see More...
