Unit

Ninni Holmqvist lives in Skåne, Sweden. She is the author of three short-story collections, including Kostym (Suit), and two novels. She also works as a translator.

'Haunting.' -- The New Yorker 'Readers actually begin to wonder...is life better as a pampered lab bunny or as a lonely indigent? But then [Holmqvist] turns the screw, presenting a set of events so miraculous and abominable that they literally made me gasp.' -- Washington Post "A remarkably thought-provoking novel." Reading Matters "Holmqvist paces her revelations superbly and the reader is gripped by the atmosphere of slowly mounting claustrophobia." New Internationalist "For a debut novel I thought it was stunning" Zoe Page Bookbag - www.bookbag.com "This dystopian world is described with such exquisite balance between its luxuries and cruelties that the reader is emotionally drawn in and made to face up to often uncomfortable and challenging ethical dilemmas. I cannot recommend this novel, nor signal Holmquist's evident talent as an author strongly enough; it is an excellent book." What's On UK? "Creepily profound and most provocative." Kirkus Reviews "[A] chilling, stunning debut novel ... Holmqvist's fluid, mesmerizing novel offers unnerving commentary on the way society devalues artistic creation while elevating procreation, and speculation on what it would be like if that was taken to an extreme. For Orwell and Huxley fans." Booklist "The power of The Unit is its subtlety. Highly recommended." Readmorebooks.wordpress.com "An exploration of female desire, human need, and the purpose of life." Publishers Weekly "Holmqvist gives us a lesson in human nature and social engineering through a story that is spare, compelling, and all too human." Psychiatric Services "I found this one riveting from start to finish. It could happily find a place on school reading lists alongside Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four." "Chilling, humorous, poignant, thought-provoking, and immensely readable, this is perfect reading-group material which cannot fail to provoke discussion." New Books "The Unit rattled me in a way few dystopian novels have ... It's a story that will stick with me." shelflove.wordpress.com "Beautifully haunting ... This is one of the best books I've read over the past two years ... Thought-provoking and emotionally-moving, The Unit is a book you'll be discussing with others long after you're done reading it." Orlando Sentinel "Compelling, chilling in spots, and at times heartbreaking." Flashlight Worthy "Holmqvist handles her dystopia with muted, subtle care...Neither satirical nor polemical, 'The Unit' manages to express a fair degree of moral outrage without ever moralizing...it has enough spooks to make it a feminist, philosophical page-turner." Time Out Chicago "Savagely dystopian ... remarkably deft." Barnes and Noble Review Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, this novel imagines a chilling dystopia: single, childless, midlife women are considered dispensable." More Magazine