On a day like any other, people across the globe woke up and went about their lives, oblivious to how quickly everything would change. Life went on as normal until the boxes appeared. The effect that a seemingly insignificant event, like boxes showing up at peoples’ houses, could have on the entire world seems small, but in the book The Measure, it completely alters society. The Measure by Nikki Erlick is a book about life and the ways in which it can be measured.
After countless people woke up to find small black boxes at their doors, the world was plunged into chaos. Contained within the innocent looking boxes were strings of varying lengths. Every person 22 years or older received one box with one string inside. After months of research, scientists eventually discovered that the length of a person’s string reflected the amount of time they would live. As the world scrambled to understand the situation, everyone was left with the choice of ignoring their box or living with the knowledge of their lifespan.
The Measure is about how different people in the United States were affected by the sudden, life changing event. Mostly centered around Washington D.C. and New York City, it features several unique characters and their experiences with the strings. These characters include an architect, a teacher, a doctor who won’t live long, two lovers with different string lengths, a politician running for president, and the politician’s nephew who has ideas that conflict with his uncle’s. Each of them live different lives, but come to be connected by the end of the book.
The idea of strings representing the amount of time a person will live randomly appearing is unrealistic, but the way that the event is portrayed in The Measure seems very accurate to how the world would likely react if something so unfathomable actually happened. In the book, the strings completely alter the way society works. People with short strings face discrimination even though the situation is out of their control, while many with long strings feel like they need to protect themselves from short stringers. One of the things that The Measure displays well is humans’ curiosity and desire to understand everything. It displays the wide range of opinions regarding how and why the strings appeared, and if they actually mean anything.
The Measure explores themes about life and death. The strings give everyone in the world the opportunity to know when they will die and forces them to consider living life differently. One setback of having so many characters’ points of views in one book is that readers don’t get to know the characters very well. But each of the characters face their own challenges with the knowledge the strings give them, which is why the book’s variety of characters makes it interesting. The main message that the story tries to get across is that the most important measure of life isn’t necessarily its length, but instead its quality and depth. The Measure definitely leaves impactful questions about life, and readers may even reflect on the way they live their own lives after finishing it.
