Our book club pick for this month was The One by John Marrs. I actually thought we weren't meeting for a couple of weeks when I got the Facebook notification about an event coming up this week and so I had to read it super quickly and good news, everybody, it's a quick read.
In the near future, the gene that determines "the one" for each person has been discovered. You send in a swab of your DNA and if your Match has done the same, you can meet them. This has a lot of consequences for society, including previously happily married couples getting divorced, a rise in suicides, and general society upheaval. But couples that are Matched have longer relationships, less domestic violence, and seem to be super happy.
This book follows the story of five couples. I thought the book was super easy to read and sort of an interesting concept in the way that Black Mirror episodes are interesting, if sometimes horrific. But there were only two couples I found myself invested in. The others were problematic for me in a few ways I don't want to get into too much for fear of spoilers.
I did think that this was an interesting read. 4/5 stars
Hat mentions:
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Book club thoughts: This was an easy read and everyone who was there finished the book, which is like a miracle and will probably never happen again. Everyone agreed that the characters were mostly unlikeable, the scientist was super upset about the science being BS (there was a real rant), and we actually had very little to say about the book. Every time I'd try to steer us towards discussing the book, we ended up talking about our pets. The host had just adopted a new dog that day, so we brainstormed ideas for her name, discussed best training practices (my vet was there!), and did whatever we could to not talk about the book. I wouldn't recommend this one for your book club, to be honest.
Wow. What an interesting concept. Wouldn't it be fun though, to know if OUR ONE is actually OUR ONE? I gonna go on a whim and say that YES, you and I have found The One. 😉
ReplyDeleteIf he's not the one, I don't want to know!!
DeleteThis is an interesting concept and reminds me a bit of The Measure? I mostly love the fact that everyone read it but wanted to talk about pets instead. I mean, new dogs are exciting and I can see that trumping a book discussion.
ReplyDeleteThat is what I immediately thought.
DeleteI haven't read The Measure, so I can't say.
DeleteWe were really easily distracted by the pet discussion. I just don't think the book was deep enough to keep us engaged.
That's funny, because I was also going to compare it to The Measure but Elisabeth beat me to it. It does sound interesting... and you say it's a quick read. I might see if I can get it from our library.
ReplyDeleteI was so impressed that everyone read it, so it is readable. A first!
DeleteI DNF'd this one! So many people I know have read and loved this. But it seemed like one of the characters might be a serial killer (I don't think this is a spoiler to say as I think I only made it to like 10% of the book) and I was just not in the mindset to read about a potential serial killer.
ReplyDeleteYes, Lisa, you're 100% right. I was shocked by that storyline because it was so unexpected to me and I could see how it would prevent you from reading ahead.
DeleteI'm just jumping in here for a Hat Comment.
ReplyDeleteI watched The Gilded Age (streaming on Max) last night--its second season opener. The entire first scene was nothing but women putting on their fancy Easter hats. I thought of you immediately and how tickled you'd be. :-)
Hats!! I honestly think I might do a hat post on the first of the month forever. It's my thing now!
DeleteI am curious which couples you were invested in, since I have read it too. And interesting you do not recommend it for book club!
ReplyDeleteI was invested in the gay men mostly and the scientist. Some people were interested in the cop and her partner, but I was NOT. It just did not spark a discussion for us, so I think book clubs should avoid it.
DeleteTo be honest, a book club that is pet-forward in discussion kind of sounds like a dream?
ReplyDeleteThere was great people, great food, and two cuddly dogs. It was pretty great!
DeleteThis sounds like something I would enjoy. Very curious concept.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely readable. I think you'd like it!
DeleteI am here for book club discussions about pets! Hey an interesting, readable book - sign me up for that!
ReplyDeleteIt was a very strange book club. None of us could stay on track! I recommend a book club like that once in a while.
DeleteI have seen this one many times and wondered if it would be a worthwhile read. My book club tends to go for denser stuff, but we often end up talking a lot about other stuff too.
ReplyDeleteOur book club reads a lot of different types of books, but speculative fiction has not been a go to. I'm not sure we'll dive into it again any time soon.
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