The Marriage Act: A Novel
What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey? Black Mirror meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman's The Power in this dark, high-concept novel by the bestselling author of The One.
Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society's ills--the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.
But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives--monitoring every word, every minor disagreement...and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and obey.
"The king of near-future what-ifs is back with a smart and chilling page-turner. Twisty, unsettling, scarily believable and thought provoking, this is his best yet." --Ellery Lloyd, author of The Club
"Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible. A near future nightmare that grips from the first page and never lets go. THE MARRIAGE ACT is a brilliant examination of relationships and the power we let others have over us. And talk about a page-turner. This one will leave you with paper cuts!" --C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man
Don't miss other suspenseful reads from John Marrs (you'll never see the twists coming!):
Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society's ills--the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.
But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives--monitoring every word, every minor disagreement...and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and obey.
"The king of near-future what-ifs is back with a smart and chilling page-turner. Twisty, unsettling, scarily believable and thought provoking, this is his best yet." --Ellery Lloyd, author of The Club
"Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible. A near future nightmare that grips from the first page and never lets go. THE MARRIAGE ACT is a brilliant examination of relationships and the power we let others have over us. And talk about a page-turner. This one will leave you with paper cuts!" --C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man
Don't miss other suspenseful reads from John Marrs (you'll never see the twists coming!):
- The One
- The Vacation
- The Family Experiment (coming soon!)
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Community Reviews
The Marriage Act by John Marrs is a dystopian novel that puts the mirror in front of today's society and asks you how far it should go with technological and social advances and whether the perfect marriage really exists.
It is about a society that monitors and keeps under control its citizens who have entered into a "smart marriage".
In the book, the chapters are assigned to the main characters Corrine, Arthur, Anthony, Jeffrey and Roxi. Corrine leads a secret double life. The elder Arthur is trying to cope after the death of his wife. Anthony works for the government, risking his family life. Jeffrey is a couples therapist and murderer and Roxi is trying to make a career as an influencer.
Marrs manages to make me feel like I'm living in a 'Black Mirror' episode. The German cover alone with the giant eye reminded me of typical dystopian Big Brother and George Orwell. The social and technological changes are very subtle, but their effects are all the more dire and impressive. Some characters I liked reading more than others and towards the middle of the book I had to fight a little to keep reading because it slowed down. However, the ending actually completely surprised me and I look forward to reading more from this author! I would recommend this book to any dystopia lover. Successful 3.7 of 5 stars gets the book from me.
If you read The One by John Marrs, this book was in the same vane and it was mentioned several times in the book. The government has decided that married people are the best and would receive better homes and cars if they signed up for the sanctity of marriage act. The only caveat is that you agree to be spied on by the government’s AI software that’s installed in your home/rings/cars, and can quickly let you know if your marriage needs tweaking.
Watch out Big Brother is listening!
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