The Measure: A Novel

Ehhhh. It was fine but not my cup of tea.

If you are in the mood for an enjoyable novel that pulls you into the story immediately and keeps you reading, “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick could be a good choice for you. In addition to being a darn good story, this novel provides lots of material for reflection and is touted as a good book club book, which is how I happened to read it. The set-up focusses on a box that on the same day waits outside the door of every person in the world. Inside is a string varying in length from person to person. The inscription on top of each box reads “Inside is the measure of your life.” The strings are found to predict with total accuracy the remaining length of each person’s life. The plot then explores the ways in which people deal with the information: how will the talented young architect with such a promising future cope with the knowledge that he has only fourteen years left to live? Or the young woman who loves him (and has chosen not to open her box)? There are a half dozen or so more characters whose stories are developed, including a sleezy politician who is using his incredibly long string in support of his bid for the White House. I anticipate a good discussion in a couple of days when my book group meets, since the themes of discrimination based, of all things, on string length, and of courage, love, and loyalty emerge, and the various choices of the characters are interesting and provocative. The story is well written and highly imaginative, but a bit too sentimental for my taste.

One morning, everyone in the world awakens to find a mysterious box at their door. Those who choose to open the boxes discover they each contain a single string. At first, no one can determine what it means, though an inscription leads many to determine that the length of the string probably correlates with the length of their lives; a theory which is borne out in the following days, weeks, and months, as those with shorter string begin to perish. As one would expect, this bizarre development has dramatic effects on modern society, and debut novelist Nikki Erlick dramatizes many of them here by zeroing in on 8 interconnected lives. Spanning years, we follow these characters as they experience life’s milestones through the lens of people who (mostly) know when they and their loved ones are going to die. The concept allows the author to explore these events from a fresh perspective and lends many some added suspense. Aware of how much time they have left, should they change jobs, travel, get married, have children? And this of course leaves the reader to wonder what they would do if faced with similar decisions. The effects the strings’ arrival has on wider society are equally interesting, drawing many parallels to both the best and worst of humanity’s current tendencies. Prejudice and authoritarianism are both touched upon, but so are mankind’s proclivity for empathy, kindness, and optimism. The Measure is an easy read, with short, punchy chapters that keep the pages turning and characters that are fleshed out enough to be relatable. While there isn’t really a primary plot per se a lot happens between these 2 covers. Dealing with death, fate, family, hope, fear, hatred, and most of all, love, in the end this feels like a book about everything. That’s a lot for a debut author to take on, but Erlick handles it well. It might have been nice to delve into some of the story’s themes a little deeper, but that’s what the myriad book club discussions The Measure will inspire are for. Originally written for AFPL Journal https://afpljournal.com/2025/05/08/book-review-the-measure-by-nikki-erlick

I enjoyed how thought-provoking this book was. I never felt bored with the storyline and enjoyed the varying perspectives from all the characters. I definitely recommend giving this book a read (or listen)!

If you like The One then this one is for you. Everyone gets a box with a string that predicts their life span.