Docile

By: K. M. Szpara

Narrated by: Mark Sanderlin, Vikas Adam

Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

K. M. Szpara's Docile is a science fiction parable about love and sex, wealth and debt, abuse and power, a challenging tour de force that at turns seduces and startles.

There is no consent under capitalism.

To be a Docile is to be kept, body and soul, for the uses of the owner of your contract. To be a Docile is to forget, to disappear, to hide inside your body from the horrors of your service. To be a Docile is to sell yourself to pay your parents' debts and buy your children's future.

Elisha Wilder’s family has been ruined by debt, handed down to them from previous generations. His mother never recovered from the Dociline she took during her term as a Docile, so when Elisha decides to try and erase the family’s debt himself, he swears he will never take the drug that took his mother from him.

Too bad his contract has been purchased by Alexander Bishop III, whose ultra-rich family is the brains (and money) behind Dociline and the entire Office of Debt Resolution. When Elisha refuses Dociline, Alex refuses to believe that his family’s crowning achievement could have any negative side effects - and is determined to turn Elisha into the perfect Docile without it.

Content warning: Docile contains forthright depictions and discussions of rape and sexual abuse.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com

©2020 K. M. Szpara (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Don't call K.M. Szpara's Docile a dystopia. This book is something much stranger and yet closer to our own reality. Szpara has an amazing gift for immersing us in a world of exploitation and unbearable tenderness, and making it feel familiar and inescapable. Reading Docile changed me and left me with a new awareness of the structures of oppression that surround me. This book is an unforgettable story of human connection and the struggle to remain yourself in a world of debtors and creditors." (Charle Jane Anders)

"If you're not careful, this disturbing, sexy, disturbingly sexy book will infect your brain, and you'll start wondering whether its miserable world is very different from our own, and how much choice any of us really have in this capitalist hellscape where so many of our options are set at birth. And then you might want to do something about it." (Sam J. Miller)

"An unputdownable scifi dystopian erotica human rights masterpiece reminiscent of The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty - but this time, the beauty fights back." (Delilah S. Dawson)

Not sure about this one.

The first third of this book kept reminding me of Rieko Yoshihara's "The Spaces Between". But, strangely enough the characters in her twisted world of forbidden emotions are much more alive. The punishments are immediate and brutal, and when rape happens, noone is left to doubt it. And still practically everyone manages to stay themselves and constantly break the rules. Here, I found the quick disintegration of Elisha's personality almost unbelievable. I guess, the story demanded it, but still...
Without the catchphrase "there is no consent under capitalism" I would not have guessed this book was about capitalism. Though it definitely raises interesting questions about freedom of choice in any relationship and it is an engrossing read.

Great performances

Really enjoyed the performances. The story was better on the first half than the second.

Best book I’ve read/listened to in 2020 so far

The more I think about this book the more I don’t know what to think about it. At the same time, I have so many thoughts about this book I don’t know how to express all those thoughts without writing a whole essay, because this is the kind of book that I believe asks for critical thinking and analysis to get a solid understanding of what it’s saying and what it means.

I can say for certain though that this is the best book I’ve read/listened to in 2020 so far. Unfortunately, I’ve only read 13 due to Covid making it hard for me to concentrate and sleep. I can also say that this book made me cry a lot and feel a lot of things. I can’t say it gave me “all the feels,” because I didn’t feel the happiness and elation a romance novel would produce. But I loved how this book made me feel big emotions and think about it days after I’d finished reading it.

I liked the ambiguous ending. I don’t know if Alex or Elisha should be together, but I do think Alex won’t ever hurt Elisha again. I think Elisha should take as much time as he needs to be a full human being and fully self-aware. What he went through was so sad and heartbreaking, yet I also felt Alex’s angst. I do understand how trapped Alex felt, but I hated how Elisha had to suffer because of Alex’s cowardice.

So, yeah, I think Alex was a coward. He was addicted to his privilege and afraid of his father. In the end, he may have stood up and fought for Elisha, freeing himself at the same time. It was a win-win for him. He wasn’t impoverished and he wasn’t “imprisoned” or institutionalized. He may have lost his job, but it wasn’t the end of the world for him. I kinda hated that his voice was stronger than Elisha’s in the end, that he got the last word, because it meant that Elisha wasn’t completely free and wasn’t completely able to speak for himself. But I think that was the author’s point.

I really liked the freedom and joy Elisha felt when he was with Onyx and their uncomplicated friendship, though their relationship began in such a disturbing setting. This book contained moral ambiguity in a horrifyingly one-dimensional, regimented world.

I feel so sad for Elisha, what happened to him and how he became, and hope he does regain complete self-autonomy and agency. The author did such a good job communicating what Elisha and Alex went through and how they felt that I couldn’t help but sympathize with both of them.

This book is like a horror story in some ways and could perhaps provide a lens through which we can view our own world and circumstances especially here in the United States during Covid. Where some Americans are forced to work in unsafe and life-threatening conditions just to survive, while others on the frontline are working in unsafe conditions due to poor public policy and a corrupt administration, whose only goal is to win re-election, stay in power, and enrich themselves, their donors, and their cronies.

Finally, I have to say, the audiobook narration completely sold the story to me and bumped my review up to 5 stars.

Not for everyone, but I absolutely loved it

Finished listening to this a couple of weeks ago, and am still thinking about it. I normally listen to audiobooks during commutes; every so often, a novel draws me in so much that I continue listening for hours even after I get home. This was one of those. The dual narration was excellent, and very convincing; it really drew me into the minds and lives of the main characters. I found them both intriguing and likeable. I also really enjoyed how environments, clothing, etc. were described here - this is the type of thing that can get boring for me in a story when overdone, but it worked perfectly here for the world-building.

I understand how some could mistake this novel for mere BDSM erotica - indeed, there are a number of extended gay sex scenes - and I found them super-hot despite being heterosexual, LOL. But it's so much more than that. Another review, I think, called this a sexual parable of capitalism - and I couldn't agree more. Listening to this novel while considering it as a metaphor for the direction modern capitalism is taking is a perspective I found penetrating (pun intended, lol) and quite chilling. It is sci-fi, but it's... unsettlingly believable. If you ever worked exhausting, back-breaking labor that barely made a dent in your debts, while working for a billionaire, you may find a lot to relate to on a psychological level (or, I sure did, anyway.)

The only negatives I noticed were a few minor details that detracted from the believability of the story (I don't think anyone could realistically learn to play piano that well in 6 months... lol). But these were very minor flaws. Overall, this is an absorbing story with much more depth than may initially appear, and I will likely go back to it in the future. Definitely looking forward to hearing more from this author!

Amazing book

This is 1 of the best books I’ve encountered. The 2 actors were dead on right for these roles. Their voices are perfect & their abilities allowed for nuances from both regarding the mix of emotions felt by both characters. I cannot recommend this book enough!
You will be enticed, enthralled & yes, a bit guilty for enjoying the flood of sensations

Surprisingly awesome...

So, when I began listening to this story I instantly did not like the premise of the story...but, I could not stop listening. As the story developed I became enthralled with Elisha and the tenacity he garnered to help his family out. As Alex was introduced, I thought initially he was going to be a good guy but he turned out to be a rotten person...well, not so fast there bucko. The emotional rollercoaster that this author put me on had me all over the place. At the end of the day, the only thing I was certain of was I wanted to smack the father...all the other characters presented with such an emotional and complicated conundrum...I just don't know. What I do know is that this was a great story and I am glad that I ignored my inner critic and mustard through...I am better now for having included this work of fiction into my internal library. Awesome!!!

Totally out there with this book!

I can truly say this writer should really have their head examined! Not sense my first book of Steven King, have I been so in trolled with a crazy mind. This was totally something new, this takes (BDSM) SUB-MISSIVES to a the extreme with a little bit of brain washing. Don’t forget the backstabbing, and underhanded dealing. This book is a great read if the read has a twisted mind like ours.
Thnx

Wow

This was soooo good! The right amounts of intrigue, solid characters and titillation to satisfy anyone!

Hooked

I was really really hooked! I couldn’t stop reading/listening. This book has a lot to dissect about all kinds of complex ideas. The audio performance also helped carry the book. I loved it.

Had to put it down

When starting this story I was expecting a dystopian beauty and the beast, but what I got was dystopian 50 shades of grey. I was not expecting the mental till it took to finish the book. The ending is very good. To see characters change and fight with their emotions, see everyone having 2 faces and the constant reminder of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The book is well written and the voice actors did a 10/10 job.
TL:DR Complex plot line and heavy emotional load, had to take a break in the middle before finishing the book. Will not read twice.