The Measure

A Novel

By: Nikki Erlick

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Listen to the audiobook by award-winning narrator Julia Whalen!

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

"A story of love and hope as interweaving characters display: how all moments, big and small, can measure a life. If you want joy, love, romance, and hope—read with us." —Jenna Bush Hager

A luminous, spirit-lifting blockbuster that asks: would you choose to find out the length of your life?

Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, drink a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. The contents of this mysterious box tells you the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is an ambitious, invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.

An interesting story but feels like an allegory

It’s enjoyable and the performance is good. But all I can think of hearing the whole story is the strings are just an allegory for COVID-19. Arriving around the world in mid March of an election year and no one knows what to do. Makes people re-examine their lives and how they live. Maybe short strings being people at high risk for Covid and long ones people less likely to be really sick? Not sure there but really it feels like a Covid inspired tale. It’s interesting but very familiar with what everyone has been through the past few years.

Skip!

I picked this book because of the reviews and it being a NY Times bestseller. Less than an hour of listening I wanted to return it but Audible did not allow it (not sure why since I haven’t returned a book in months) so I stuck with it until the end in hopes it would get better. It never did. The premise is completely simplistic and absurd. Everyone in the world gets a box containing a string measuring the length of their life. Some open it and some don’t. The strings are not personalized so when friends decide to switch due to a new military law prohibiting people with short strings to serve, everyone believes them. Really? This book seems amateurish and incomplete. It is not deep or thought provoking. Save your credit.

Another Divide

I kept thinking how politically divided the world had become over the last few years .
The strings were a strong comparison.
I got bored with the story with its only focus on the strings . It was dark and a bit depressing.

Wow!! Great story!

Really enjoyed this story. Had a lot of meaning for today’s world. The narrator did a fabulous job. Thanks so much.

Too long

Too long and too much of the same. Plot is not really holding it’s ground… any long stringer will become a short stringer sooner or later…