Suicide Club ~ Rachel Heng
★★★☆☆
I received this ARC from Henry Holt and Company in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way.
I don't know if I really like this book or not. I definitely don't hate it, but I can't say I particularly liked it. Let's discuss.
Obligatory Summary
Lea Kirino is a high society lifer on the path to immortality and success when a ghost from her past in the form of her long lost father shows up and ruins her chances. He disappeared 80 years ago when she was a child, and now seems to have a lot of secrets, one of which is the Suicide Club, a secret underground organization of influential people who believe in living life to the fullest and dying when and how they choose. As Lea learns to accept her past, she must figure out where her allegiances lie—with her father and the antisanct Suicide Club, or with the Ministry and all it's mundane regulations.
On the other side of this story, we have Anja, whose mother is trapped in a man-made shell of machinery that will live far longer than she has—a portable life support machine. She is intricately and deeply connected to the Suicide Club.
My Thoughts
Okay, this premise sounds interesting enough, doesn't it? It sounds like a journey through the meaning of life and death and politics. But it isn't. Not really.
The big problem—the main problem—with this book is that it is boring. It wasn't predictable, per say, but only because I couldn't really make sense of the characters' motivations. The why's behind their actions. They did whatever Heng wanted them to do, and a lot of the time, it didn't mesh with the world she created. The world was really good, though, with a great atmosphere for the most part.
Because of that, the message of the book didn't really come across. Was it about living your life to the fullest? I think so, but I can't really be sure. Was it an advocate for informed suicide? For assisted suicide? A commentary on the stock market? On the nonsensical trends of high society socialites? A case study on the family? I really can't say.
Beyond all this, it was boring. The plot didn't really start until half way through, and there were several loose threads, which is bad, considering that this is a standalone. It felt like a chore to read this. It took me almost two months to read and it's only 335 pages.
Also, that cover is butt ugly and misleading genre-wise like whoever designed that needs to be fired. (Note: it was Meryl Sussman Levavi)
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