Monday, February 25, 2013

Unwind

A vague humanoid form is visible, its left hand extended to the "screen" as if waving or motioning for help. The atmosphere is dark and gloomy, similar to that of a womb. A human fingerprint is overlaid on the image. Near the bottom of the image, the title "Unwind", along with the author's name, is stenciled in a thin, science fiction-esque font.    What do you do with an unwanted pregnancy? Depending on your moral views, you would abort it. But what if that wasn't possible? What if abortion was illegal? What if the alternative was so shocking, so ghastly, so completely illogical and insane, yet it was totally ordinary and accepted in American society? Granted, most people wouldn't view it as that, because it was just so common. It's called unwinding. Unwinding is where between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, an unwanted child can retroactively be aborted by the parents. It is done so by practically dismembering the child, which all of their body parts are then given to those who need them (excluding the 'useless' body parts such as the appendix). However, since all of the parts are still alive, just with somebody else, the child is not technically 'dead', but in a 'divided state'. This shocking book tells what happens when the unthinkable is the norm, and when three teenagers scheduled to be unwound rebel.
    Connor is a sixteen year old who inadvertently discovered his unwind document in his parents' files. His parents view him as an out of control delinquent. Risa is a ward of the state, a very talented pianist, and is being unwound due to budget cuts. Lev is a tithe to his religion, being raised from birth to believe that his unwinding is a service to God. These three will accidentally cross paths (Lev under the impression that he is being kidnapped by the first two, and is probably the only one in the world that wants to be unwound) and the journey they take will forever change society as a whole.
    I absolutely loved this book, I have never been so intrigued by an idea which is absolutely mental, but everyday practice. During the first about five pages, I hated the characters of this book (I'm like that with every book). After that however, I started to gradually like him, and the others. What's interesting about the point of view in this particular novel, is every chapter, you follow another character around, it's still  told in third person, but you gain insight onto what the other characters think and feel. I actually felt terrible for Roland during his unwinding (It goes quite into detail on the process), who was one of the central antagonists of the book. It's actually pretty chilling to think about how this would actually be possible within the next couple of decades, if people were to get so uptight over a very dumb issue. For the record, I think abortion is okay up until around six weeks after conception. I do not however, condone it. Other than that, I think it's wrong to get one unless the mother's life or the baby's life were in danger. But I also believe that if you want one, get one. It's your life, not mine. I shouldn't have control over your choices. I give this book an A+ by far, it totally deserves it.

4 comments:

Pa-Joules said...

I haven't read this book, but I think it sounds interesting and brings up things that I never would have thought about. It's a little creepy to think that our society could someday be like this. Great book review!

President Narwhal VII said...

@Pa-Joules Thanks! I really enjoyed it, even though it creeped me out quite a bit. It's very suspenseful as well, I think you'd enjoy it.

President Narwhal VII said...

There's also a sequel called UnWholly, if you're interested at all. It really adds on to the first book. And I believe the author is releasing the last book in the trilogy this fall.

Unknown said...

That idea of unwinding sounds weird to think about, especially since you say it might be possible in a few decades.