July 24, 2023
This depressing dystopian horror tale from Young (The Butcher) takes readers to a carefully manicured world where grief is outlawed. Precious memories of the dead are erased by the Bureau to keep citizens productive and happy. Lt. Dev Singh is one of the Bureau’s best collectors of memories, but when his talent for listening to those “struck” with grief turns into a habit of writing down their recollections for himself and reliving them, he falls into exactly the kind of depression he was meant to prevent. When he is reported for being “struck” himself, Dev must face the horrific process of removing his sadness by any means necessary. Writing in spare prose, Young harkens to some of the dystopian greats, with a keeper of memories who seems right out of The Giver, and a horrific solstice celebration scene of public gore. Torture, brainwashing, and isolation add a satisfying bite of horror throughout. However, the dystopia itself is distant: two-thirds of the novel is set in an isolated sanatorium, with little access to the Orwellian world readers are promised. Still, this unsettling tragedy cuts deep.