Suicide Club by Rachel Heng should have been my kind of book on the face of it but unfortunately it ended up being a big disappointment. I don’t like to give up on a book and normally try to make it to at least 20% before deciding not to continue reading but this book was just not enjoyable.

I only made it to 9% of Suicide Club because despite it’s interesting premise it just didn’t translate into something I would want to read.

Ok, so good points about Suicide Club. Well the first one is the cover of the book is beautiful and definitely contributed to my decision to request an advanced copy for review. It isn’t your run of the mill book cover. Despite dystopian novels being among my favours I do find they have a tendency to be more hit and miss than other genres, so I may not have requested it without the cover.

Secondly, the prelude of Suicide Club is incredibly promising and if the book had continued like that then I would have continued to read it and probably enjoyed it much more.

“The man stood in a windowless room. He wore a tuxedo, black as coal, cut sharply against the cliffs of his shoulders. The room was empty, except for the glass bottle and box of matches at his feet.”

The man in question is videoing himself and sending it out to everyone, some of whom will ignore it, but a lot will watch what unfolds next.

“They would have heard him explain the reasons for what he was about to do, how long and hard he’d deliberated before coming to this decision. Why he did not want to live another two hundred years.”

In a world where immortality is possible what do you do when you want to die?

“Something has to change. In being robbed of our deaths, we are robbed of our lives.”

One of the major problems of the Suicide Club for me was the lack of interesting characters. Lea the main character was a bit lacklustre and vacuous.

Lea was part of the system working towards being alive longer when one day she steps into oncoming traffic in pursuit of a man she believes is her estranged father. Unfortunately, this incident ends with her in hospital and brings her to the attention of the Ministry.

For me the ‘Ministry’ and ‘Observation List’ were both a bit generic and seemed to be a bit underwhelming.

The small amount I read of Anja’s story seemed more promising but not enough to make up for how dull I found Lea.

The main problem is that I just found it a bit boring.

Suicide Club

Rachel Heng

3/5

Emotional subject matter but a little flat.

The book is set in a near-future New York where life expectancy is 300 years and immortality has become an obsession for "the genetically superior". It follows Lea, an organ trader, who has perfect genetic code, and Anja, a mysterious character who draws Lea into Suicide Club, an outlawed activist group fighting for people's right to live and die as they choose.

Oooh, sounds exciting? Dystopian futuristic world, moral dilemma with a hint of rebellion? Unfortunately the blurb is a lot more exciting than the actual book.
It’s a commentary on our societal obsession with youth and eternal life, our relationships with our deteriorating bodies and our age-old fear of mortality.

Artificial organs and life extending tech for the entitled, disdain and contempt for those who are not.
It’s a concept that we could find ourselves really facing and I thought that this would be an interesting examination, however, for me, it falls flat.

The world building is interesting but never really delivers. I liked that it was futuristic but not all hover cars and gadgets however the author alludes to a lot but doesn’t explore the many interesting ideas such as the ‘third wave’ and immortality, what lies beyond New York, how do other societies co exist?

Without an immersive world to draw you in you would expect a more character driven novel. I didn’t think it delivered on this front either. Lena, the lead character is a little bland, the author attempts to add depth to her with a back story which I found to be more interesting and wish could have been explored further. This, however, does little to enhance this character. Anja, another prominent character was a little more interesting and added some emotion to the book and I think that is the saving grace. This book is driven by emotion and is a provocative and thoughtful read on a subject that is particularly prevalent at this time. The pressure to look good and the perceptions and repercussions if you don’t.

Unfortunately the book does not really develop and the pacing is a little slow. The emotive subject matter is the driver and it is this that made me persevere to the end. I think that the book suffers from not having a real villain, the concern over the Suicude Club is relatively apathetic and
there is no real conflict or threat to keep you engaged. This results in an unsatisfactory and anti-climatic ending. Disappointed as the premise was interesting.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC, in return for an honest review.

In a society on the brink of immortality, the big questions loom - if you could live forever, would you really want to ? In dystopias it is usually the underclass who rebel, but in this near future tale, it is the overclass who challenge the authorities. Although privileged by their genes into the upper strata of society, theirs is a rigid existence of denial and daily exercise in order to preserve their destined long life span...unlike the sub 100s who are denied life extending tech.

Gripping and plausible - couldn't put it down.


#SuicideClub #NetGalley

The concept of this book seemed really interesting and intriguing but I just didn't end up getting on with it. I got maybe 40% but I just wasn't enjoying it, the characters weren't particularly likeable and I wasn't really caring about what happened to them.

I'm going to start by saying that I think that this book has been poorly advertised. The official synopsis (taken from both Goodreads and Amazon) states 'In this debut set in near future NYC—where lives last 300 years and the pursuit of immortality is all-consuming—Lea must choose between her estranged father and her chance to live forever.' - By emphasising the all consuming desire to live forever brings a certain image to mind, one that this book definitely is not about. Going in I expected something with a bit more power, more of a physical struggle, something that would show me the limits of how far a character was willing to go to reach their dream; what I was treated to was a character driven emotional arc that felt very personal and spoke to the failings of modern society.
So, not a bad book, just not matching with the idea conjured by its blurb.

As a debut novel this is a wonderful piece of literature; well thought out characters, clear character visions and goals, and enough social commentary to make the novel relevant for the foreseeable future. However I feel that it also suffers from the authors lack of published experience.... (says the unpublished writer).
In places it felt as if certain ideas were being held back from their full potential, admittedly this does allow more focus on the individual characters - creating that personal feel to the novel - however the idea behind the novel was so interesting I would have liked to have read more about it, to have the world fleshed out beyond what is presented.
Also certain characters outside of the main two or three felt as if they were taken straight from a template, their actions conforming to generic tropes of 'Boss who doesn't want to make a fuss' and 'Pathetic ex-boyfriend who doesn't really learn his lesson'. Whilst they are only there to act as blockades in the path of the main character, I felt bored reading the scenes they were in, waiting for the handful of main characters to once again meet up and save me from the drudgery of these inconsequential inclusions to the plot.

Yet, with all of this nipping at my heels, I did enjoy my time with the book. The basic idea behind it intrigued me enough to stay reading, watching the characters combat a social situation (that could I could actually see happening in a few hundred years) had me turning the page again and again; I just wish the author pushed the idea a little bit further than she did.

#SuicideClub is a gripping debut for fans of Margaret Atwood, Emily St John Mandel & George Saunders.

If you like your near-future dystopias compelling and poignant, with clear philosophical underpinnings which question the way we live now, then get ready to join the Suicide Club. A tale of two loving daughters coming to terms with their parents’ mortality - or lack thereof.

The action unfolds in a New York City that is still recognisable (nary a jet pack or flying car in sight) but where the population is divided into bio-enhanced ‘Lifers’ and those who are deemed Sub 100s - i.e. unlikely to live more than a mere hundred years. In a world where the state devotes so much time and money keeping its enhanced Lifers alive, euthanasia and suicide are not just highly illegal, but a complete moral anathema.

For some, like Lea (a young woman of 130), this makes complete sense. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to live forever? For more than a century, Lea’s had her eyes-on-prize of join the Third Wave and become one of the first true Immortals. It’s the pinnacle of everything she’s ever strived for in two lifetimes of relentless over-achieving. Now, just as she is poised to see it all through, something happens. This ‘something’ is the sort of tiny, inconsequential event which the likes of you and I might walk away from without looking back. But for Lea, it could well mean the difference between eternity and mortality.

As a result of this, Lea’s path crosses with Anja, another Lifer, locked in her own struggle with immortality. What to do with an elderly mother whose enhanced body has all but given out? No longer alive, in the sense that you or I would recognise, and yet with a heart that has been specifically designed to keep on ticking. So, what if you are going to live forever, but simply don’t want to? That’s when, you join the Club and, perversely, work for death in the name of love.

One of the things I particularly enjoyed about the dystopic elements of Suicide Club was the strangest things were little more than the logical extension of our how current obsessions with youth and health are being taken to almost religious extremes in some quarters. In doing so, Ms Heng makes us ask ourselves, what price immortality?

Having said this, what I love most about this novel are the characters and the poignancy of their situations and dilemmas, and the sheer beauty of the prose. The ending was particularly beautiful, but I didn’t want it to happen. I would happily have kept reading the same amount again and cannot wait to see what Rachel Heng does next.

It won’t surprise me in slightest if this ends up being a major Netflix series. Hopefully in my Lifetime.


I am grateful to the publisher for letting me see an advance copy of Suicide Club.

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. On one hand it drew me in and carried me along but on the other hand it didn't go very far.

Set in the future where people are regularly living well over 100 years and are on the cusp of immortality. Death is a long and drawn out process thanks to mechanical hearts and other technology so some people are turning to the mysterious Suicide Club.

We follow two leads, Lea and Anja. Anja helps run the club, Lea seems to have a past and a life that was always going to lead her there, or so it appeared to me. Lea had some small fascinations in her love of vintage music and her troubled past but overall neither had very distinct personalities and there was very little character arc. The ending also seemed a little flat and incomplete, however I admired the world-building and writing style overall.

3/5 stars

I love a book that makes me think and this one sure did! Some of the time it was a little too close to current reality, especially about eating habits, health and the obsession with looking and being young. What a brilliant concept but I wish there had been a balancing point of view so that the reader heard why immortality was the nirvana. Personally I wouldn’t want to live forever but would have liked to have an argument put forward for immortality.

I wanted to give this book 5 stars but had to knock one off as I found the jumping around in timelines was confusing at times.

An interesting concept The Suicide Club and one that I could be quite believe and come true! The premise was a good one and it held together in parts, although at times slightly disjointed. In the end I enjoyed reading it and would read more by Rachel Heng.

I had no idea what to expect from this book when I started it - and that continued throughout.
The premise was fresh and exciting - a near future where those at the top can live longer and stay beautiful thanks to technological and healthcare advances.
However, I found the two threads - the stories of Anja and Lea very disparate and even when they connected it didn't ring true for me.
I was also left wondering about lots of things - but not in a chatting-at-book club-way, in a frustrated, why wasn't this gap filled way? What happened to Dominique? Why are the Monitors known by initials? Where did Lea's money continue to come from? What has the whole storyline of the rabbit/Dwight got to do with the overall narrative?

I enjoyed this book in places but I was racing to finish it as it dragged a little in parts and the interesting premise wasn't enough to hold me attention throughout.

The set up, the dystopian future setting and the first 100 pages are great. Lea’s inciting incident pits her up against a shadowy bureaucracy and a strange group of dissidents, as she realises that she can’t trust anyone. The world is richly detailed and vividly realised but the story goes in a different direction and none of the original questions are resolved. As a result the ending felt unsatisfying. Also, Lea’s shockingly violent outbursts are just brushed off in a way that seemed really odd.

I liked the idea of this book. When I started to read it I realised that it was not my type of book. The characters were self centred and shallow. If prolonging your life like that is living then they seem to be missing out on enjoying life. I reached 44% and still could not warm to the book or the characters.

In a future where your class, prospects and life expectancy are all known from birth, a group of people are turning their back on extending their natural lives. Instead of taking advantage of the technology that offers them a lifespan of over a hundred years, these people are seizing control of their lives the only way they know how, by ending them.

Lea was content with her life, with a high-powered job, a younger man on her arm and a future as a 'lifer.' She had more than most could dream of. Lifers are the privileged ones, the upper class who are allowed access to the body upgrades and modifications that will keep them alive for hundreds of years.

Everything changes for Lea when she sees her father on a crowded street. Not unusual for many but Lea's father left her and her mother decades earlier, hiding from the consequences of a violent crime. She goes against her instincts and calls out, following after him, straight into oncoming traffic. This small act of carelessness gets her noticed, and before she knows it she is being questioned as if she was attempting suicide.

In a future where living as long as possible is seen as the only sane option, suicide is an act of defiance. Lea is questioned and assessed for mental stability. She is suspected of being a member of the terrorist group The Suicide Club, a collective who indulge in unhealthy foods, music, orgies and even film their members commit suicide. She needs to prove herself fit and worthy of the treatments that will allow her to continue as a lifer.

When she sees her father again and comes to understand why he has returned to the city, the realisation forces her to look back on his departure and why he found it so necessary to leave in the first place. Scared of losing him again, she follows him into the heart of The Suicide Club.

It barely took me a handful of pages to fall in love with Suicide Club. Why? Because Rachel Heng has managed to create a world I want to know everything about. It's dark in it's clinical, utilitarian governance yet so easy to imagine that it draws you in completely. It's refreshing to read a novel picturing the 'perfect' society gone too far. We're all too used to filthy streets, toxic rain and prostitutes on every corner in sci-fi (it's a pet hate of mine) but this angle opens up the genre into something I found really exciting.

Lea is the perfect conduit from the overly health-conscious society to the underground world of The Suicide Club. She's followed the herd in her lifer role but she's smart and curious enough to wonder why and how people can live any differently. Her father broadened her horizons as a child and he does the same when she's an adult.

Suicide Club is an incredible novel that I can easily see being a bestseller of 2018. With it being based in such a fascinating setting I would be incredibly surprised if it isn't picked up for a film or tv adaptation. Pre-order this one now because it's fun, fast and leaves you thinking. I'm keeping my fingers crossed tightly that there more to come from the world Rachel Heng's created.

I'm sorry but this book just wasn't for me. I read 45% but it really felt like hard work - and that's not what I expect when I'm reading.

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

New York has been transformed into a world where the genetically chosen and lucky get the chance to live potentially forever. Lea Kirino is one of these people; a lifer. As long as she abides by the rules, keeps up her eating regime, exercise schedule and regular health checks and updates, she could go on to immortality which is what she has planned for herself. Her life comes crashing down around her fairly quickly when she is reunited with her long left father who she finds is part of the Suicide Club. They’re a group of people who rebel against society’s idea of immortality being the ultimate goal and want to die, on their own terms. Lea is faced with 2 options; immortality or time with her father.

I’ll start by saying that this book actually scares me. It scares me that although this is science fiction, in my mind it’s a very real possibility that society could evolve into this world and fairly quickly. It makes me question, would I want to be immortal? Even with technology to ensure I stay fit and companies that allow my organs to be removed and replaced with artificial new ones, would I really want to live forever? I think my honest answer is no, I wouldn’t. Surely there comes a point where enough is enough, you’ve served your time and it’s time to go.

I feel like that is the conclusion that Lea came to to a certain extent. My thoughts on Lea went up and down through this book. Sometimes I liked her and other times she frustrated me but I put that down to good writing. Lea frustrated me when she seemed to be hugely sucked into the rules that her society forced upon her and unable to see beyond that. I loved her when she finally realised that that is way more to life! More to see and experience which is worth more than living forever.

Although this book took me some time to read, I really did enjoy it and I’m glad I took my time with it. I don’t think it has been until after I have finished that I have truly thought about everything and how that has impacted my thoughts. When I very first finished this book I had decided on 3 stars, but on reflection now, I’m bumping it up to a 4. It’s had a longer lasting affect on me than I originally thought!

Suicide Club by Rachel Heng a thought provoking five-star read. This has been one of the hardest reviews I have ever written, It’s taken me weeks and many, many deleted words to get these final words on the page and I still don’t know if I have gotten what I want to get across. I loved the title and description of this book and the whole concept. That wasn’t what I got, I got so much more, but there was something lacking, but overall I desperately wanted to give it five-stars as the part that was lacking was just the way plot developed at times it was a little stilted but the flow through the whole book was well done. This story is one that is filled with beauty and passion and makes you take a good hard look at how the world we live in at present in one that takes beauty and popularity as a currency held above many others. This book isn’t what you may expect, and some of the flash backs gets a little confusing but keep with it as in the end you will love it.

One word review: Faultless

Rambling review: Suicide Club is already my favourite read of 2018. Hands down.

Dystopic novels are my favourite genre and artificial intelligence is common conversation topic at our house, so this was always going to be up my street. That’s a double edged sword though, as it also means I had very high expectations for this book. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Heng addresses the prospect of immortality through AI so deftly that it blew me away.

Whilst I am desperate to talk about this book to someone (the carrot? DiamondSkin? The checkout til displays?!), I don’t want to talk about this story in any depth. For books I really, really love, I struggle to articulate their sheer brilliance and I don’t want to do Heng any disservice. Also, clearly I am very exuberant about the book and I wouldn’t want that to taint any prospective readers. But honestly, this book is sheer brilliance and written in a highly engaging, readable style.

Pre-order this book, buy this book, read this book, borrow this book – you won’t regret it.

P.S. The author is delightful and is super friendly on social media platforms, which is the cherry on this cake!

Star rating: Five stars!

Year published: 2018

Publishing house: Sceptre Books

Amazon Summary: In a near-future world, medical technology has progressed far enough that immortality is now within grasp – but only to those who show themselves to be deserving of it. These people are the lifers: the exercisers, yogacisers, green juicers and early nighters.

Genetically perfect, healthy and wholesome, one hundred-year-old Lea is the poster girl for lifers, until the day she catches a glimpse of her father in the street, eighty-eight years after their last encounter. While pursuing him, Lea has a brush with death which sparks suspicions. If Lea could be so careless, is she worthy of immortality?

Suicide Club wasn’t always an activist group. It began as a set of disillusioned lifers, gathering to indulge in forbidden activities: performances of live music, artery-clogging meals, irresponsible orgies. But now they have been branded terrorists and are hunted by the state.

An interesting look at a future in which society is built around privileged Lifers and underprivileged non-Lifers. Enjoyable and easy to read.

This book just did not do it for me, I struggled to really get into it and to be honest, I was kinda happy I finished it.

The cover and the title were so striking to me that I am so glad a got an e-copy from the publisher.
I loved the gruesome nature of the book and the underlying sadness. It was beautifully written and at times I didn't want to put it down.