Review: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

Comfort. Friendship. Security. That’s what they promised Dorrit Weger inside The Unit. But at what price?

A stunning, unsettling read that will leave you asking: What is the true value of a life?

Some books don’t just entertain. They unsettle you, stay with you, and whisper questions long after you finish. The Unit is one of those books.

One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger checks into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for Biological Material. She’s promised a cozy apartment, great food, new friends, even a pool and a garden. It sounds almost idyllic … until you realize what it really is: a place where women over fifty and men over sixty, single and childless, are quietly warehoused for their final years. They’ve been deemed “dispensable.” Their comfort comes at the cost of their bodies, which are used for drug testing and organ donations until there’s nothing left to give.

Holmqvist’s writing is deceptively calm, almost tender, which makes the horror all the more powerful. This isn’t a bloody dystopia; it’s a beautifully polite one. A world that convinces people that their sacrifice is patriotic and altruistic.

I couldn’t put it down. The Unit reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale and Never Let Me Go, but it stands on its own, and it’s quietly devastating, especially the passages about Dorrit and her dog. Those moments of love and connection in such a sterile, controlled world nearly broke my heart.

Yes, it’s depressing. But it’s also gorgeous. The prose hums with humanity even as the story strips it away. I thought I knew how it would end, and then Holmqvist surprised me in the best, most gut-wrenching way.

I finished it on a plane, somewhere between time zones, eyes blurry and chest tight. When I landed, I couldn’t shake it. I’ll read it again, not just for the story but for the way it makes me feel and for the questions it won’t stop asking.

Because that’s what The Unit really does: it makes you wonder about what we owe to each other, and what it means to matter in a world that measures worth in usefulness.

If you’re in the mood for something beautiful, thought-provoking, and a little bit devastating, this one’s for you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 – Haunting, elegant, and unforgettable. Holmqvist’s quiet dystopia doesn’t scream its message; it whispers it with devastating precision.

If You Liked the Unit, Try ...

• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – Another quiet masterpiece about love, loss, and what it means to be human in a world that sees people as parts.

• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro – A tender, strange, and luminous story told from the point of view of an Artificial Friend who longs to understand love.

• Unwind by Neal Shusterman – A young adult classic that asks what happens when society decides unwanted teens can be “unwound” for their organs. It’s faster-paced and darker in tone, but it explores the same deep questions about choice, value, and humanity.

• The Power by Naomi Alderman – If you want your dystopia with more voltage—literally—this one flips gender roles and asks who really deserves power.