Review of ONE by Eve Smith

4 Stars

This speculative thriller, set in the near future, is narrated by 25-year-old Kai Houghton.  As a “baby reaper” working for the Ministry of Population and Family Planning in the U.K., her job is to enforce the one-child policy enacted by the government.

Kai wholeheartedly believes in the policy and is dedicated to her job until she learns that she has an illegal sister.  To protect her parents from severe penalties for breaking the law, she secretly investigates, hoping no one will learn the truth.  Her investigation leads her to Senka who tries to convince her that the government has perpetrated a series of crimes.  Kai is left uncertain as to whom she can believe and trust. 

The reader’s first impression of Kai is not a positive one.  She is totally committed to the one-child policy which she believes was instated because of dwindling resources due to unchecked climate change.  She carries out her duties in a zealous manner and seems to have little compassion.  When her beliefs are challenged, she is skeptical at first and requires proof of allegations.  She has to fight her indoctrination; Senka tells her, “’It’s hard for you to recognize deceit, because it’s all you’ve ever known.’”  But some shocking revelations and seeing evidence for herself gradually change her so she is more accepting and compassionate.  I appreciated that, in keeping with the criteria for a convincing character change, Kai has sufficient motivation to question:  her change is gradual.

Good speculative fiction is solidly based in fact and that is certainly the case with this novel.  Much of what happens has already happened.  As I write this review, forest fires rage across Canada, and different parts of the world have experienced other climate change disasters like floods and famine.  One-child policies were adopted by China in the past.  Perusal of a newspaper will reveal references to fake news and state-sponsored propaganda, demonization of immigrants, mistreatment of illegal migrants, disparity between rich and poor, increasingly totalitarian governments, and women losing autonomy over their bodies – all of which are mentioned in the novel.  A major discovery towards the end of the novel made me think of discoveries made in Canada in recent years. 

I read this novel in just a couple of sittings.  There is lots of suspense.  Because there are quotas for energy use, food, and travel, people’s activities are constantly being monitored – think George Orwell’s 1984.  It is not improbable, therefore, that her secret investigation will be uncovered by superiors.  Will she be able to save her parents from a sentence that “’can be indefinite’”?  There are several surprise twists to keep the reader’s interest, and short chapters add to the novel’s fast pace.  Only one event, one involving Mpho, seems too much of a coincidence. 

Though the book is speculative fiction, it is disturbingly plausible.  It will not leave the reader unaffected.