In an attempt to prevent future war, the New Society prohibits communal and family bonds. Children are taken away from their biological families at age 10, have their memories altered, and are deprived of all forms of paternal touch such as hugs.
Dr. Miriam Gregory is one of the masterminds behind this program, and as readers find out, she may have regrets about her involvement.
You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson presents a fictional autobiography set in a dystopian world through the perspective of an unreliable narrator.
However, I found aspects of Dr. Gregory’s account implausible not because of the fictional publisher’s contradictory footnotes, but because they ignore basic established psychology. For instance, according to Harlow’s unethical maternal deprivation experiments and Bowlby's Evolutionary Theory of Attachment, the children Dr. Gregory worked with should have realistically presented far more behavior issues and psychological damage.
Overall, this story plays with some poignant and interesting core ideas (i.e. the examination of isolation and loneliness), but its execution ultimately falls flat.
Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial, for giving with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Book Details:
Publication Date : November 16, 2021
Publisher : Harper Perennial
IBSN : 0063066629
Pages : 384
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