Review: The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a strange little novella. It packs a punch in such a short little book. I really enjoy Nuevel's writing and his imaginative plotlines. If you are expecting giant robots and aliens you won't find them here. This is more speculative/realistic fiction set in the future. I can actually see this happening in the not so distant future, but I hope this never comes to pass. Parts of this read like a psychological thriller. This book is the perfect length and the story is well developed. Because it is a novella and fairly short, I don't want to spoil too much.

The story follows Idir, a dentist from Iran, who wants a better life for his wife and two small kids. He is taking a citizenship test so they can move to the UK. He has to answer 25 questions on UK facts and history to see if he and his family will be granted citizenship. While his family is waiting, terrorists swarm the testing center and Idir is singled out by the ringleader. Idir is tasked with choosing who lives and who dies? As you read you find out if it is too much for him and if he can actually make the choice? All he wanted when he started his day was a better life for his family. I won't say more than that.

This book really makes you think. The things that happen in this book could actually happen in some form or fashion and in some ways they already do. I hope that what Idir went through never becomes a reality.

As far as the character development goes, Idir was great we get to know him very well. Some of the side characters were lacking, but I almost feel like that was by design as they weren't a major part of the story but they did drive what happened. Overall, this was a quick read that really made me think. It is a bit dark, but it was well worth the read.

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