Grace Walker’s debut novel “The Merge,” which perfectly executed the all too familiar cleansing of society motif in the dystopian genre, released on Nov. 11. Exploring the dystopian themes of societal manipulation and inequality between the wealthy and poorer classes, this novel is a page turner with many plot twists and reveals.
“The Merge” follows the mother-daughter relationship between Laurie and Amelia in a futuristic London riddled with an environmental crisis, overpopulation and a large wealth gap. A scientific project called the Merge is introduced to help solve some of those problems by merging two compatible people together so they share one body but two minds. A few years after Laurie is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Amelia enters the two of them into an experimental trial of the Merge to try and cure her mom. However, everything is not as it seems, and as the two and the rest of their group go through the preparation period they start questioning the Merge and everything it stands for.
This book checks all of the boxes when it comes to a dystopian, science fiction novel; “The Merge” is heart-wrenching and jaw-dropping. The novel also reflects the environmental crisis and economic inequity that the world faces today as the main causes of the Merge project.
What this book does incredibly well is layering all of the different problems the characters face — economic hardships, overpopulation and climate change — beyond the initial creation of the Merge. The Merge itself becomes another controversial topic that further divides people ideologically and economically. People who subject themselves to the Merge and become a Combine are given more freedoms, rights and are paid more, while people who don’t Merge are forced to live in small apartments and are paid significantly less. They end up growing poorer, to a point where large families are forced to choose to put their kids through the Merge to afford to survive. Like in many dystopian novels, “The Merge” adopts the theme of something that is seemingly good turning out to be something significantly worse.
The descriptive writing and thoughtful world-building leads to a well put-together book that addresses real-world problems. Told from two different perspectives, the rollercoaster of a story draws readers in to sympathize with the characters, only to end with a heartbreaking reveal and cliffhanger.
Jocelyn Cosgrove is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at jmcosgro@uci.edu.
Edited by Annabelle Aguirre