This book is quietly loud. I know that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, so allow me to explain. From the blurb, you may think it’s heavy on the dystopian science fiction. However, I would argue that it’s much more about the multi-faceted experience of life and being human. So much of the human experience is being mortal. This book explores life and mortality through the lens of death (suicide) and immortality. In this novel, people’s life spans are so long that they are on the cusp of being immortal. Sounds great, right? Not quite. In this world, people’s health, bodies, and lives are completely regulated and everyone lives within rigid and narrow confines of society. These regulations are supposedly in place to protect and lengthen life spans. But are you really living if you can’t enjoy any simple pleasures? The Suicide Club is a group of people who want to choose life and death on their own terms and want to protest the trapped way of life. The novel explores Lea’s discovery of the Club AND her own self-discovery. Lea and the other characters are very layered and the book is more about peeling back these layers than it is about a plot. That’s not to say the plot is boring or that there are not cool science fiction themes. It’s just more about life and what it means to really make the most of our time on earth. And that speaks volumes.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the ARC!

Great book! Thank you so much for letting me get my hands on this one! This book was a face paced read following the character Lea. Such an interesting story line of the "lifer" and the "suicide club" I have always enjoyed a dystopian story and this one did not disappoint! I would definitely recommend this book to friends.

I just couldn’t get into this book . It isn’t for me.

This book was far different than I thought it would be based on the title alone. I think it would be a great book to foster discussions on end of life care, when are medical interventions too much, how much government control over our lives is acceptable? It was a really interesting read.

When I finished Suicide Club, I surprised myself. I closed the Kindle and said, "What a beautiful book."

And it really was.

It's funny to say that a near future SF novel like this is beautiful, but that's how I felt after finishing it. I felt witness to something unique and lovely.

Oh, the book is sad of course, but there's so much beauty in choosing your own life and your own death.

Heng forces us to look at how much emphasis society places on youth and beauty and all that impossible to attain perfection. And in this novel, if you aren't perfect or don't want to be perfect, there must be something dreadfully wrong with you...and if so, isn't it better if you simply weren't allowed to progress?

I loved as our main character began to realize there was so much more than what the government wanted people to believe - and so much dignity in age and experience, and yes, even in dying in a way that befits you.

An excellent read.

This is a great book for a reader that loves reading about what a future dystopian world would be like. I also recommend it for young readers. The writing was very easy to follow and one can easily see how the heroine-Lea, matures from the beginning of the book until the end. Lea seems perfect but she is always worrying about the cracks in her veneer --Then one day the unlikely happens and she spots her father in the street on the way to her job.. Did I mention her father is a sort of wanted criminal in this futuristic world? Is Lea really happy in this rigidly controlled plastic universe? I can see where this would be a big hit on the screen.

Thank you to Net Galley and publisher for a chance to read and review.

This was a really beautiful book. (Like a 4.5 for me). It pictures a version of the future in which the pursuit of health and longevity trumps all. Like in all good science fiction, this world is just enough fantastical, but also just enough rooted in reality, that it seems very believable.

For instance, I had this "duh" moment when I was reading the book and they were talking about how precious cds were in this world. If you live in a time where all music is digitized and streamed--like ours looks soon to be--the government or corporations could totally outlaw (or "turn off") a certain type of music. Then, without actual artifacts of recorded music (or machines to play them on) some types of music could conceivably die out. The book is full of clever details like that which get you thinking. If anything I could have used MORE of that (For instance how is being a lifer determined at birth? How were Lea's and Samuel's lives different based on that determination, etc?)

Beyond the excellent world building, the story itself is profoundly moving and often deeply sad. It's not a terribly fast-moving book, but I found it engaging nonetheless. I do worry however that, for some people, the title of this book might be off-putting.

To be clear, this book IS about suicide, but it's also not. The suicide club doesn't exist to help people kill themselves due to mental health issues or hopelessness. It exists to help them kill themselves because, in the world they're living in, dying naturally is a right which has been taken away from them (bodies can heal themselves from most any trauma.) As a result, people in this world can be trapped inside a malfunctioning body for centuries (in the book, this is called "misalignment").

This book will leave you thinking deeply about both vitality and disintegration, nature and science, life and death.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book would be a good fit for readers who want grown-up dystopian lit. Lea and Anja are excellent female protagonists and their coming-of-age (even though they're 100) is pretty classic. At times, I was unsure of how much time had passed--it often seemed like lots of things happened in a very short period of time--but this contributed to the "they're always watching" mentality. The idea that it wouldn't take any time at all to feel consequences for stepping slightly out of line is a real concern. The book was both thoughtful and entertaining.

Lea Kirino's life seems perfect. She's a Lifer--someone whose genes allow them to receive treatments to live a very long life and puts them on a path to immortality once the technology advances enough--has a steady job, a swanky NYC apartment, and a gorgeous fiance. The return of her estranged father and the rise of the Suicide Club, a group dedicated to ending their lives under their own terms, puts Lea's perfect life at risk. It dredges up the worst of her long ago past, things she'd rather never think about again. It also forces her to confront her own feelings about immortality and what life is really worth living.

Rachel Heng's SUICIDE CLUB presents a futuristic world where modern medicine rules. I thought the world-building was done really well and the concept of Lifers to be really interesting. Lea proves to be a dynamic character, and the author doesn't shy away from painting her in all her brutal truths. A thoughtful and intriguing look at what it really means to be alive.

Wow!
This story sneaks up on you and hits you so subtly in the back of your brain you do not even realize how it has affected you until days after you've finished it (and you will finish it in one sitting!).

In the far future, humans have the ability to live extra-long lives with the help of body enhancements like blood replacement, skin replacement, etc. They also refrain from pursuing activities and eating food that we in 21st Century would deem healthful. For instance, they don't run as that is too much pressure on joints. They don't eat "trad" food or have a balanced diet.

Lea is a "lifer," a group that wants to be part of the Third Wave and live forever, while Anja is a member of the "Suicide Club," a group that respects life and death and thinks living forever is an abomination. The two women meet when Lea sees her father - who had been charged with being anti-sanct and had run away when she was younger - in her city and then again at a Club meeting where Anja is performing.

I absolutely loved this novel and could see a future similar to this one. We are all obsessed with living longer and longer lives, aren't we? So many of us are willing to do crazy things to be healthy and expand our life span. But what if you could indeed live for several hundred years by replacing body parts and avoiding what we might consider pleasures in life? Is it worth it?

I would give this 4.5 stars! Very thought-provoking. Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc to review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend if you want to get lost in a good story!

Set in the not-too-distant future, Rachel Heng's debut novel imagines the human race as finally having unlocked the capabilities to extend our existence to 300 years, and close to unlocking the secret to eternal life. With their fake skin, fake blood, harvested organs and carefully managed images, the "lifers" are almost humanoid in their merging of biotech and human flesh.
Against this image of perfection is a harsher world of misaligned people - who got various body hacks on the black market, and for whom the future is a certain long, drawn out torturous death as various parts start to fail, but the heart and/or brain continue to keep them alive. For them the Suicide Club offers hope in the form of escape from this forced existence in broken bodies. Even suicide isn't as easy as it used to be due to reinforced windpipes, tougher self-healing skin, blood that coagulates quickly, etc. However self-immolation and death by "black pills' are potential ways out.
The story centers around a lifer, Lea Kirino, who at first glance seems to have it all - handsome fiance, amazing home, excellent well-remunerated job, etc etc. However, when she thinks she sees her long-lost father on a street and gets involved in a road traffic accident chasing after him, she finds herself on the monitored list for attempted suicide, which in turns triggers the unraveling of her perfect world and a spectacular downfall into the world of Suicide Club and the more rebellious underground of the world she inhabits.
From start to finish this is a great read. For all the book's futuristic leanings, Heng creates highly believable scenarios, populated with relatable characters and a narrative that can be enjoyed far beyond the core sci-fi fanbase. Lea makes an unlikely heroine with her spectacular fall from grace surprisingly enjoyable - maybe that's just because I've always been very wary of perfect people! For a futuristic biotech world, the story has a lot of heart, in the familial love between Lea and her father, and the memories that this evokes, as well as more peripheral characters whose story arcs intersect with the pair of them.
For a debut novel, this is a hugely accomplished piece of work. Hugely recommended. I can't wait to see what Heng comes up with next!

Very interesting concept; as medical technology and understanding of optimal human function, life spans are dramatically increased. However, not for everyone. Those lucky chosen reap many rewards, but at a cost of a rigidly controlled society. So many aspects of this elongated lifespan are replacements parts that are better, stronger and self healing that 'normal' processes, and some inevitable breakdowns and degradations create a living hell.
A secret club assists those who are done, can't face that type of eternity, a way to kill themselves.
This story is about 2 women that see the cracks in this facade of extreme health and have to decide what they have to do.
There is a curious combination of current technology and futuristic Big Brother-ish oversight which hopefully is never going to happen.
There are a few things I am not sure I followed, however this is an absorbing read and I wanted to see what was going to happen. The ending felt good.

This ended up not being for me. Loved the concept, and for the most part the writing was good. I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters, and the story was very confusing and disjointed...esp at the beginning.

SUICIDE CLUB puts a new twist on our youth-obsessed culture. What if you couldn't grow old, eve if you wanted to? Heng makes us appreciate the benefits and pitfalls of living for hundreds of years. Fascinating premise well executed.

Thank you to Henry Holt Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC on The Suicide Club for my honest review.

The haunting cover of this intriguing titled novel quickly caught my eye and the premise was equally engaging. My disappointment with this dystopian story was the lack of plot movement,character motivation and connection to Lea, the main character. I was also confused by the shifting time of past and present and found the childhood trauma of Lea jarring and lackluster. Too much suspension of belief left me underwhelmed.

I did enjoy the first third of the novel, learning about "lifer's" and the routine and procedures they endure in order to live beyond 100. The premise of this futuristic world was fascinating but ultimately I needed more of a story.

While I thought the concept was unique and interesting, I don't think the execution follows through. Another editing pass might have tightened up the storyline and jumped more forcefully into the action. I did not finish, as I couldn't understand what exactly the protagonist was trying to overcome. I'm also not quite sure the world building was as detailed as it could be.