Welcome to Litsy!

Once again, here we are with speculative fiction relevant to our current times. The Test is set in Britain where citizenship tests are much more than paper and pencil. I can‘t say much more without spoilers but this super slim story packs a real punch. Thought provoking and difficult to think about while watching all the horrible policies and politics go down here in the US.

I‘ll be thinking about this short story for a long time. A Dystopian future that involves a citizenship multiple choice test. Hard to describe without spoilers. So crazy! I loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow that was....short and unsettling. Flew through it in one sitting. One of those books you need to sit with for a bit.

#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious
#31by31 @catsandbooks
#spookoween @thespineview
#readlikehellathon @readlikehellathon
#outstandingoctober @Andrew65
#littenlisten @aperfectmjk
#pointsathon @dieareader @ghabi4roses
Also using this for #scarathlondailyprompts for Guilt and #ominousoctober for haunted.

The Test is impossible to summarize without giving away the plot. It‘s a harrowing read, filled with questions about ethics, psychology, and trauma. The test explores lots of dimension in a little over a hundred pages. Very worthwhile and short read.

🎧 In the UK in the near dystopian future a man takes the UK citizenship test. The test goes very wrong. Choices need to be made. Deadly choices. My kind of short story. Hard science fiction, political dystopian & short.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I keep a book at school for independent reading time, but it often takes me so long that I end up taking it home to finish. Apparently I need to read more novellas in class. This short book was perfect to read in a week of short bits of time. It definitely takes a turn and made me think. I appreciated it, but I‘m not sure I can say I enjoyed it.

#TeachersOfLitsy

It's a novella set in a near-future UK: an immigrant is taking his citizenship test when the exam is violently interrupted -- and a very different test begins. It's intense but also pensive, a white-knuckle thought-experiment in civics, and it's not going where you think it is. Enthusiastically recommended.

The entire hour it took me to read this, I kept saying “what the fuck” to myself under my breath. A perfect little slice of dystopia.

Did this novella as an audio book. It definitely took some turns I didn‘t see coming. Though I will say I think I enjoy his Sleeping Giants trilogy better.

#sylvainneuvel #thetest #novella #shortstory #audiobook #libby #sleepinggiants #audio #test #fiction #sciencefiction #scifi #thriller #speculativefiction #dystopia #shortstories #adult #adultfiction #library #borrowedfromthelibrary

There's no way to really describe what happens in this book without giving things away. Very thought provoking.

Next up on Libby:
Britain, the not-too-distant future.
Idir is sitting the British Citizenship Test.
He wants his family to belong.
Twenty-five questions to determine their fate. Twenty-five chances to impress.
When the test takes an unexpected and tragic turn, Idir is handed the power of life and death.How do you value a life when all you have is multiple choice?

This was a thought-provoking and well-written novella about a man taking a citizenship test in the UK. Unfortunately I can't really say more without spoilers, though I'm happy to discuss further under the comments with the spoiler warning!

I had loved Neuvel's first book but the rest of the Themis series left me cold. This story got me interested again in reading his latest book.

Wild read!

This was a wild ride of a story. A traditional immigration test, that is run by a stimulation of an active shooter at the testing site. The stimulation is run by a government agency, when a new operator takes the reins for the stimulation, things go terribly wrong. What a shocking read about what the future could require of immigrants to under go in order to be a citizen.

A short read but it makes the most of every word!

A brief and thought-provoking immigration dystopia. This novella is well-paced, challenging, and like all good dystopian stories, just close enough to be uncomfortable. A great Saturday morning read. #readharder2020

Short and pointed. How do we place value on human beings? How do we decide one person is more worthy than another when it comes to immigration and citizenship? It is all a rather sick game. I appreciated the psychology background and social commentary.

I meant to post last night, but legit fell asleep before I could!

#3Books ... I plan to read this month. These are for book club, so I will get them for sure.

@OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Outstanding . The main issue is that it seemed to rush to a conclusion. I would ah e preferred it to be longer.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟5 🌟
This book is so f‘ed up but at the same time so real. You are immediately pulled into the story of a man who wants to pass his citizen exam to make life better for his family. When you the reader find out what the real exam is you are screaming HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN!. In what world would we humans ever let this happen. Then the last few weeks happen and I realize more and more who true something like this could happen or become.

Holy crap, what a powerful little book. So much darkness and commentary in only 108 pages. I‘ll be thinking about this one for a while. Tor.com does it again, they put out such great books.

An Iranian man is taking a U.K. citizenship test when a violent disruption occurs. With each turn, this novella grows steadily darker and more disturbing. A good, thought-provoking, quick read.

#LMPBC book that I had never heard of it will be with me for a while. @nelehelen the book is on the way!

Okay how f‘ed up is this book. It‘s excellent but wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.

@nelehelen I think my dog Demon is having separation anxiety because I‘ve been home for months and today went to run errands. While I was gone she grabbed my book sleeve off the dinning room table (I left it too close to the edge). Your book survived but is damaged. (She wanted the sleeve and the pen more). One page had the corner ripped off but I tapped it back together. It‘s missing a thumb size piece and has bite marks on the front and back⬇️

This was not how I was planning on spending the day. But at least I‘ll get reading done in the tire center (if they are open).

Potions OWL Exam: 3.75⭐️

This takes place in the near future of England where male immigrants are required to take a citizenship test for themselves (and their family if they have any). Because of the things that have happened, if you don‘t pass this test, you are deported from the country. It requires a physical health test and a written portion.

#magicalreadathon2020 #owlsreadathon2020

Book 1 for #lmpbc #round8 is done and shipped off! I personally enjoyed it. I‘m definitely curious to see what others think! #GroupS

@Bookishthoughts you should be getting this next week.

(Also pictured: my pilea pup that I propagated. It seems to be doing well. Seeing new growth, which I‘m so happy about since this was my first propagation. 😊)

This story is effed up! (but in a good way, kinda) ... like a total mind f*ck. Whew!
Who thinks of this stuff?!? That plot twist, though! So trippy!
Just read this book.

Well, this little book certainly got my attention! I didn‘t know a thing about it when I started it and neither should you, so I‘ll just say that this was a very intense read full of moral issues. A bit over 100 pages, but damn there‘s a lot there.

#%&$!

That was INTENSE. On multiple levels. What should have been a straightforward citizenship test turns into a nightmare situation and... well, to say anymore would be spoiling things. That was jaw dropping for something only just over 100 pages. Also the audiobook was FANTASTIC, highly recommend.

I didn‘t love it. I didn‘t hate it. I appreciate what the author was trying to accomplish and I can feel the relevancy. However I‘m still torn on this one. Perhaps if it was a bit longer I would feel differently. It was far too short for it to grab me and shock me like it was supposed to.

#review #booked2020 #readinggoals #readingresolutions #bookworm

Excited to start this one. I‘ve heard people say it‘s fucked up and shocking so I‘m pretty stoked. Plus it‘s only 104 pages so a quick read.

#currentlyreading #booked2020 #readinggoals #readingresolutions #bookworm #lightreading

#bookoutlethaul because I have no impulse control when it comes to books. Very excited for a lot of these titles though. I‘m prepping my tbr for 2020 to start getting through books I own and have on my own shelves versus Netgalley and just e-books all the time.

A short but intense read. How does one decide what makes a good citizen and then design a test to meet that criteria? A not so dystopian take on that premise.

Wow!! I picked this for the train ride to a concert and back, and I was very disappointed when I had to stop reading in the middle. It is only 100 pages, but my heart aches. This book is dark and twisting and I almost cried at the end.

Saw this at the library today. I loved his other books so I hope this is as good.

Book Outlet Booktoberfest Part 2

And I was surprised to find Trust Exercise signed by the author. Double score!

My newest #bookoutlet #bookhaul! And would you believe that the @Neuvel novella came signed?! He‘s one of my favorite authors!! I‘m so happy right now!

Comments comparing this novella to a Black Mirror episode are spot on. I got the same kind of uncomfortable, disturbing feeling after reading this that I get from watching those episodes. It‘s all kinds of messed up and I couldn‘t put the book down until it was done!

A interesting and weird little book, not sure how I completely feel about it really.. 3/5

Read as part of The Reading Rush challenge

Just returned home from holiday to #bookmail from @TrishB ! Thank you for sharing the #litsylove and thanks so much for the extra goodies! Very thoughtful.

Sylvain Neuvel is an amazing writer, and The Test is an incredible book. I don‘t understand how you can put this much tension in merely around 100 pages!! Just take my word on the fact that you should absolutely, definitely read it! Full review: http://bit.ly/2JRJmSy

A brilliant 100-page novella about an Irani man named Idir who is taking the British Citizenship Test.

@Neuvel has honed the knife of psychological suspense and the interview technique to a keen edge. We see it in full glory in The Themis Trilogy but there is something elegant about the distilled form.

Just read this in a few hours. It was excellent. Very black mirror-ish. Love all of his work!

This was a great short book. I loved Neuvel‘s Themis Files trilogy. This solidifies him as a must read author for me!! #24B4Monday

I read this quicker than drinking a cup of tea!
I wouldn‘t call it a novel, more like an extended psychological moral dilemma. Interesting current themes. This would obviously never happen......