The Test

by Sylvain Neuvel

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

This novella is... wow.

I wasn't quite expecting this.

It amazes me the way some people can weave such a powerful story into so few pages.  I expected this book to be something a little more about racism, and I won't say there aren't moments where Neuvel is calling out Islamophobia... but this was not what I expect.

The Test is a quite, extremely powerful story.  We meet Idir at the beginning, a kind man who is going to take his test to become a British citizen.  What follows is everything I would expected from the man who wrote Sleeping Giants.  Which is to say, this story did nothing I expected it would, and it did all those things in the most brutal way possible.  From a level of engagement, I really enjoyed it.  I was worried about Idir.  Reading this on my lunch break, I had to set it down in the middle of a particularly high-tensity moment, and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  My heart was racing.  It's just that good.

But it is, in no way, a feel-good book.  It's a book that will pull you into the story until every cell in your body is fused to the words... but it will also take your heart and put it in a blender and hit pulse.  The Test is ruthless.  It's powerful.  The characters are compelling and interesting and will surprise you.  This novella is dark and haunting.

I really think everyone needs to read it.  It speaks tomes about who we are as humans and the horrible depths in our souls.

Really.  I recommend this to EVERYONE.