REVIEW: The Marriage Act by John Marrs

Genre: Speculative Fiction | Science Fiction

Release Date: Expected 19th January 2023

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

"You never forget your first love and the first person you killed."

In a near and uncomfortably familiar future, Britain is ruled by a tyrannical right-wing government that have imposed a new law to keep everyone under control - The Marriage Act. 

This new act encourages people to embrace 'traditional' values that had started to feel outdated by luring them into Smart Marriages - that comes with countless benefits and perks, but also gives them the right to watch, to monitor, to interfere, to control the lives and deaths of those who don't conform. 

If you don't respect the values of marriage, you'll be evaluated, monitored, tested, maybe even punished. So for the many couples we meet as they try to navigate their own issues along with this terrifying new dynamic, their vows of Death Do Us Part are starting to feel frightening possible. 

"The Government believes a hedonistic society is harder to focus. What they really mean is we are harder to control."

If you've read The One yet, I'd definitely recommend it before you jump in as this is set in the same world - a world that is located somewhere in the uncanny valley, a place that feels eerily familiar but disturbing and strange. A fascist regime enforce their rigid beliefs on the people - making it seem like a choice even though it really isn't. They take away freedom, identities  - how much further can they push it before someone pushes back?

Each character and their respective couples have their own lives, but are intertwined in ways they'd never imagine. Roxi is a struggling vlogger and suffocating under the pressures of being a Wife and Mother. Corrine and Mitchell are preparing to do the unthinkable and get divorced. Arthur and June have been together for 49 years, and can't bear to think of what comes next for them. Noah and Luca don't understand why Jeffery, a relationship responder, is in their house assessing them. Anthony is  trying to balance his own life in the dark underbelly of government with his family life. 

At first, it's almost overwhelming how many new people we meet, but they slowly become familiar, almost as though we're forming a friendship over time with every person. Each storyline is deeply engrossing, none outshining the others and creating an entire community for us to connect with. I was painfully attached to so many of them, it was impossible not to cry, to resent and to celebrate along with them. 

High conceptual and speculative, this intense thriller creates a world that rich and realised - from the transcripts and advertisements scattered through the pages, to the multiple voices we get to hear. The first few pages immediately set the tone - emotional, intense, painfully uncomfortable and dark.  

The Marriage Act is a searing statement about control and coercion - a terrifying look at a world that could be. 

"England has currently never been more divided. We are now a country made up of them and us. Surely that can't be a smart idea?"

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

CW: suicide, self-harm, bullying, terminal illness, infidelity, divorce, violence, euthanasia.