The Collections, Patricia Donovan
Published by Mary Egan Publishing, 4 August 2022, RRP $35.00
A mesmerising dystopian novel that explores how far a distressed humanity might go to resolve the global population crisis
It’s 2041. The population bomb has exploded. The climate is in crisis. Only extreme measures will save our species. And in an attempt to restore balance, the government has legalised Collections.
Unimaginable. Understandable. Unavoidable?
Claris works in a government Collections Depot but after her beloved husband is taken there to die – a sacrifice he makes willingly to help reduce population pressure – she finds her job increasingly abhorrent. Plagued by unease and indecision, she tries to reconcile her morals with reality.
Written with grace and a luminous intensity, The Collections delivers a startling story about taking control of one’s fate.
Patricia Donovan has created a haunting and compelling narrative that explores the fragility of our social fabric and, ultimately, our humanity.
“A gritty and hypnotic read.”
“‘The Collections’ offers a vivid glimpse into an unnerving but not implausible dystopic future with intimations of Smith’s Dream and Fahrenheit 451.”
Author Note:
‘During 2020, debate in New Zealand on the pros and cons of euthanasia was happening at the same time as alarm was spreading worldwide at the rate of population growth and the scary prospect that our planet may not be able much longer to sustain it.
The optimum population for the planet is one and half billion, two billion at most, yet there are now nearly eight billion of us. What is to be done?
Musing on possible answers to this question, I imagined what it would be like if we trusted superannuants, when they receive their first pension payment, with a suicide pill to use if and when they see fit. This idea led me down a dystopian path of exploring how far a distressed humanity, at the end of its tether, might go to resolve both the global population crisis and the consequent degradation of the planet.’
About the Author:
Patricia Donovan grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, and graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Master's Degree (with honours) in English Literature.
After graduation she worked in corporate communications in Australia and New Zealand, and is the author of a comprehensive reference book for the profession:
Communications. The Four Essential Steps to Best Practice.
She is the author of two previous novels, The Remarkable Miss Digby which was shortlisted for the NZ Booklovers Adult Fiction Award 2022, and The Madison Gap. She lives on the beautiful Kapiti Coast.
More information at: www.patriciadonovan.nz
For media queries, review and giveaway copies, extracts and interviews, please contact publicist Karen McKenzie, 027 693 9044, karen@lighthousepr.co.nz, www.lighthousepr.co.nz