This book was a ‘slow burner’ for me. It wasn’t one of those books that you finish almost in one sitting because you cannot put it down, but weeks and even months after finishing it, this story still regularly pops up in my mind without warning.

The drama is portrayed on a very human level, zooming in on the domestic. You find out about what is going on in the wider world mostly though the consequences that it has for the daily lives of the main characters, but you don’t find out much beyond that. The characters are not necessarily all that likable, and their decisions are at times very frustrating. But because of that they are all the more realistic.

The book isn’t some epic thriller with lots of action, but I think that made it only more terrifying. Slowly but steadily you are being led from a familiar world to one that is completely unrecognizable. It slowly leads you along, until, like Eilish, you realise that it might already be too late. Moreover, this book does not offer you the consolation that it is ‘only a story’: part of the terror is that this is the daily reality of so many people around the world.

The ‘regime’ in this book is faceless and untouchable. There’s no evil dictator, and you don’t get to know the names of any of the major leaders. There is also no clear religious, political or otherwise ideological motive for their actions, except for the universal hunger for power and control. This heightens the sense of powerlessness that you feel while reading this book: you can vividly feel Eilish’s immense frustration and anger, but above all her fear that anything she does will bring harm to her children. The decision not to give the regime a face or an ideological background makes sense, because this book is not about those in power. It’s about the terrible choices that people have to make in the face of violence that is inflicted upon them by forces outside of their control.

While reading, you cannot stop wondering: what would I have done? I hope I will never have to find out the answer.