Wolf Country
A dark and thought-provoking novel, for fans of Never Let Me Go, Only Ever Yours and Black Mirror.
London, 2050. The socio-economic crisis of recent decades has been eradicated and consumerism is thriving. Ownership of land outside the city is now the preserve of a tiny elite. The rest of the population is divided into three groups, High, Mid and Low Spenders, who must work, earn and spend enough to retain their Right to Reside. When citizens stop spending, they are classed as ‘non-profit’ and must retire to a Dignitorium, a lavish state institution where residents are rewarded for their lifelong contribution to society with nine wonderful months, before being peacefully euthanised. Ageing is a thing of the past.
Wolf Country follows Alice, a young woman whose husband Philip has gone missing, along with all the money from his bank account. Desperate and on the verge of losing her own Right to Reside, she begins to question the society in which she was raised. The only people she can turn to are her father-in-law, an outlaw and resident of ‘The Zone’, a devastated area inhabited only by criminals and those who refuse to comply with the new system; the elderly Nurse Vogel, who works in a Dignitorium and may be able to uncover Philip’s whereabouts; and finally Alice’s older sister, Sofia, who abandoned the family many years ago. Sofia never disguised her hatred and contempt for her younger sister. But she may be the last chance Alice has…
‘A chilling and politically astute dystopia – sci-fi in the tradition of Wyndham’ – Jane Rogers