Dark Lullaby by Polly Ho-Yen

 

For fans of Black Mirror and The Handmaid's Tale, in Dark Lullaby a mother desperately tries to keep her family together in a society where parenting standards are strictly monitored.

When Kit decides to have a child, she thinks she's prepared. She knows how demanding Induction is. She's seen children Extracted. But in a society where parenting is strictly monitored under the watchful gaze of OSIP (The Office of Standards in Parenting), she is forced to ask herself how far she will go to keep her family together.

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Infertility isn't often thought of as world ending, but it definitely should be. In Dark Lullaby, infertility has risen to over 98%. There are various explanations bandied about, but no one seems sure exactly what's happened. All they know is that for women to give birth, they have to go through a regimen of drugs that are as likely to kill them as help them; if they do fall pregnant, they are supervised literally every step of the way; assuming they make it to birth, their child still might be taken away from them. OSIP, the government body concerned with protecting children, have absolute powers and can take children away at any time for any reason. 

This story is set in two timelines, 'now' and 'then'. I'm not very clear on how long the gap between them is; there's no times attached to either of them. All we know is that a child who was a baby 'then' is still a child, probably under ten, 'now'.

I don't really like stories that jump timelines, partly because it's harder to follow and partly because I get involved with one storyline and then have to leave it. However, after a while with this one I didn't have any problem following it. (I was still getting involved with a storyline, but that's probably a good sign.)

The ending was kind of a downer, but that's true of Handmaid's, too, and honestly I'm not sure how else it could have ended. Everything was always going to get to the point it's at.

It's a good, slightly depressing but really interesting read. I'm glad I stuck it out past the initial uncertainty because it really did pick up after a while.

Dark Lullaby publishes on the 23rd of March, 2021. I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.