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The Marriage Act by John Marrs

Published by PanMacMillan, MacMillan

Publication Date 19th January 2023

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest, unbiased views.

Book Description:

What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?

Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills – the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.

But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives, monitoring every word, every minor disagreement . . . and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honour and obey.

My Thoughts:

I never cease to be astounded at how John Marrs' mind works! Every one of the books he has penned is cleverly set in a time just slightly ahead of the present day, so the scenarios he creates are scarily possible given the technology we currently have. 

In this latest book, The Marriage Act, the author has taken idea of smart speakers to another level and linked them into a government network of monitors to completely oversee our private lives. To try and improve the standard of living across society the government has brought in a policy of Smart Marriage, the belief being that married couples provide a much more stable and beneficial environment for us all to live amongst - it doesn't matter whether the marriage is between a single sex couple or the more traditional heterosexual couple so long as you sign up to the new policy. There are socio-economic advantages to signing up: NHS+ provides better healthcare systems, the area you live in has much better facilities, and the tax benefits see you much better off financially. The pay-off is that the government can listen in to and even record the conversations you have within your home; should they feel you are not putting sufficient effort in to maintaining certain standards within your marriage they can send in government representatives to get you back on track.

The book follows four truly diverse couples and their experiences of The Marriage Act. There's the elderly couple who have a long-established traditional marriage, the same sex couple who have no issues with their marriage until a government approved relationship counsellor is sent to monitor their home life, the online influencer who craves the high-profile media life but whose family just wants privacy, and the guy who works behind the scenes for the government but is beginning to look towards retiring in the sun as he begins to question whether life really is better this way. The only thing I'll say  is: I don't think I'd want any dealings with government officials!

The story leads you through the many and varied arguments for and against a society which lives under constant scrutiny and will have you pondering how much of your own privacy you would be prepared to sacrifice for the benefits on offer. I was pleased to see the author include a strong section of society willing to stand up and fight for what they believe in so the reader gets a very balanced representation of all points of view.

A fascinating taste of what life could be if Big Brother were allowed to step up a notch. Thank goodness it's only fiction!

About the Author:

John Marrs is an author and former journalist based in London and Northamptonshire. After spending his career interviewing celebrities from the worlds of television, film and music for numerous national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time author. His books include No1 bestseller and Netflix series The One, The Passengers, award winning What Lies Between Us and The Good Samaritan. Follow him at www.johnmarrsauthor.co.uk, on Twitter @johnmarrs1, on Instagram @johnmarrs.author and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/johnmarrsauthor.