The Collections

‘Killer. That’s the accusation they flung at me and days later I still felt debased by it, and besmirched. This is where my story begins. Where the seeds of uncertainty that I’d so long shut my eyes to, began to take root.’ So begins Claris Millar’s account of her struggles to first abide by the law … and then to break it.

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.