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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book frustrated me...mostly it takes place near Cedar Rapids, Iowa where I grew up and still work. I don't like the gimmick of using the flood, inaccurately I might add, to make her characters look good. The author should have researched much better, maybe a visit would have helped. So annoying. Plus I hated the about face at the end. I get it things can't be fairy tale but I hate getting invested in characters and feeling like the rug is pulled out.
If we forget about the last ten pages of the book - seriously, no writer taking herself seriously should ever end a book this way, it's a disgrace and it cost her one star - this truly is one compelling, utterly moving book. One of the best books I have read this year, and one that leaves the reader with so many questions and profound insights that it is hard to capture all that in just one review.
Big brother tells the story about 40-something year old Pandora who is happily or less happily married to food- and health fanatic Fletcher and has with great love adopted his two children. Her having set up her own company and him being busy all the time either crafting furniture or riding his bike, there's always something to do and sitting still doing nothing is just not an option in this active family. The happy midwest American daily life of the family is however turned upside down when Edison, Pandora's older brother who lives in NY, comes to stay. What should have been a happy family reunion turns into a very awkward and painful situation when Edison, whom they haven't seen in years, has gained more than 200 pounds, eats away every edible piece of food in the house and - to make matters worse - seems to be at war with Fletcher from day 1.
Not wanting to spoil the storyline, I won't say anything about the content. However, I do want to state I was really touched by this book. Shriver managed to tackle all the consequence that come with being overweight in her book in a very realistic way. True, the fact that I myself, having weighed both a terrible 100 kgs and then having lost it all to reach a scary anorexic 50 kgs, might have helped. Shriver describes very well the way society looks at overweight people, the stares in the street, the dirty looks when they happen to eat something. Been there done that. I also experienced the reactions on the other side of the scale: when you start losing weight, people are enthusiastic and encourage you. until you cross the line and become "a living skeleton". Then once again, it's the stares and the looks all over. The emotions that come with this are very well expressed in this book and that is what makes it so realistic and painful at the same time. It's a pity, but it's true: people are judging you by your looks, and I know: meeting people when you weigh 100kgs is different than when you way, let's say, a healthy 60kgs. Sad. But true.
The strong, well developed and at times funny dialogues are another element I really appreciated. The conversations between Fletcher and Pandora or between Fletcher and Edison are both hilarious, confronting and realistic. This one for example, which took place between Fletcher and Pandora, a discussion in which Pandora asks her husband to cut Edison some slack:
"You seem to get on the wrong side of each other"
"There was no `seeming`. We did".
""If it were just anybody, I wouldn't ask. But it isn't (it's her brother). It would mean so much to me if you tried a little harder"
"Got nothing to do with trying. You like someone or you don't. If you're trying, you don't"
The book is full with these kind of dialogues that seem trivial but actually are a fine mirror of society and how people react these days. Confronting.
A book I would encourage everybody to read, whether you're overweight, underweight or have a normal weight. It is funny and sad at the same time and leaves you with a lot of food for thought. I do suggest you stop reading at p. 390. The end just ruins it all and might leave you disappointed.
PS - for those who might have gotten concerned about my weight. I am no longer obese, nor anorexic. I enjoy my quite stable weight at 63kgs thank you very much :-)
Big brother tells the story about 40-something year old Pandora who is happily or less happily married to food- and health fanatic Fletcher and has with great love adopted his two children. Her having set up her own company and him being busy all the time either crafting furniture or riding his bike, there's always something to do and sitting still doing nothing is just not an option in this active family. The happy midwest American daily life of the family is however turned upside down when Edison, Pandora's older brother who lives in NY, comes to stay. What should have been a happy family reunion turns into a very awkward and painful situation when Edison, whom they haven't seen in years, has gained more than 200 pounds, eats away every edible piece of food in the house and - to make matters worse - seems to be at war with Fletcher from day 1.
Not wanting to spoil the storyline, I won't say anything about the content. However, I do want to state I was really touched by this book. Shriver managed to tackle all the consequence that come with being overweight in her book in a very realistic way. True, the fact that I myself, having weighed both a terrible 100 kgs and then having lost it all to reach a scary anorexic 50 kgs, might have helped. Shriver describes very well the way society looks at overweight people, the stares in the street, the dirty looks when they happen to eat something. Been there done that. I also experienced the reactions on the other side of the scale: when you start losing weight, people are enthusiastic and encourage you. until you cross the line and become "a living skeleton". Then once again, it's the stares and the looks all over. The emotions that come with this are very well expressed in this book and that is what makes it so realistic and painful at the same time. It's a pity, but it's true: people are judging you by your looks, and I know: meeting people when you weigh 100kgs is different than when you way, let's say, a healthy 60kgs. Sad. But true.
The strong, well developed and at times funny dialogues are another element I really appreciated. The conversations between Fletcher and Pandora or between Fletcher and Edison are both hilarious, confronting and realistic. This one for example, which took place between Fletcher and Pandora, a discussion in which Pandora asks her husband to cut Edison some slack:
"You seem to get on the wrong side of each other"
"There was no `seeming`. We did".
""If it were just anybody, I wouldn't ask. But it isn't (it's her brother). It would mean so much to me if you tried a little harder"
"Got nothing to do with trying. You like someone or you don't. If you're trying, you don't"
The book is full with these kind of dialogues that seem trivial but actually are a fine mirror of society and how people react these days. Confronting.
A book I would encourage everybody to read, whether you're overweight, underweight or have a normal weight. It is funny and sad at the same time and leaves you with a lot of food for thought. I do suggest you stop reading at p. 390. The end just ruins it all and might leave you disappointed.
PS - for those who might have gotten concerned about my weight. I am no longer obese, nor anorexic. I enjoy my quite stable weight at 63kgs thank you very much :-)
I'm a huge fan of Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin but didn't like The Post-Birthday World - this one fell somewhere in the middle for me.
The writing was great, as usual, and the story was interesting though I'm somewhat stuck trying to recall something that really left a lasting impression. The ending was very interesting, though, and really made me feel (ironically, perhaps?) more connected to the main character, Pandora. It was very real and authentic feeling, I thought.
I'm leaning towards stars on this one overall - better than just good, not quite great.
The writing was great, as usual, and the story was interesting though I'm somewhat stuck trying to recall something that really left a lasting impression. The ending was very interesting, though, and really made me feel (ironically, perhaps?) more connected to the main character, Pandora. It was very real and authentic feeling, I thought.
I'm leaning towards stars on this one overall - better than just good, not quite great.
Tough to explain without revealing spoilers, but I will say her musings on weight were spot-on and hit close to home both in the overeating realm and the close-to-starvation realm.
I really like Lionel Shriver. I really don't like Lionel Shriver's characters. I don't know how she does it but she makes most of her character very unlikeable and rigid. This book is filled with characters that I just don't understand at all... they never seem happy, lol and they never act like "normal people". They definitely do not know how to communicate with each other.
For example, not having seen her brother for a few years, Pandora gets a call from her brother Edison's friend saying Edison is not doing so well and maybe she could send her brother a plane ticket and have him stay with her for a while. So, since Pandora is doing well with her own small business, she obliges. But when he gets off the plane, Pandora doesn't even recognize her own brother because he has gotten so enormously fat. Not just gained 20-30 pounds but more like 200 pounds! And she doesn't even mention the weight! I mean sure, she didn't want to hurt his feelings, whatever, but my god, come on!
Shriver brings up many thoughtful points about obesity in America, our reactions towards the obese, our consumer culture that leads to obsessive behavior etc... and that is very interesting and could lead to some very frank and thought provoking discussions but oy vey and yuk... the characters...
She adds a little twist ala We Need to Talk About Kevin but it's not at all shocking or devastating as in that book. All in all an okay read but somewhat disappointing for a Lionel Shriver.
For example, not having seen her brother for a few years, Pandora gets a call from her brother Edison's friend saying Edison is not doing so well and maybe she could send her brother a plane ticket and have him stay with her for a while. So, since Pandora is doing well with her own small business, she obliges. But when he gets off the plane, Pandora doesn't even recognize her own brother because he has gotten so enormously fat. Not just gained 20-30 pounds but more like 200 pounds! And she doesn't even mention the weight! I mean sure, she didn't want to hurt his feelings, whatever, but my god, come on!
Shriver brings up many thoughtful points about obesity in America, our reactions towards the obese, our consumer culture that leads to obsessive behavior etc... and that is very interesting and could lead to some very frank and thought provoking discussions but oy vey and yuk... the characters...
She adds a little twist ala We Need to Talk About Kevin but it's not at all shocking or devastating as in that book. All in all an okay read but somewhat disappointing for a Lionel Shriver.
3.5 stars - it was four right up until the last section
I really enjoyed this story (it kind of had a personal twinge for me, obviously) and I really liked Shrivers writing style. I don't normally like it when authors use the "one paragraph is a whole page" kind of deal, but hers was so interesting that it didn't bother me. The ending was just...wow. It hurt.
A book that explores the weightiness of sibling relationships -- in more ways than one. Great read!
After reading the reviews, all referencing the horrible ending, I couldn't wait to get through the book. Maybe I'm just a contrarian, but I loved the ending. It was original and totally unexpected after we'd been led to believe that Pandora had sacrificed her marriage for her brother. Which, I had a hard time believing that one would go to such drastic lengths anyway. I liked the fact that in the end, she took the path of least resistance. That seemed much more realistic to me. I am docking a star b/c as one other reviewer pointed out, Shriver often seems to be playing a game of, "How many SAT words can I put in one sentence?". I didn't love this as much as "We Need to Talk About Kevin" , but it was still a good read.