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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
If you were considering reading The Middlesteins, pick this up instead.
If Goodreads allowed it, I'd give this book four stars for readability and three for overall quality. Lionel Shriver is a good storyteller, with an emphasis on the telling (the book, narrated by an under-achieving middle child who's found unexpected success with a novelty business, is proof that showing isn't always superior). But I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Pandora is the aforementioned middle child; her titular brother is sometime jazz musician who has eaten himself huge while trying to rest on his shaky laurels. She must choose between trying to save her brother from himself (and you are right to be suspicious of this undertaking, reader) and maintaining her marriage to a grouchy health nut. The facts of the story--from Pandora's company to her father's fictional '80s sitcom--feel larger than life (haha), but the tone is pure realism. Is that intentional? Does it work? I'm not sure.
This is a book about the problems created by a culture of too much (food, fame, money); as Pandora says near the end "We are meant to be hungry." I think I half agree. While the book didn't inspire intense passion, I definitely liked it enough to seek out more Lionel Shriver.
This is a book about the problems created by a culture of too much (food, fame, money); as Pandora says near the end "We are meant to be hungry." I think I half agree. While the book didn't inspire intense passion, I definitely liked it enough to seek out more Lionel Shriver.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I liked this and found it head to put down, the end left me feeling kind of flat-without spoiling it was disappointing, and a bit frustrating.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
SPOILER ALERT - spoilers hidden within this review - don't read if you don't want to know.
I enjoyed the basic story behind this, but it wasn't that enjoyable to read. I really liked the part where Edison was going to torture Fletcher into eating an entire cake. I found Pandora's fear that her business wouldn't last the distance to be a perfectly realistic way to think. It would not have been prudent to continue to expand on something that was clearly a novelty that would wear thin.
I felt as though Fletcher was probably the least likeable person in the novel. Pandora seemed to feel as though she was so very lucky to have him, and in some ways I can see it, but in others he was just snide and controlling. I didn't really understand what it was that they saw in each other.
Tanner and Cody were good characters, although Cody was a little too perfect. If it had not had been for her selflessness towards Uncle Edison, the story would not quite have flowed the same way. Tanner was a very stereotypical, selfish teenage boy for whom Edison served as a warning.
The whole story focuses on Pandora's determination to help her brother return to a normal weight. However, the end goal is actually probably less than standard for a normal man. It may have been a little more realistic to have the goal hover at just above the top of the weight range for his height. Anyway, that being said, I was very unsatisfied by the ending.
DIDN'T EVEN HAPPEN!? Why, then go through that humiliating scene where he was stuffing his face after the party? Why not begin the book a little differently, so that when this reveal occurred, it actually makes you go "Aha! That makes sense!".
I understood a lot of what was going through Pandora's head, but geez, I waded through hundreds of pages to get to the end, and then felt cheated.
I enjoyed the basic story behind this, but it wasn't that enjoyable to read. I really liked the part where Edison was going to torture Fletcher into eating an entire cake. I found Pandora's fear that her business wouldn't last the distance to be a perfectly realistic way to think. It would not have been prudent to continue to expand on something that was clearly a novelty that would wear thin.
I felt as though Fletcher was probably the least likeable person in the novel. Pandora seemed to feel as though she was so very lucky to have him, and in some ways I can see it, but in others he was just snide and controlling. I didn't really understand what it was that they saw in each other.
Tanner and Cody were good characters, although Cody was a little too perfect. If it had not had been for her selflessness towards Uncle Edison, the story would not quite have flowed the same way. Tanner was a very stereotypical, selfish teenage boy for whom Edison served as a warning.
The whole story focuses on Pandora's determination to help her brother return to a normal weight. However, the end goal is actually probably less than standard for a normal man. It may have been a little more realistic to have the goal hover at just above the top of the weight range for his height. Anyway, that being said, I was very unsatisfied by the ending.
Spoiler
So, after all that, it turned out that none of it happened. Instead of Pandora being at her wit's end and about to send Edison back, before realising she could help him, she actually let him go home to nothing, and waited for him to die. That sounds a bit nasty, and I understand how powerless she must have felt. But to have us following the journey of Edison finding himself again, getting to the ultimate goal he'd set for himself, and then saying itI understood a lot of what was going through Pandora's head, but geez, I waded through hundreds of pages to get to the end, and then felt cheated.
reflective
medium-paced
Maybe it is just because I recently watched the often discussed 7th season of Roseanne, but the last chapter really blew this book for me.
Shriver, I like you, but what the hell was part three?
The book was great and the ending poor
The book was great and the ending poor
Really enjoyed this, well written, the 2 main characters are well drawn and memorable, and I personally loved the ending. Some people will really hate that same ending though.