Excellent

Lionel Shriver is fantastic. All her books are very different but never fail to deliver. Her story telling works for me and my to be engaged from page one.

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Disappointing from such a good writer

I have read most of Lional Shriver's books and enjoyed them very much but this does not reach her usual standard. She does not have enough to say and it is padded with dull detail. The book is not helped by the narration of Susan Ericksen and her attempts to adopt an English accent, often mispronouncing words including her assumption that potato rhymes with the English pronounciation of tomato.

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The first Lionel Shriver novel I have not loved

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I love Lionel Shriver. I love her sharp wit, her satirical approach to topical themes, her language and rich vocabulary, her sarcasm, her lack of fear and well, just about everything about her. I feared Kevin, felt smug about health and weight with Big Brother. I laughed at journos in The New Republic and felt a whole mixture of emotions at So Much For That. So this, my fifth Shriver, was a huge ask: a book about a sister and her two brothers fighting over their inheritance. The two brothers, one an alcoholic who left home at an early age, appears to attract disaster and has a string of ex-wives, and the other hard-working, caring, studious with a gentle perfect wife - were so appealing to me (I can't think why) that I suppose I was setting myself up for disappointment. The novel was quite simply boring. If had known these people in my real life, I'd have walked the other way when I spotted them at the mall.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have cut out about half of it.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was one of the worst I have listened to. She sounded as if she were straining her voice. Perhaps the sentences were too long for her lung capacity, but it sounded as if she were running out of air quite often, which was an uncomfortable sensation for the listener. And finally, sorry - we British do not say potaaaato (rhyming with tomato) - ever. And persevere is not pronounced purr-sever.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

There were some aspects of the book I liked. The characters were well drawn. I do like the anti-heros she writes so well.

Any additional comments?

I will try another Lionel Shriver.but I'll stick to the newer titles. Perhaps her earlier books are not as sharp as her later ones.

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