So Much for That Book

A powerful novel with some pretty tough issues; cancer, FD (familial dysautonomia), suicide and the health care system in America. Although that all sounds pretty bleak, remember Lionel Shriver usually does offer a mostly sober read. That is not to say the novel is all bleak; it is not. While the book is mostly dialogue, it is really strong dialogue from all characters, a couple of the characters do possess a very satiric attitude and that makes for some humorous reading. A long novel with some 534 pages, this might dissuade some interest: I say, take a big step and read this tome. It is no less than all the extraordinary Shriver generally offers a reader; a very fine novel.

Shepherd has been saving all his life for his Afterlife (retirement); the ultimate escape to an island off Tanzania. Jackson's life has been tempered by the struggle of having a daughter with FD; an ultimately fatal genetic disease which robs his child of any vestige of normal life. Shepherd's plans are thwarted by his wife's diagnosis with cancer and Jackson jeopardises his family's life by his act of unnecessary male vanity. Both these men do show extraordinary amounts of compassion and this, along with Jackson's superb wit lift the story out of the realms of dreary. Some might labour through the issues of the American healthcare system and dealing with disease but this novel is much more than that: it introduces two ordinary men who rise to battle extreme circumstances. This is a book I would recommend to all who require something other than a frivolous read.

A solid 4★ rating.