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A review by caitpoytress
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver
2.0
I don't think Shriver meant to describe her own book with the following passage, but she did:
"Remember how sometimes, in the middle, a movie seems to drag? I get restless, and take a leak, or go for popcorn. But sometimes, the last part, it heats up, and then right before the credits one of us starts to cry - well , then you forget about the crummy middle, don't you? YOu don't care about the fact that it started slow, or had some plot twist along the way that didn't scan. Because it moved you, because it finally pulled together, you think, when you walk out, that it was a good movie, and you're glad you went."
Except I'm not particularly glad I went or, in this case, read. It wasn't terrible but it definitely wasn't great either. Most of the characters were so damn unlikeable that it was hard to muster up any sympathy for them. Even worse, though, were the multiple page long rantings about government, healthcare, evil insurance companies, etc. etc. etc. I'm well aware that those issues form the basis of Shriver's novel; however, the rabidness of the delivery was off putting and their sheer verbosity caused my eyes to glaze over and start skimming - probably not the effect Shriver intended. That said, I'm probably not Shriver's intended audience either.
Regardless, I'm reserving full judgement until after I've read [b:The Post-Birthday World|393060|The Post-Birthday World|Lionel Shriver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174407431s/393060.jpg|953226] and [b:We Need to Talk About Kevin|80660|We Need to Talk About Kevin (P.S.)|Lionel Shriver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170984758s/80660.jpg|3106720], both of which I have on my bookshelves at home. She's a very talented writer and I'm hoping that this is just a case of the subject matter and the reader not clicking.
"Remember how sometimes, in the middle, a movie seems to drag? I get restless, and take a leak, or go for popcorn. But sometimes, the last part, it heats up, and then right before the credits one of us starts to cry - well , then you forget about the crummy middle, don't you? YOu don't care about the fact that it started slow, or had some plot twist along the way that didn't scan. Because it moved you, because it finally pulled together, you think, when you walk out, that it was a good movie, and you're glad you went."
Except I'm not particularly glad I went or, in this case, read. It wasn't terrible but it definitely wasn't great either. Most of the characters were so damn unlikeable that it was hard to muster up any sympathy for them. Even worse, though, were the multiple page long rantings about government, healthcare, evil insurance companies, etc. etc. etc. I'm well aware that those issues form the basis of Shriver's novel; however, the rabidness of the delivery was off putting and their sheer verbosity caused my eyes to glaze over and start skimming - probably not the effect Shriver intended. That said, I'm probably not Shriver's intended audience either.
Regardless, I'm reserving full judgement until after I've read [b:The Post-Birthday World|393060|The Post-Birthday World|Lionel Shriver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174407431s/393060.jpg|953226] and [b:We Need to Talk About Kevin|80660|We Need to Talk About Kevin (P.S.)|Lionel Shriver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170984758s/80660.jpg|3106720], both of which I have on my bookshelves at home. She's a very talented writer and I'm hoping that this is just a case of the subject matter and the reader not clicking.