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A review by alongapath
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When I started this book, I had to look up 'co-pay' and 'co-insured' on the ol' internet since those are terms I had never heard before. So ... you can imagine the steep learning curve I surmounted as my education in the american health care system grew, page by page, over the course of this book. Not only is it astonishingly abysmal to have people bankrupted by their health expenses but it is a well-kept secret beyond the US border and, more surprisingly, within.
For the most part, we follow Shep and Jackson - two handymen who have been working together for decades. Shep is a dreamer. Ever since he was a child, he has fantasized about leaving the US in order to live a simpler life in a 2nd or 3rd world country which is unencumbered by the troubles of money and wealth. His entire life has been motivated towards creating a handsome nest egg of money (approx $800K) that will fund his 'After Life'. He plans to drop everything and move 'there' where he will live off his savings for the rest of his days. Whether or not his wife and children join him is yet to be determined but everyone know his plans.
On the day that Shep finally decides to launch into his After Life, he sits down to tell his wife, Glynis, that their plane leaves at the end of the week - but Glynis has an announcement of her own. She has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Her doctor has given every encouragement that chemo and medications will cure her so she and Shep begin the process of using all the After Life savings to save her life. Despite having given notice at his job, Shep has to keep working for a vile boss in order to keep his health insurance, which seems to cover less than 40% of the bills.
Then Shep's 80+ year old dad has a fall, breaks his hip and ends up in hospital, unable to live independently for a while, but also unable to afford the daily hospital fees or a full-time caregiver. He ends up in a home where he contracts c-diff, requiring isolation and intravenous antibiotics. These costs are also tacked onto Shep's After Life fund.
Jackson, the co-worker, has a daughter, Flicka, who has been gravely ill since birth with wildly complex needs, including G-tube feeding, mobility issues and compromised immunity. Despite the 24/7 care that Flicka requires, Jackson's wife Carol has had to take on a full-time job in order to have a second health insurance provider to bolster their coverage. Their days are filled with mundane work in unfulfilling careers and their nights are filled with trying to keep Flicka alive, with medications, hourly feedings, and infection control. (There is a lot of ink used to describe Flicka's symptoms and needs - but her illness is a real one with real costs that real people have)
The book is often dull. The mind-numbing accounts of symptoms, low self-worth and bodily functions are exhausting. But somehow I was lulled along, almost enjoying the show. I didn't really understand the role of Zach, a 15 year old son who was barely given a speaking part during the whole year-long drama. I expected Shriver to invent an opioid addiction or gambling issue for Zach which would further damage the family's health. But no. He just sat in his locked room for 12 months -so why have him as a character at all?
It really bothered me that Shriver made Gabe Knack get on a number of planes and travel through multiple airports across the globe while viscously sick with c-difficile! I can't get the image out of my mind - of Gabe and Shep crowded in a tiny airplane bathroom while he has explosive diarrhea everywhere. This is really gross but more so it is so ignorant. I know this was written long before covid-19 but it is so much worse that not wearing a mask when infected.
I do admire Shriver's writing and her ranting. She is angry about US healthcare (and a whole lot more!) and it shows. I feel like Jackson's rants (and there was a lot of ranting!!) were really Shriver's inner voice. But, too often, I was sifting back through her diatribes (often with offshoots bracketed by parentheses) -or sub-text inserted directly into the paragraph by means of dashes- trying to find the verb so that the sentence made sense. It was exhausting at times. For a 500+ page book, I hardly needed to reread half of it in search of grammar.
For the most part, we follow Shep and Jackson - two handymen who have been working together for decades. Shep is a dreamer. Ever since he was a child, he has fantasized about leaving the US in order to live a simpler life in a 2nd or 3rd world country which is unencumbered by the troubles of money and wealth. His entire life has been motivated towards creating a handsome nest egg of money (approx $800K) that will fund his 'After Life'. He plans to drop everything and move 'there' where he will live off his savings for the rest of his days. Whether or not his wife and children join him is yet to be determined but everyone know his plans.
On the day that Shep finally decides to launch into his After Life, he sits down to tell his wife, Glynis, that their plane leaves at the end of the week - but Glynis has an announcement of her own. She has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Her doctor has given every encouragement that chemo and medications will cure her so she and Shep begin the process of using all the After Life savings to save her life. Despite having given notice at his job, Shep has to keep working for a vile boss in order to keep his health insurance, which seems to cover less than 40% of the bills.
Then Shep's 80+ year old dad has a fall,
Jackson, the co-worker, has a daughter, Flicka, who has been gravely ill since birth with wildly complex needs, including G-tube feeding, mobility issues and compromised immunity. Despite the 24/7 care that Flicka requires, Jackson's wife Carol has had to take on a full-time job in order to have a second health insurance provider to bolster their coverage. Their days are filled with mundane work in unfulfilling careers and their nights are filled with trying to keep Flicka alive, with medications, hourly feedings, and infection control. (There is a lot of ink used to describe Flicka's symptoms and needs - but her illness is a real one with real costs that real people have)
The book is often dull. The mind-numbing accounts of symptoms, low self-worth and bodily functions are exhausting. But somehow I was lulled along, almost enjoying the show. I didn't really understand the role of Zach, a 15 year old son who was barely given a speaking part during the whole year-long drama. I expected Shriver to invent an opioid addiction or gambling issue for Zach which would further damage the family's health. But no. He just sat in his locked room for 12 months -so why have him as a character at all?
It really bothered me that Shriver made Gabe Knack
I do admire Shriver's writing and her ranting. She is angry about US healthcare (and a whole lot more!) and it shows. I feel like Jackson's rants (and there was a lot of ranting!!) were really Shriver's inner voice. But, too often, I was sifting back through her diatribes (often with offshoots bracketed by parentheses) -or sub-text inserted directly into the paragraph by means of dashes- trying to find the verb so that the sentence made sense. It was exhausting at times. For a 500+ page book, I hardly needed to reread half of it in search of grammar.