Dang, I missed the voting! Is this a fiction novel? I need to be sure, I don't enjoy being educated against my will...otherwise there should be a disclaimer.
I am a fast reader, so have finished "So Much for That"....can I say that initally I was like this is going to be a hard read, especially with the thesaurus using descriptive paragraphs!
But stick with it....Lionel Shriver doesn't disappoint!
I am half way through reading it and even though it is sad and depressing I still look forward to reading it on my lunch break. Shriver writes so well, her characters are beautifully flawed and the storyline certainly makes you question many things. At this stage however, I really want to smack Shep over the head...I feel sorry for him but he is such a pushover. And wow, Shep's sister is horribly selfish - want to smack her over the head too... :)
Wow, what an intense read – I haven’t read anything like Shriver’s So Much for That in a while – so it was, in a way, refreshing for my brain.
So many things to think about, so many things to question, so many things to try to understand, so many characters to dislike, and like, to want to scream at. It was a thought-provoking and an emotional rollercoaster of a read with an extremely satisfying ending. Hard to imagine, I know, given the depressing nature of the plot and the character’s plights. But for all of those yet to read it...get on board! You will not be disappointed I assure you.
I learnt things about the US medical system that I just had never thought of before – and that was not just from the book. The book peaked my curiosity and I wanted to find out if what was being portrayed in the novel was indeed as big an issue as described – and it is. I did some internet research and spoke to a colleague of mine who lived in the US for a while and experienced the expense. Fascinating and depressing! Just going to the GP is usually over 200 dollars (and ladies, if you are on the pill you have to go to the GP EVERY month to get a supply of the pill because they only give you a monthly supply!!!!) – my colleague who had her baby over there said it cost $30,000...lucky her husband had a good job and got good health cover so she didn’t have to pay quite that much – no public hospitals, just private...the list of things that blow my mind goes on.
Shriver’s writing is overwhelmingly creative, sharp, expressive and emotive. Her character’s allowed for me to take in so much unknown knowledge in a way that made me feel as if I wasn’t lectured. So much information to take in, you could almost miss the way she reveals her character’s traits – but she writes in such a way that you absorb it all in its entirety. I am known to skim...particularly if a theme hasn’t gripped me, or a character annoys or challenges me too much – I couldn’t skim in this book, I read it all! Those are my thoughts thus far. What about yours?
I particularly wanted to smack Shep's sister over the head!! lol
So Much For That is not a light read and honestly, probably something that I wouldn't have pick if I were browsing the bookshop shelves. But I am one for furthering my knowledge and this book has certainly done that.
I found the cancer part very hard, as I have dealt with that in my own live...but I liked the fact that Lionel didn't gloss over how it really is...everything that happened to Glynis was true to life...depressingly so.
The most frustrating part (which is why Lionel is such an awesome writer to make me feel such emotion) is how badly the characters communicated with each other...I mean if only Jackson and his wife had been honest!!
But i loved the ending... everything tied off neatly! (Just how I like it!!)
So, I'm a whole book and a half behind...but I am reading slaughterhouse five. It's awesome. I am really really loving it. He's a magical story teller and using time travel as a mechanism to tell a non-linear story is brilliant.
So now I'm reading So much for that and I am, unfortunately, underwhelmed.
I like her style of writing and the incredible use of English - it's nice to find a writer who does know her language and applies it, unabashedly, but I am finding the story just a little bit dry.
Perhaps I have no soul.
I can't stand Jackson. I think he's a whinging idiot.I find Shep insipid and ridiculous. I want to slap the sister and as for the wife with cancer, she's a full blown bitch - that's the only thing I do like so far, is her honesty. The fact that illness doesn't make someone a good person. There's a lot of truth there for her and Flick.
As for Jackson's penis enlargement, I was outraged and nearly put the book down. I just wanted to slap him in the face. All that money wasted on himself, when he could have spoilt his wife, or taken his daughter to see and do something special, but the self-absorbed, self righteous pain in the butt goes and gets his penis enlarged. But that's the most passionate I can get about the book. Other than that, I find myself skipping his soliloquy, because I just don't care. I just find that constant whinging and complaining about the government really annoying. Yep, the American health system sucks, aint no doubt about that - but then go do something...rally, join a political party, at the very least figure away to make things easier. That would be easier for me to read than pages and pages of indignant complaining!
Realistically, I can't stand people who do that in life, so I am hardly likely to like it in fictional character.
Dang, I missed the voting! Is this a fiction novel? I need to be sure, I don't enjoy being educated against my will...otherwise there should be a disclaimer.
ReplyDeleteI'll get on to reading it.
It's fiction! But it's Lionel Shriver so you'll probably be educated in some sort of way...about the human condition etc. ; )
ReplyDeleteI am a fast reader, so have finished "So Much for That"....can I say that initally I was like this is going to be a hard read, especially with the thesaurus using descriptive paragraphs!
ReplyDeleteBut stick with it....Lionel Shriver doesn't disappoint!
I so want to discuss Shepard's sister!!!
I am half way through reading it and even though it is sad and depressing I still look forward to reading it on my lunch break. Shriver writes so well, her characters are beautifully flawed and the storyline certainly makes you question many things. At this stage however, I really want to smack Shep over the head...I feel sorry for him but he is such a pushover. And wow, Shep's sister is horribly selfish - want to smack her over the head too... :)
ReplyDeleteWow, what an intense read – I haven’t read anything like Shriver’s So Much for That in a while – so it was, in a way, refreshing for my brain.
ReplyDeleteSo many things to think about, so many things to question, so many things to try to understand, so many characters to dislike, and like, to want to scream at. It was a thought-provoking and an emotional rollercoaster of a read with an extremely satisfying ending. Hard to imagine, I know, given the depressing nature of the plot and the character’s plights. But for all of those yet to read it...get on board! You will not be disappointed I assure you.
I learnt things about the US medical system that I just had never thought of before – and that was not just from the book. The book peaked my curiosity and I wanted to find out if what was being portrayed in the novel was indeed as big an issue as described – and it is. I did some internet research and spoke to a colleague of mine who lived in the US for a while and experienced the expense. Fascinating and depressing! Just going to the GP is usually over 200 dollars (and ladies, if you are on the pill you have to go to the GP EVERY month to get a supply of the pill because they only give you a monthly supply!!!!) – my colleague who had her baby over there said it cost $30,000...lucky her husband had a good job and got good health cover so she didn’t have to pay quite that much – no public hospitals, just private...the list of things that blow my mind goes on.
Shriver’s writing is overwhelmingly creative, sharp, expressive and emotive. Her character’s allowed for me to take in so much unknown knowledge in a way that made me feel as if I wasn’t lectured. So much information to take in, you could almost miss the way she reveals her character’s traits – but she writes in such a way that you absorb it all in its entirety. I am known to skim...particularly if a theme hasn’t gripped me, or a character annoys or challenges me too much – I couldn’t skim in this book, I read it all! Those are my thoughts thus far. What about yours?
I totally agree with all of the above! lol.
ReplyDeleteI particularly wanted to smack Shep's sister over the head!! lol
So Much For That is not a light read and honestly, probably something that I wouldn't have pick if I were browsing the bookshop shelves. But I am one for furthering my knowledge and this book has certainly done that.
I found the cancer part very hard, as I have dealt with that in my own live...but I liked the fact that Lionel didn't gloss over how it really is...everything that happened to Glynis was true to life...depressingly so.
The most frustrating part (which is why Lionel is such an awesome writer to make me feel such emotion) is how badly the characters communicated with each other...I mean if only Jackson and his wife had been honest!!
But i loved the ending... everything tied off neatly! (Just how I like it!!)
So, I'm a whole book and a half behind...but I am reading slaughterhouse five. It's awesome. I am really really loving it. He's a magical story teller and using time travel as a mechanism to tell a non-linear story is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI'll get to the next book by Christmas!
So now I'm reading So much for that and I am, unfortunately, underwhelmed.
ReplyDeleteI like her style of writing and the incredible use of English - it's nice to find a writer who does know her language and applies it, unabashedly, but I am finding the story just a little bit dry.
Perhaps I have no soul.
I can't stand Jackson. I think he's a whinging idiot.I find Shep insipid and ridiculous. I want to slap the sister and as for the wife with cancer, she's a full blown bitch - that's the only thing I do like so far, is her honesty. The fact that illness doesn't make someone a good person. There's a lot of truth there for her and Flick.
As for Jackson's penis enlargement, I was outraged and nearly put the book down. I just wanted to slap him in the face. All that money wasted on himself, when he could have spoilt his wife, or taken his daughter to see and do something special, but the self-absorbed, self righteous pain in the butt goes and gets his penis enlarged. But that's the most passionate I can get about the book. Other than that, I find myself skipping his soliloquy, because I just don't care. I just find that constant whinging and complaining about the government really annoying. Yep, the American health system sucks, aint no doubt about that - but then go do something...rally, join a political party, at the very least figure away to make things easier. That would be easier for me to read than pages and pages of indignant complaining!
Realistically, I can't stand people who do that in life, so I am hardly likely to like it in fictional character.
Hopefully finish this weekend.
M
M