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So Much for That
After his wife is diagnosed with cancer, Shep Knacker sees his dream of retiring to a developing country slip away, along with all the money in his once-plentiful bank account, as he tries to navigate America's labyrinthine health-care system.
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
632 people are currently reading
6909 people want to read
About the author
Lionel Shriver
52 books4,523 followersLionel Shriver's novels include the New York Times bestseller The Post-Birthday World and the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, which won the 2005 Orange Prize and has now sold over a million copies worldwide. Earlier books include Double Fault, A Perfectly Good Family, and Checker and the Derailleurs. Her novels have been translated into twenty-five languages. Her journalism has appeared in the Guardian, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. She lives in London and Brooklyn, New York.
Author photo copyright Jerry Bauer, courtesy of Harper Collins.
Author photo copyright Jerry Bauer, courtesy of Harper Collins.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,437 reviews
January 26, 2023
Lionel Shriver has written a very grown-up story that deals with serious subjects in a serious way. Shepherd Knacker has been saving all his life for what he calls the “Afterlife,” retirement to some sort of desert isle, away from the world in which he must work in order to finance his dream. But his plans hit a snag when his wife, Glynis, is diagnosed with a particularly virulent strain of cancer. His best friend, Jackson, has a teenage child with a rare genetic disease and the clear prospect of an early death. Faced with the titanic cost of medical care, both men face potential financial ruin, even with insurance. What is the cost of clinging to fading hope? What are the limits of what should be done to preserve human life? When is it ok to say “enough already?” Lest one think this is a one-sided perspective, there are strong arguments made for varying points of view in the medical insurance debacle that persists in today’s USA.
Lionel Shriver - image from The Telegraph
Shriver looks at these questions through the lens of the characters’ relationships. How do the stresses both families' experience affect them? Does such terror strengthen a couple’s love or crush it? Is it the right thing to do to surrender a lifelong dream just to gain what may turn out to be only little extra time for someone who is likely to die anyway?
There is plenty here about family dynamics, who gives and who takes, who really cares about others and who is only looking out for number one. It says a lot about relationships outside the family as well. How can Shep and Jackson be best friends when there is so much left unsaid between them? How do friends really act when you are in crisis? Who can you count on? There are some workplace scenes that offered a bit of dark comic relief, reflecting some of the madness one must endure in order to survive.
One of the most interesting elements of the book for me was Shriver’s depiction of both Glynis’ and the adolescent, Flicka’s, ways of coping with their burdens.
I confess that as a long-time resident of both Park Slope and Windsor Terrace, where much of the story is set, I enjoyed the local geographic elements. And I recognized in some of the characters, aspects of common Park Slope views that were far too familiar. I can also relate personally to some elements of Shep’s struggle. It enhanced my appreciation.
This is a terrific book, engaging, content-rich, timely. While I do not think it rises to the level of great literature, it is a must-read for anyone interested in the health care debate, or anyone who likes very good contemporary fiction.
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Lionel Shriver - image from The Telegraph
Shriver looks at these questions through the lens of the characters’ relationships. How do the stresses both families' experience affect them? Does such terror strengthen a couple’s love or crush it? Is it the right thing to do to surrender a lifelong dream just to gain what may turn out to be only little extra time for someone who is likely to die anyway?
There is plenty here about family dynamics, who gives and who takes, who really cares about others and who is only looking out for number one. It says a lot about relationships outside the family as well. How can Shep and Jackson be best friends when there is so much left unsaid between them? How do friends really act when you are in crisis? Who can you count on? There are some workplace scenes that offered a bit of dark comic relief, reflecting some of the madness one must endure in order to survive.
One of the most interesting elements of the book for me was Shriver’s depiction of both Glynis’ and the adolescent, Flicka’s, ways of coping with their burdens.
I confess that as a long-time resident of both Park Slope and Windsor Terrace, where much of the story is set, I enjoyed the local geographic elements. And I recognized in some of the characters, aspects of common Park Slope views that were far too familiar. I can also relate personally to some elements of Shep’s struggle. It enhanced my appreciation.
This is a terrific book, engaging, content-rich, timely. While I do not think it rises to the level of great literature, it is a must-read for anyone interested in the health care debate, or anyone who likes very good contemporary fiction.
The author’s FB page
May 25, 2016
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.
July 10, 2011
Left it at p. 46 and turned my attention to something else, thinking it was maybe my mood influencing the strong negative reaction I was having. Alas, no. Abandoned at p. 66. Those last twenty pages contained more hyperbole, overblown language, pontificating and exposition than I could stomach.
This is the speech Glynis makes to her husband, Shep, after a medical appointment during which she's learned that asbestos is likely the cause of her cancer -- asbestos her husband most likely brought home to her:
"'You could easily have known, and you should have! Evidence about the dangers of asbestos goes back to 1918. The evidence was really beginning to accumulate by the 1930s, but the industry had the research suppressed. The specific link between asbestos and mesothelioma was made in 1964. That was before you even started Knack! By the 1970s, that asbestos could kill you was basically a known fact....'" p. 55
NO ONE TALKS THIS WAY UNLESS THEY ARE READING OFF OF CUE CARDS! There are 55 pages of this in the first, ummm, 55 pages.
Let's carry on, shall we? (hey, I put up with it - now you can too!)
Two pages later:
"'Glynnis allowed that she wasn't very hungry, but Shep pressed that she had to keep up her strength.'" p. 57
Allowed? Pressed? Puh-leeze. (cf. outraged yelling).
Another howler:
"At Randy Handy--a salacious staff sobriquet so obvious that you'd think Pogatchnik would have headed it off with a company name less vulnerable to perversion--Jackson had adopted a new perspective." p. 62
How many ways is this sentence bad? I count five, at least. Weigh in with any I missed:
1. obnoxious alliteration
2. use of overblown, complex language (simple words are powerful words - salacious staff sobriquets included)
3. awkward construction
4. character naming (Pogatchnik - why??)
5. "Jackson had adopted a new perspective." Do tell. Oh wait. YOU ARE TELLING.
Going back a step to p. 59 -- because I want to be methodical and thorough in my analysis, given that I am 1-starring this puppy based on a mere 66 pages -- we are treated to the following two sentences. The first, a positively breathtaking exposition from the omniscient narrator, capped off by the second which includes a simile so forced and so apropos of nothing that it actually made me laugh out loud (while cringing):
"The boy didn't know that until a week ago his father was about to abscond to the east coast of Africa, and he didn't know that his mother had just been diagnosed with a rare and deadly cancer, much less did he know that as far as his mother was concerned, the disease was his father's fault. But these hardly incidental unsaids emitted the equivalent of the high-frequency sound waves that convenience stores now broadcast outside their shop fronts to keep loitering gangs from the door." p. 59
This is literary territory most akin to little diabetic Jimmy falling down the well and Lassie barking her demand for someone to come with insulin, stat.
Now, I'll grant you, pulling those two sentences out and letting them stand on their own does highlight in a rather stark way the mess that is this writing. Perhaps those two sentences read better in context, you say, trying to defend Ms. Shriver (and she is worth defending, based in no small part on the brilliance of We Need To Talk About Kevin). Perhaps there was something intentional going on here with the exposition? Could it be, you weakly protest, that a point about character is being made? Okay, you're right -- she WAS trying to make a point about the unerring adolescent capacity to detect emotional fraud even when they don't know all the details of what's going on. I know she was making that point BECAUSE IN THE VERY NEXT SENTENCE SHE TELLS ME THAT! "What dulled adult ears could no longer detect was unbearable to adolescents, and the same might be said of emotional fraud." p. 59
Oh my gosh, I'm yelling again.
Many apologies. And apologies to Lionel, too. And I'm sorry to have to go on, but go on I must, because I haven't even talked about the biggie. The number one offense that almost caused this thing to go flying off my ninth floor balcony not 45 minutes ago.
Page after page after page of platitudes and politics about U.S. health care and health insurance. The whole shebang - every side of every argument, every detail like this is an op ed column, not a novel. Co-pays, coverages, the health care system of the U.S. versus other countries (England! Australia! Canada! with statistics!). Medicare, Medicaid, socialized medicine, Harry Truman, how employer insurance isn't socialized medicine anyway. Blah blah fucking blah -- all of this, ALL OF IT, IN THE MOUTHS OF CHARACTERS.
DIALOGUE. Yes! I kid you not!
Dialogue that is more like narration in a Michael Moore documentary only not as subtle. Dialogue that is pretty much unforgivable in a work of fiction that should have CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and the GRADUAL UNFOLDING OF PLOT THAT ILLUSTRATES THEME with - if it's not too much to ask - some higher-than-sophomore level artistry in the writing that is befitting of a National Book Award finalist and NYT best-selling author.
I haven't been this disappointed since I read Muriel Barbery's follow-up to The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
I've read reviews here of those making very similar complaints to mine about So Much For That, and they assure me that Shriver redeems herself in the last few chapters.
Ain't no way I'm going to slog through one more page of this to find out.
_________________________
ETA Jul 10/11: I was inspired by your "likes" and comments (thank you) to think more about why I was so pissed off while writing this review last night. I think perhaps Shriver was trying an experiment with the expositional style/speechifying of her characters - in the same way that the quasi-epistolary style of WNTTAK was experimental.
Sadly, here her experiment was a huge failure.
I feel sad about that. I think her 'reach-exceeding-her-grasp' literary pretension is getting in the way of what could be great, powerful stories about important and interesting topics. She has the capacity to tell these stories, as evidenced by WNTTAK. I wish she would just marshal her considerable talent and focus it on the story itself instead of getting all caught up in some kind of elaborate trickery in telling it.
This is the speech Glynis makes to her husband, Shep, after a medical appointment during which she's learned that asbestos is likely the cause of her cancer -- asbestos her husband most likely brought home to her:
"'You could easily have known, and you should have! Evidence about the dangers of asbestos goes back to 1918. The evidence was really beginning to accumulate by the 1930s, but the industry had the research suppressed. The specific link between asbestos and mesothelioma was made in 1964. That was before you even started Knack! By the 1970s, that asbestos could kill you was basically a known fact....'" p. 55
NO ONE TALKS THIS WAY UNLESS THEY ARE READING OFF OF CUE CARDS! There are 55 pages of this in the first, ummm, 55 pages.
Let's carry on, shall we? (hey, I put up with it - now you can too!)
Two pages later:
"'Glynnis allowed that she wasn't very hungry, but Shep pressed that she had to keep up her strength.'" p. 57
Allowed? Pressed? Puh-leeze. (cf. outraged yelling).
Another howler:
"At Randy Handy--a salacious staff sobriquet so obvious that you'd think Pogatchnik would have headed it off with a company name less vulnerable to perversion--Jackson had adopted a new perspective." p. 62
How many ways is this sentence bad? I count five, at least. Weigh in with any I missed:
1. obnoxious alliteration
2. use of overblown, complex language (simple words are powerful words - salacious staff sobriquets included)
3. awkward construction
4. character naming (Pogatchnik - why??)
5. "Jackson had adopted a new perspective." Do tell. Oh wait. YOU ARE TELLING.
Going back a step to p. 59 -- because I want to be methodical and thorough in my analysis, given that I am 1-starring this puppy based on a mere 66 pages -- we are treated to the following two sentences. The first, a positively breathtaking exposition from the omniscient narrator, capped off by the second which includes a simile so forced and so apropos of nothing that it actually made me laugh out loud (while cringing):
"The boy didn't know that until a week ago his father was about to abscond to the east coast of Africa, and he didn't know that his mother had just been diagnosed with a rare and deadly cancer, much less did he know that as far as his mother was concerned, the disease was his father's fault. But these hardly incidental unsaids emitted the equivalent of the high-frequency sound waves that convenience stores now broadcast outside their shop fronts to keep loitering gangs from the door." p. 59
This is literary territory most akin to little diabetic Jimmy falling down the well and Lassie barking her demand for someone to come with insulin, stat.
Now, I'll grant you, pulling those two sentences out and letting them stand on their own does highlight in a rather stark way the mess that is this writing. Perhaps those two sentences read better in context, you say, trying to defend Ms. Shriver (and she is worth defending, based in no small part on the brilliance of We Need To Talk About Kevin). Perhaps there was something intentional going on here with the exposition? Could it be, you weakly protest, that a point about character is being made? Okay, you're right -- she WAS trying to make a point about the unerring adolescent capacity to detect emotional fraud even when they don't know all the details of what's going on. I know she was making that point BECAUSE IN THE VERY NEXT SENTENCE SHE TELLS ME THAT! "What dulled adult ears could no longer detect was unbearable to adolescents, and the same might be said of emotional fraud." p. 59
Oh my gosh, I'm yelling again.
Many apologies. And apologies to Lionel, too. And I'm sorry to have to go on, but go on I must, because I haven't even talked about the biggie. The number one offense that almost caused this thing to go flying off my ninth floor balcony not 45 minutes ago.
Page after page after page of platitudes and politics about U.S. health care and health insurance. The whole shebang - every side of every argument, every detail like this is an op ed column, not a novel. Co-pays, coverages, the health care system of the U.S. versus other countries (England! Australia! Canada! with statistics!). Medicare, Medicaid, socialized medicine, Harry Truman, how employer insurance isn't socialized medicine anyway. Blah blah fucking blah -- all of this, ALL OF IT, IN THE MOUTHS OF CHARACTERS.
DIALOGUE. Yes! I kid you not!
Dialogue that is more like narration in a Michael Moore documentary only not as subtle. Dialogue that is pretty much unforgivable in a work of fiction that should have CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and the GRADUAL UNFOLDING OF PLOT THAT ILLUSTRATES THEME with - if it's not too much to ask - some higher-than-sophomore level artistry in the writing that is befitting of a National Book Award finalist and NYT best-selling author.
I haven't been this disappointed since I read Muriel Barbery's follow-up to The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
I've read reviews here of those making very similar complaints to mine about So Much For That, and they assure me that Shriver redeems herself in the last few chapters.
Ain't no way I'm going to slog through one more page of this to find out.
_________________________
ETA Jul 10/11: I was inspired by your "likes" and comments (thank you) to think more about why I was so pissed off while writing this review last night. I think perhaps Shriver was trying an experiment with the expositional style/speechifying of her characters - in the same way that the quasi-epistolary style of WNTTAK was experimental.
Sadly, here her experiment was a huge failure.
I feel sad about that. I think her 'reach-exceeding-her-grasp' literary pretension is getting in the way of what could be great, powerful stories about important and interesting topics. She has the capacity to tell these stories, as evidenced by WNTTAK. I wish she would just marshal her considerable talent and focus it on the story itself instead of getting all caught up in some kind of elaborate trickery in telling it.
March 13, 2023
Husband and father Shepherd 'Shep' Knacker has saved his entire life for 'Afterlife' his idea of an idyllic affordable later life existence in most likely a developing country, when his wife, Glynis, is diagnosed with cancer; his best friend Jackson married to Carol, with healthy daughter Heather, and his youngest daughter with multiple health issues that hugely impact on their lives and will 100% drastically shorten her life span. In almost a conglomeration of opinion-ed rans al our characters bemoan their situations whilst their monies and lives are steadily eroded by the healthcare dependent needs of their family member. Add to this the trials and tribulations of Shep's father and sister, what starts off as a sort of satire descends into a repetitive bore fest.
I skipped whole chapters, just reading the first and last paragraphs, so I presume I liked the book enough to care how it proceeded and ended but not al the stuff in between? It did make me smile that this anti-woke, anti anything 'Liberal' provocateur's work is at face value a social-media speechifying oratory fest which is completely overpowered by the horror that is American healthcare. 4 out of 12, Two Star read.
2023 read
I skipped whole chapters, just reading the first and last paragraphs, so I presume I liked the book enough to care how it proceeded and ended but not al the stuff in between? It did make me smile that this anti-woke, anti anything 'Liberal' provocateur's work is at face value a social-media speechifying oratory fest which is completely overpowered by the horror that is American healthcare. 4 out of 12, Two Star read.
2023 read
January 26, 2019
Lionel Shriver continues to amaze me. This is the 3rd novel, I've read by her and I need to read more. We Need to Talk About Kevin was fabulous too; she addressed male teenage violence in the U.S. and who is or is not to blame on an intelligent basis better than anything else I have read on the subject, fiction or non-fiction. The Post Birthday World was speculative fiction about a woman and what would have occurred in her life of she had chosen a different path. It was not my cup of tea, but was well written and intriguing.
So Much for That tackles health care in America and what happens to a family when one of their members, in this case, the wife has Mesothelioma, a costly and deadly disease. Not just the emotional and physical toll on the family is revealed, but the actual cost in dollars and how bankruptcy looms for all of us in these cases. Shepherd Knacker has always taken good care of his own family and his extended family, while also putting money away for his retirement to an island paradise. He is about to embark on his dream when Glynis gives him the horrible news.
This is a serious book about serious issues and I don't think I would have liked it as well, but it ends on a high note instead of what could have been gut-wrenching.
So Much for That tackles health care in America and what happens to a family when one of their members, in this case, the wife has Mesothelioma, a costly and deadly disease. Not just the emotional and physical toll on the family is revealed, but the actual cost in dollars and how bankruptcy looms for all of us in these cases. Shepherd Knacker has always taken good care of his own family and his extended family, while also putting money away for his retirement to an island paradise. He is about to embark on his dream when Glynis gives him the horrible news.
This is a serious book about serious issues and I don't think I would have liked it as well, but it ends on a high note instead of what could have been gut-wrenching.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2012
Oh, how I wanted to like this book. How I wanted to like Lionel Shriver! Alas, Lionel Shriver is not a very likeable writer.
"So Much For That" is about Shep who has been saving all his life so he can retire early to run away to a place where people bask in the sun and live on a dollar per day and he is now ready to go. And then his wife goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like 'I have cancer'. So rather than living on a dollar a day, they live on a few thousand a day covering all the medical expenses Glynis now generates.
This book is really a rant about the American health care system. But not only! It's also a rant about taxes, parking tickets, the government, the police, the education system... Shriver doesn't even stop there, when she is on a roll no one is safe - not artists and not people who misuse the word 'literally'. As all that ranting couldn't possible fit in the narrative, Shriver invents the character of Jackson whose main purpose in the book is to rant. So there is some ranting in the narrative, then it seamlessly moves onto the dialogue which has this natural feel of people reciting wikipedia articles to each other and then back to the narrative. In the end there is only one voice in this book - Lionel Shriver's very angry voice. And this is my main problem with this novel - if you want to write fiction, then create a world, create the characters, send them on some journery. If you are just angry at the US health care system, then write essays and opionion columns. Don't use the characters as props in your tirade, don't make idiots out of them by having them orate for pages about everything you're mad about. As a matter of fact some characters in 'So Much For That' are just personifications of a rant. There is Beryl for example, a character so ridiculous and two-dimensional that it seems like it was just a spiteful caricature of someone Shriver knows and strongly dislikes.
There is constant whining of a middle class who comes to the shocking conclusion that life isn't just.
"There's something especially terrible about being told over and over that you have the most wonderful life on earth and it doesn't get any better and it's still shit" Oh, cry me a river. Really. I have up to here of you and your First World Problems.
"“No,” said Shep, and changed the subject. “I guess we’re lucky, though. We live in the States. Hey, we get the best medical care in the world.” “Think again, pal. In comparison to all the other rich countries like England, Australia… Canada… I don’t remember the rest. Look at all the statistics that matter – infant mortality, cancer survival, you name it? We come in last. And we pay twice as much.” “Yeah, well. At least we don’t have socialized medicine.” Jackson guffawed. Shep wasn’t stupid, but he could be painfully cooperative. That “socialized medicine” bogyman went all the way back to the 1940s, when Harry Truman had wanted to bring in a national health service, just like the Brits. Nervous that doctors wouldn’t keep raking it in, the American Medical Association concocted this inspired cold war buzz phrase, which had struck terror in the hearts of their countrymen ever since. A genius stroke of labeling. Like when supermarkets came out with that “no frills” line, packaging a perfectly standard, decent product in stark, ugly-ass black-and-white, thus ensuring that no one with any class would buy it, at half the brand-name price. It worked. Even Jackson’s cash-strapped mother hadn’t wanted to be caught dead with no-frills tissues in her cart. “You realize fortysomething percent of this country is either on Medicaid or Medicare?” said Jackson;"
"She went on, “this World Wellness Group outfit is the health insurance company from hell. They levy co-pays on everything, including the meds, and we have to fill dozens of prescriptions every month. With their whopping deductible, you’re out five grand before you’re reimbursed a dime. Their idea of a ‘reasonable and customary’ fee is what a doctor’s visit cost in 1959, and then they stick you with the shortfall. They’re way too restrictive about going out of network, and Flicka requires very specialized care. Then there’s co-insurance on top of the co-pays: twenty percent of the total bill, and that’s in network. And here’s the killer: there’s no cap on out-of-pocket expenses. Add to that that their lifetime payment cap – you know, how much they’ll fork out in total, ever – is also pretty low, only two or three million, when someone like Flicka could easily exceed numbers like that before she’s twenty… Well, we had to find other coverage.”
Talking about contrived dialogues. There really are good 300 hundred pages of it, and to use the pun from the very book, they are not good pages. After that, it seems like Shriver has finally got everything off her chest and run out of steam. The plot is set free at last and it is guaranteed you're going to read the last 150 pages or so in one sitting taking in everything including a quite obvious product placement and a sappy ending.
It is possible that Shriver was very aware of the shittness of the first part of the book because one of her characters says at some point (and let's remember the characters in Shriver's book never speak for themselves, they are just spokespeople for the author):
""“You know, these movies…” He was groping. “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. See, Gnu?” he promised. “We can still end well.”
Having said all that, I will admit the book is a page turner in its weird tedious way. But readability is not the way to my heart. It's the way to my bed. If a book is very readable I can easily find myself seduced and I spend a whole night in my bed with it. But after it is all over, if readability was all the book had to offer, we will part our ways and never see each other again (what is it with me and all those sexual innuendos lately?).
Oh Look, I have just found this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/... - I should've read this instead of the book. Brilliant.
"So Much For That" is about Shep who has been saving all his life so he can retire early to run away to a place where people bask in the sun and live on a dollar per day and he is now ready to go. And then his wife goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like 'I have cancer'. So rather than living on a dollar a day, they live on a few thousand a day covering all the medical expenses Glynis now generates.
This book is really a rant about the American health care system. But not only! It's also a rant about taxes, parking tickets, the government, the police, the education system... Shriver doesn't even stop there, when she is on a roll no one is safe - not artists and not people who misuse the word 'literally'. As all that ranting couldn't possible fit in the narrative, Shriver invents the character of Jackson whose main purpose in the book is to rant. So there is some ranting in the narrative, then it seamlessly moves onto the dialogue which has this natural feel of people reciting wikipedia articles to each other and then back to the narrative. In the end there is only one voice in this book - Lionel Shriver's very angry voice. And this is my main problem with this novel - if you want to write fiction, then create a world, create the characters, send them on some journery. If you are just angry at the US health care system, then write essays and opionion columns. Don't use the characters as props in your tirade, don't make idiots out of them by having them orate for pages about everything you're mad about. As a matter of fact some characters in 'So Much For That' are just personifications of a rant. There is Beryl for example, a character so ridiculous and two-dimensional that it seems like it was just a spiteful caricature of someone Shriver knows and strongly dislikes.
There is constant whining of a middle class who comes to the shocking conclusion that life isn't just.
"There's something especially terrible about being told over and over that you have the most wonderful life on earth and it doesn't get any better and it's still shit" Oh, cry me a river. Really. I have up to here of you and your First World Problems.
"“No,” said Shep, and changed the subject. “I guess we’re lucky, though. We live in the States. Hey, we get the best medical care in the world.” “Think again, pal. In comparison to all the other rich countries like England, Australia… Canada… I don’t remember the rest. Look at all the statistics that matter – infant mortality, cancer survival, you name it? We come in last. And we pay twice as much.” “Yeah, well. At least we don’t have socialized medicine.” Jackson guffawed. Shep wasn’t stupid, but he could be painfully cooperative. That “socialized medicine” bogyman went all the way back to the 1940s, when Harry Truman had wanted to bring in a national health service, just like the Brits. Nervous that doctors wouldn’t keep raking it in, the American Medical Association concocted this inspired cold war buzz phrase, which had struck terror in the hearts of their countrymen ever since. A genius stroke of labeling. Like when supermarkets came out with that “no frills” line, packaging a perfectly standard, decent product in stark, ugly-ass black-and-white, thus ensuring that no one with any class would buy it, at half the brand-name price. It worked. Even Jackson’s cash-strapped mother hadn’t wanted to be caught dead with no-frills tissues in her cart. “You realize fortysomething percent of this country is either on Medicaid or Medicare?” said Jackson;"
"She went on, “this World Wellness Group outfit is the health insurance company from hell. They levy co-pays on everything, including the meds, and we have to fill dozens of prescriptions every month. With their whopping deductible, you’re out five grand before you’re reimbursed a dime. Their idea of a ‘reasonable and customary’ fee is what a doctor’s visit cost in 1959, and then they stick you with the shortfall. They’re way too restrictive about going out of network, and Flicka requires very specialized care. Then there’s co-insurance on top of the co-pays: twenty percent of the total bill, and that’s in network. And here’s the killer: there’s no cap on out-of-pocket expenses. Add to that that their lifetime payment cap – you know, how much they’ll fork out in total, ever – is also pretty low, only two or three million, when someone like Flicka could easily exceed numbers like that before she’s twenty… Well, we had to find other coverage.”
Talking about contrived dialogues. There really are good 300 hundred pages of it, and to use the pun from the very book, they are not good pages. After that, it seems like Shriver has finally got everything off her chest and run out of steam. The plot is set free at last and it is guaranteed you're going to read the last 150 pages or so in one sitting taking in everything including a quite obvious product placement and a sappy ending.
It is possible that Shriver was very aware of the shittness of the first part of the book because one of her characters says at some point (and let's remember the characters in Shriver's book never speak for themselves, they are just spokespeople for the author):
""“You know, these movies…” He was groping. “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. See, Gnu?” he promised. “We can still end well.”
Having said all that, I will admit the book is a page turner in its weird tedious way. But readability is not the way to my heart. It's the way to my bed. If a book is very readable I can easily find myself seduced and I spend a whole night in my bed with it. But after it is all over, if readability was all the book had to offer, we will part our ways and never see each other again (what is it with me and all those sexual innuendos lately?).
Oh Look, I have just found this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/... - I should've read this instead of the book. Brilliant.
March 23, 2010
There are parts of this book that I would actually rate no more than 2 stars. Sometimes the writing gets overwrought, awkward, and has the characters thinking or talking about the healthcare system or other issues in a preachy, pedantic way. But, in the end, the powerful writing and subject matter of the book impelled me to give it 4 stars (which, as one can see by my list, I do not give easily).
If you want to read a gifted writer describe how it is to be a terminally ill patient, a husband/caretaker or friend of a sick loved one, this book does that exquisitly well. The awkwardness of friends coming to visit Glynis, the sick protagonist is very accurately felt here. There is awkwardness and disappointment on both sides. What is the "right" thing to say? Friends drop by the wayside and stop visiting as Glynis does not make it easy for them. She feels she is very sick and probably dying, and doesn't owe her friends or family any great insight into the process, nor does she feel the need to be polite and entertaining. Shep, her husband and caretaker, gives up his dream of retiring to an island, a dream he has meticulously planned for most of his life. It is a novel of giving, suffering, sacrifice, regrets,and yes, love. The best friends of this couple, Carol and Jackson, also have their own marital and terrible family health problems going on. And this novel brilliantly describes hospital experiences and visits with Dr.s imparting bad news with expert, feeling prose.
This is a powerful novel with something to say. The sum here is greater than the parts, and I found it to be very special.
If you want to read a gifted writer describe how it is to be a terminally ill patient, a husband/caretaker or friend of a sick loved one, this book does that exquisitly well. The awkwardness of friends coming to visit Glynis, the sick protagonist is very accurately felt here. There is awkwardness and disappointment on both sides. What is the "right" thing to say? Friends drop by the wayside and stop visiting as Glynis does not make it easy for them. She feels she is very sick and probably dying, and doesn't owe her friends or family any great insight into the process, nor does she feel the need to be polite and entertaining. Shep, her husband and caretaker, gives up his dream of retiring to an island, a dream he has meticulously planned for most of his life. It is a novel of giving, suffering, sacrifice, regrets,and yes, love. The best friends of this couple, Carol and Jackson, also have their own marital and terrible family health problems going on. And this novel brilliantly describes hospital experiences and visits with Dr.s imparting bad news with expert, feeling prose.
This is a powerful novel with something to say. The sum here is greater than the parts, and I found it to be very special.
June 18, 2023
At times I loved it and laughed a lot and other times I hated it and disliked all the characters.
Glad I finished it though as I liked the ending.
Three stars.
Glad I finished it though as I liked the ending.
Three stars.
March 13, 2017
This is a book everyone could be talking about ---
The story is fiction, with compelling characters, yet the parts about the health care system is a decent representation of what is going on in this country today.
Parts of this book was difficult to read--yet impossible to put down--
with many tender at moments at times, too---mixed with dry humor.
It deals with marriage, illness, intimacy, shocking loss, friendships, family dynamics, disillusionment, betrayal, a range of emotions, love, death, choices...etc.
One main plot with several other sub-plots. [excellent!:]
:)
elyse
The story is fiction, with compelling characters, yet the parts about the health care system is a decent representation of what is going on in this country today.
Parts of this book was difficult to read--yet impossible to put down--
with many tender at moments at times, too---mixed with dry humor.
It deals with marriage, illness, intimacy, shocking loss, friendships, family dynamics, disillusionment, betrayal, a range of emotions, love, death, choices...etc.
One main plot with several other sub-plots. [excellent!:]
:)
elyse
December 4, 2015
POW POWPOW Holy shit, this book!!
I guess I’m not all that surprised at my reversal of star rating from 2* to 5*. Last I attempted this I was having existential crises twice a week, in the air space between Stavanger and London, while drinking too much, in the winter, alone. (On a plane I should point out. I have never personally achieved flight.) So when it came to a book about death and taxes, I had NIL emotional capacity. This left me in the most dangerous state of all when trying to read a novel: being unable to think for myself. You ever done that? Ouch! Don’t take anyone’s word for shit!!!
Isn’t it a shame how things work like that sometimes? What I needed was some deeply intellectual human understanding, but every time I tried to absorb it I couldn’t? They’ll iron that out in the android version of us surely so it’s kl. I know your heart’s supposed to sink as the chapters progress and Shep’s bank account drains with each statement, but not quite as hard as mine did first time around.
Anyways, within these pages is some of the darkest, funniest humour, the best twists, the punchiest, original aphorisms and unbelievable/ justified FURY. The humour went completely over my head last time, but dear god, Shriver doesn't give a fuck! Every second page sizzles!
But to that point: I skimmed this harder than any book that I enjoyed this much maybe ever. It’s especially rough in the early sections. There’s too much harsh alternation between narrative summary and actual scenes with dialogue and a lot of poorly disguised fact dumps spewing unnaturally from characters, and I thought very little of it was necessary. But I can get over that: Shriver is old school. She references some novels towards the end that I supposed influenced this: For Whom The Bell Tolls (failed it), Absalom! Absalom! (Putting it off), The Idiot (LOVED but again had to forgive its ramblings.)
There are also some transparent attempts of Shriver’s to rebel against cinema towards the end, which I guess she feels is a lesser medium. If We Need to Talk about Kevin’s your example, then sure it is! It surprises me that novelists feel the need to make some statement about this- in Shriver’s case that her style errs too heavily on the ornate. On one hand I would have thought that if anyone knows the unique quiet evocation of emotions exclusive to short stories and novels the most intimately, it would be short story writers and novelists. But also, if anyone is fucking scared about the future of their craft, it’s those practising it. It’s just that all that fear needs to be sequestered to fuck. It’s a difficult balance.
If. like everyone reading this now, you are a writer, this novel is a masterclass in dos and don’ts.
If you are a regular reader willing to do some digging, you will emerge with pure gold.
I guess I’m not all that surprised at my reversal of star rating from 2* to 5*. Last I attempted this I was having existential crises twice a week, in the air space between Stavanger and London, while drinking too much, in the winter, alone. (On a plane I should point out. I have never personally achieved flight.) So when it came to a book about death and taxes, I had NIL emotional capacity. This left me in the most dangerous state of all when trying to read a novel: being unable to think for myself. You ever done that? Ouch! Don’t take anyone’s word for shit!!!
Isn’t it a shame how things work like that sometimes? What I needed was some deeply intellectual human understanding, but every time I tried to absorb it I couldn’t? They’ll iron that out in the android version of us surely so it’s kl. I know your heart’s supposed to sink as the chapters progress and Shep’s bank account drains with each statement, but not quite as hard as mine did first time around.
Anyways, within these pages is some of the darkest, funniest humour, the best twists, the punchiest, original aphorisms and unbelievable/ justified FURY. The humour went completely over my head last time, but dear god, Shriver doesn't give a fuck! Every second page sizzles!
But to that point: I skimmed this harder than any book that I enjoyed this much maybe ever. It’s especially rough in the early sections. There’s too much harsh alternation between narrative summary and actual scenes with dialogue and a lot of poorly disguised fact dumps spewing unnaturally from characters, and I thought very little of it was necessary. But I can get over that: Shriver is old school. She references some novels towards the end that I supposed influenced this: For Whom The Bell Tolls (failed it), Absalom! Absalom! (Putting it off), The Idiot (LOVED but again had to forgive its ramblings.)
There are also some transparent attempts of Shriver’s to rebel against cinema towards the end, which I guess she feels is a lesser medium. If We Need to Talk about Kevin’s your example, then sure it is! It surprises me that novelists feel the need to make some statement about this- in Shriver’s case that her style errs too heavily on the ornate. On one hand I would have thought that if anyone knows the unique quiet evocation of emotions exclusive to short stories and novels the most intimately, it would be short story writers and novelists. But also, if anyone is fucking scared about the future of their craft, it’s those practising it. It’s just that all that fear needs to be sequestered to fuck. It’s a difficult balance.
If. like everyone reading this now, you are a writer, this novel is a masterclass in dos and don’ts.
If you are a regular reader willing to do some digging, you will emerge with pure gold.
May 28, 2023
Shep Knacker is that rarity -- a true mensch. He earned his living by hard work, taking odd jobs initially to raise his own tuition fees for college, then building that into a successful business which he sells hoping to move his entire family to a third world country to live out their lives in reasonable financial comfort, relatively cheaply. Of course, life is what happens when you're making plans, and when wife, Glynis, announces she's got a rare terminal cancer, he must continue working his lousy job to maintain his health insurance. Shriver is brilliant in her characterizations. With the exception of Shep, who at times seems too good to be true, the rest of the cast is presented with their all too human foibles, starting with the talented, mercurial Glynnis. But you can't help but admire her.
Shriver also takes the bold step of leaving their children somewhat in the background, since the issue here is not so much the story of a family beset by financial woes compounded by the sorry insurance system, as it is how different people in different circumstances react regarding money or the lack of it and how to deal with it. Many of the characters are on the surface downright dislikeable (Shep's sister Beryl, in a class by herself), and his best friend goes off on polemics that could have run a bit shorter. However the central drama of Glynis's cancer and three medical scenario subplots make for fascinating reading. Shriver doesn't flinch from the details, and believe it or not, there are truly hilarious sequences. Throughout, as in her other books, the dialogue is sharp and could be pasted onto a script without change. There wasn't a superfluous page in this book.
Shriver also takes the bold step of leaving their children somewhat in the background, since the issue here is not so much the story of a family beset by financial woes compounded by the sorry insurance system, as it is how different people in different circumstances react regarding money or the lack of it and how to deal with it. Many of the characters are on the surface downright dislikeable (Shep's sister Beryl, in a class by herself), and his best friend goes off on polemics that could have run a bit shorter. However the central drama of Glynis's cancer and three medical scenario subplots make for fascinating reading. Shriver doesn't flinch from the details, and believe it or not, there are truly hilarious sequences. Throughout, as in her other books, the dialogue is sharp and could be pasted onto a script without change. There wasn't a superfluous page in this book.
May 15, 2019
If a series of Facebook rants somehow became a novel, it would be this one. At first, all of characters ranting was funny, and even a bit cathartic, but once I realized that that’s pretty much all there is here, it grew extremely tiresome and repetitive. It finally reached a point at the end where I was emotionally involved, but it’s too little too late. If this book had been 250 pages long I might have liked it. 450 pages of it though, no thank you.
July 25, 2020
‘So Much for That’ by Lionel Shriver is an odd book that is mostly about a terrible subject - dying slowly from incurable diseases while going bankrupt from copays and deductibles in the American health care system. Our criminally insufficient yet expensive private insurance coverage with its schedules of payments, secret rules about in-network and out-network services, and the Byzantine billing structure of separate bills from every doctor and clinic and lab and hospital is detailed in this interesting book.
The novel also describes, through the characters, a lot of angst about everything else in being a citizen of America. The incomprehensible maze of taxes, for instance.
The dying characters:
Glynis Knacker, sculpture/jewelry artist. Diagnosis: mesothelioma.
Flicka Burdina, seventeen-year-old high school student. Diagnosis: familial dysautonomia
Gabriel Knacker, retired minister. Diagnosis: old age.
Forty-eight-year-old Shepard Knacker wants to leave his fifty-year-old wife Glynis and move to Pemba, Africa. His daughter is graduating from college, his fifteen-year-old son Zack is growing roots in front of his gaming computer in his bedroom. Shep hates his boss. He has been saving money for decades in preparation of his lifelong plan of leaving America for “The Afterlife”. His portfolio has $731,778. He will give Glynis half although he thinks she didn’t earn any of it. Shep has asked her to leave with him many times. While she has enjoyed their vacations all over the world, she doesn’t want to move to a primitive place like Africa, even if it’s a vacation island where middle-class Americans could live like wealthy people.
Shep started a company, Knack of All Trades, two decades ago. It is a small construction company specializing in handyman tasks. It did very well, a going concern. Shep hired Jackson Burdina, his best friend, among others. One of his other employees, Randy Pogatchnik, a wealthy man, bought Knack for a million dollars eight years ago. Ever since, Randy has been changing Knack for the worse while at the same time picking on Shep, who stayed on as an employee. Shep was a decent employer. Randy is not. One of the things he changed was the company’s health plan. It is a cheaper one.
Bags packed and hidden in a closet, Shep once again asks Glynis to leave with him. Again, Glynis says no. But she has more to say this time. She tells him she has cancer. Silently, Shep unpacks his bags.
Jackson Burdina has a beautiful wife, Carol, and two daughters. Heather is healthy but feeling left out because her older sister Flicka is not healthy. Carol used to work until they found out what had been wrong with their firstborn, Flicka. Her disease is so terrible, gentle reader! Carol must work around the clock at home to keep Flicka alive. Health insurance is an absolute necessity in keeping Flicka alive as well. Her medication list is huge, as are the bills for the constant ER visits.
Shep’s sister Beryl is a documentary film artist. She seems to live primarily off of ‘loans’ from Shep, although she makes some money. Beryl is a leftist who complains loudly about capitalism and its built-in selfishness but she apparently does very little to help others. She is very healthy. She lives in Manhattan in a rent-controlled apartment she is subleasing. However, Beryl will have to find a new place because the landlord has decided to clean out all of the subleasers.
Shep tells her she should move in with their elderly father, Gabe, who needs much help with household activities in his house. He also needs a personal healthcare worker although he doesn’t think so. He can’t pay for a home healthcare worker. Gabe doesn’t have a supplemental Medicare plan. None of them know what they will do if he ever needs to go in a nursing home. Medicare does not cover nursing homes. Beryl protests and demands Shep give her some of the million dollars he has for a condo. Shep tells her the piggy bank is closed because of Glynis’s cancer.
Shep is too nice, gentle reader. Throughout the book, he always wants to do the right thing. But even more, he wants to be the guy everyone turns to for help. His schtick is he is the fix-it guy. Telling Beryl he can’t support her anymore is literally the first time he has said ‘no’ to anyone.
Jackson is having problems too. You’d think Flicka’s daily life-threatening issues would be more than enough to occupy him along with working at Knack, but Jackson is foolish. He thinks his wife is too good for him (Carol is as cool temperamentally as a snow queen despite Flicka’s mental and physical issues). So Jackson, who has to resist an urge to gamble now and then, has fallen for another kind of gamble - body enhancement surgery from a quack. It did not go well. He has two secret credit cards that Carol doesn’t know about, which paid for the surgery. These credit cards are in addition to the massive health care expenses of Flicka’s that insurance doesn’t cover.
Frankly, I am unable to decide which family is living in the worst hell caused by a family member’s poor health.
But that’s not all. These characters are normal Americans, plugged into social media, the news, and voting issues, caring/angry /concerned about the various Top Ten crises occupying the country. Also all of the stupid fads, the celebrities, the environmental causes, political scandals, the foodie craze, etc. etc. etc.
The noise and stress we Americans live with became very clear to me, reader. I am googling off-the-grid locations right after I type this period...
The novel also describes, through the characters, a lot of angst about everything else in being a citizen of America. The incomprehensible maze of taxes, for instance.
The dying characters:
Glynis Knacker, sculpture/jewelry artist. Diagnosis: mesothelioma.
Flicka Burdina, seventeen-year-old high school student. Diagnosis: familial dysautonomia
Gabriel Knacker, retired minister. Diagnosis: old age.
Forty-eight-year-old Shepard Knacker wants to leave his fifty-year-old wife Glynis and move to Pemba, Africa. His daughter is graduating from college, his fifteen-year-old son Zack is growing roots in front of his gaming computer in his bedroom. Shep hates his boss. He has been saving money for decades in preparation of his lifelong plan of leaving America for “The Afterlife”. His portfolio has $731,778. He will give Glynis half although he thinks she didn’t earn any of it. Shep has asked her to leave with him many times. While she has enjoyed their vacations all over the world, she doesn’t want to move to a primitive place like Africa, even if it’s a vacation island where middle-class Americans could live like wealthy people.
Shep started a company, Knack of All Trades, two decades ago. It is a small construction company specializing in handyman tasks. It did very well, a going concern. Shep hired Jackson Burdina, his best friend, among others. One of his other employees, Randy Pogatchnik, a wealthy man, bought Knack for a million dollars eight years ago. Ever since, Randy has been changing Knack for the worse while at the same time picking on Shep, who stayed on as an employee. Shep was a decent employer. Randy is not. One of the things he changed was the company’s health plan. It is a cheaper one.
Bags packed and hidden in a closet, Shep once again asks Glynis to leave with him. Again, Glynis says no. But she has more to say this time. She tells him she has cancer. Silently, Shep unpacks his bags.
Jackson Burdina has a beautiful wife, Carol, and two daughters. Heather is healthy but feeling left out because her older sister Flicka is not healthy. Carol used to work until they found out what had been wrong with their firstborn, Flicka. Her disease is so terrible, gentle reader! Carol must work around the clock at home to keep Flicka alive. Health insurance is an absolute necessity in keeping Flicka alive as well. Her medication list is huge, as are the bills for the constant ER visits.
Shep’s sister Beryl is a documentary film artist. She seems to live primarily off of ‘loans’ from Shep, although she makes some money. Beryl is a leftist who complains loudly about capitalism and its built-in selfishness but she apparently does very little to help others. She is very healthy. She lives in Manhattan in a rent-controlled apartment she is subleasing. However, Beryl will have to find a new place because the landlord has decided to clean out all of the subleasers.
Shep tells her she should move in with their elderly father, Gabe, who needs much help with household activities in his house. He also needs a personal healthcare worker although he doesn’t think so. He can’t pay for a home healthcare worker. Gabe doesn’t have a supplemental Medicare plan. None of them know what they will do if he ever needs to go in a nursing home. Medicare does not cover nursing homes. Beryl protests and demands Shep give her some of the million dollars he has for a condo. Shep tells her the piggy bank is closed because of Glynis’s cancer.
Shep is too nice, gentle reader. Throughout the book, he always wants to do the right thing. But even more, he wants to be the guy everyone turns to for help. His schtick is he is the fix-it guy. Telling Beryl he can’t support her anymore is literally the first time he has said ‘no’ to anyone.
Jackson is having problems too. You’d think Flicka’s daily life-threatening issues would be more than enough to occupy him along with working at Knack, but Jackson is foolish. He thinks his wife is too good for him (Carol is as cool temperamentally as a snow queen despite Flicka’s mental and physical issues). So Jackson, who has to resist an urge to gamble now and then, has fallen for another kind of gamble - body enhancement surgery from a quack. It did not go well. He has two secret credit cards that Carol doesn’t know about, which paid for the surgery. These credit cards are in addition to the massive health care expenses of Flicka’s that insurance doesn’t cover.
Frankly, I am unable to decide which family is living in the worst hell caused by a family member’s poor health.
But that’s not all. These characters are normal Americans, plugged into social media, the news, and voting issues, caring/angry /concerned about the various Top Ten crises occupying the country. Also all of the stupid fads, the celebrities, the environmental causes, political scandals, the foodie craze, etc. etc. etc.
The noise and stress we Americans live with became very clear to me, reader. I am googling off-the-grid locations right after I type this period...
April 26, 2015
Lionel Shriver is one of a small handful of authors whose work I consistently love—no matter how far one novel might stray from the next. In So Much for That, Shriver takes on midlife malaise, mesothelioma and the medical industry (and make no mistake, U.S. “health care” is all about industry). Her prose is scathing, angry, and unfailingly witty. I can see why certain other reviewers hated this book; it is admittedly depressing. Shriver’s characters are all unlikeable in one way or other, and at times unbelievable, to boot. They serve as mouthpieces for all that is wrong with this country and its overabundance of meaningless diversions, paid or unpaid. But I, for one, laud this author for tackling the nasty underside of our counterfeit, largely-pointless way of life in such a deliciously entertaining manner.
Shriver takes no prisoners. Protagonist Shep is a poster child for the delusional “do-righter” who believes that if you toe the line and follow the rules, your reward will come in the “afterlife”—not in the Heavenly sense, but by having a sufficiently large nest egg to leave one’s mundane woes behind in favor of a simpler existence in some far-flung and less expensive recess of Earth. (I confess—this is my plan, too, albeit right here in California, so this book struck a personal chord.) His friends and coworkers think he’s nuts, and in the end, his wife, Glynis, throws a wrench in this formerly shared goal by developing mesothelioma (that stubborn cancer caused by asbestos).
Glynis is anything but the peaceful, angelic loved one coming to terms with impending death—she’s crass, selfish, dishonest, and abusive toward her well-meaning husband and the few friends and family members who dare to visit her. But her attitude rings more true than trite in a way we usually don’t glimpse in novels. If that weren’t enough for Shep to contend with, there’s his artistic mooch of a sister, his aging, fecally-incontinent father, and a best friend and former employee (Jackson) who is a tiresome boor. Though Jackson is one-dimensional in his rants (in this regard, he reminds me very much of my own brother), the sad thing is that everything he says about everything is true, in particular the medical system. His own daughter, Flicka, is living with familial dysautonomia, or FD—a rare genetic disorder found among Ashkenazi Jews. Flicka is a painful sight—a drooling, stooping, tearless teen with an access “port” in her stomach much like the spout of an orange juice container.
As you can see, this is not a book for the faint of heart; light entertainment it ain’t. So Much for That is more the literary equivalent of being roused by a printed-word defibrillator. Nonetheless, if you can stand 400 or so pages of large and small jolts, the ending, while a bit far-fetched, is a glorious triumph of the little guy. It celebrates the joy to be found in simply managing life and death on one’s own terms.
I don’t usually give books five stars, but this one deserves it. Besides showcasing Shriver’s trademark luminous prose, at its core, So Much for That pays long-overdue homage to certain fundamental truths: the primacy of terminal illness (the fight against which she likens to battling the weather); the impermanence of our Earthly existence (despite our stubborn fairy-tale denials to the contrary); and the exorbitant, torturous and ultimately ineffective medical “weapons” we employ—at astronomical cost—to do nothing more than distract us from the finality and supremacy of death (while conveniently bankrupting its victims in the process). It is a face-slapping wake-up call to those of us fortunate enough to be well, yet audacious enough to complain. For many readers, its message—that suffering and death are inevitable and exempt no one—will be unwelcome and best stuffed under the sofa along with lost change and potato chip crumbs. But for the rest of us, its reminder to live life—now, fully, and genuinely—is a welcome admonishment to appreciate our short time on Earth while we revel in our precious health. Personally, I loved every minute of this ride.
Shriver takes no prisoners. Protagonist Shep is a poster child for the delusional “do-righter” who believes that if you toe the line and follow the rules, your reward will come in the “afterlife”—not in the Heavenly sense, but by having a sufficiently large nest egg to leave one’s mundane woes behind in favor of a simpler existence in some far-flung and less expensive recess of Earth. (I confess—this is my plan, too, albeit right here in California, so this book struck a personal chord.) His friends and coworkers think he’s nuts, and in the end, his wife, Glynis, throws a wrench in this formerly shared goal by developing mesothelioma (that stubborn cancer caused by asbestos).
Glynis is anything but the peaceful, angelic loved one coming to terms with impending death—she’s crass, selfish, dishonest, and abusive toward her well-meaning husband and the few friends and family members who dare to visit her. But her attitude rings more true than trite in a way we usually don’t glimpse in novels. If that weren’t enough for Shep to contend with, there’s his artistic mooch of a sister, his aging, fecally-incontinent father, and a best friend and former employee (Jackson) who is a tiresome boor. Though Jackson is one-dimensional in his rants (in this regard, he reminds me very much of my own brother), the sad thing is that everything he says about everything is true, in particular the medical system. His own daughter, Flicka, is living with familial dysautonomia, or FD—a rare genetic disorder found among Ashkenazi Jews. Flicka is a painful sight—a drooling, stooping, tearless teen with an access “port” in her stomach much like the spout of an orange juice container.
As you can see, this is not a book for the faint of heart; light entertainment it ain’t. So Much for That is more the literary equivalent of being roused by a printed-word defibrillator. Nonetheless, if you can stand 400 or so pages of large and small jolts, the ending, while a bit far-fetched, is a glorious triumph of the little guy. It celebrates the joy to be found in simply managing life and death on one’s own terms.
I don’t usually give books five stars, but this one deserves it. Besides showcasing Shriver’s trademark luminous prose, at its core, So Much for That pays long-overdue homage to certain fundamental truths: the primacy of terminal illness (the fight against which she likens to battling the weather); the impermanence of our Earthly existence (despite our stubborn fairy-tale denials to the contrary); and the exorbitant, torturous and ultimately ineffective medical “weapons” we employ—at astronomical cost—to do nothing more than distract us from the finality and supremacy of death (while conveniently bankrupting its victims in the process). It is a face-slapping wake-up call to those of us fortunate enough to be well, yet audacious enough to complain. For many readers, its message—that suffering and death are inevitable and exempt no one—will be unwelcome and best stuffed under the sofa along with lost change and potato chip crumbs. But for the rest of us, its reminder to live life—now, fully, and genuinely—is a welcome admonishment to appreciate our short time on Earth while we revel in our precious health. Personally, I loved every minute of this ride.
December 15, 2018
Λάσπη στα μούτρα του αμερικανικού καπιταλισμού κ των εκφραστών του, που η κυνικοτητα τους εξαντλείται στα ελάχιστα τελευταία περιθώρια κέρδους (βλέπε γιατρούς/δικηγόρους/ΑΕ)
Σκληρό αν και με σχετικά εύκολους ευφημισμους κ εύκολες προκλήσεις του συναισθήματος, καταφέρνει, κατ' εμέ, να αποδώσει σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό, τα περιοριστικά πεδία στα οποία κινείται μια οικογένεια του σήμερα.
Η αξιοκρατική ιεραρχία, που κάκιστα, αν και δυστυχώς αναγκαία, διαφθειρεται από την χρηματική αξία.
Ζωές 'σκλαβων' που κ η σκέψη μόνο μιας χαλαρής ζωής για πάρτυ μας, είναι γεμάτη ενοχές.
Αφήγηση, ύφος, χιούμορ σε σωστές ποσοστώσεις κ κανένας πλατυασμος
Σκληρό αν και με σχετικά εύκολους ευφημισμους κ εύκολες προκλήσεις του συναισθήματος, καταφέρνει, κατ' εμέ, να αποδώσει σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό, τα περιοριστικά πεδία στα οποία κινείται μια οικογένεια του σήμερα.
Η αξιοκρατική ιεραρχία, που κάκιστα, αν και δυστυχώς αναγκαία, διαφθειρεται από την χρηματική αξία.
Ζωές 'σκλαβων' που κ η σκέψη μόνο μιας χαλαρής ζωής για πάρτυ μας, είναι γεμάτη ενοχές.
Αφήγηση, ύφος, χιούμορ σε σωστές ποσοστώσεις κ κανένας πλατυασμος
May 4, 2015
Shriver has produced a disquieting book, but for me ultimately satisfying. There are so many inter-related issues swirling around in it that it’s hard to get a grip on any one thing. But I’ll try to share some of my thoughts.
Number one, I’m so grateful to live in a country where a life-threatening illness won’t bankrupt me. Not to say that there are no expenses involved, but certainly not the bloodletting that happens in the United States. Yes, I’m Canadian and I will be staying here, thankyouverymuch.
Second thought: I identify with Shep Knacker very strongly. My friends tease me because I have declared cable television, mobile phones and home internet to be unnecessary expenses which will slow down my stated goal of retiring early. (In 2 years, 10 months for the record). Unlike Shep, I have never planned to leave North America—Canada is where I want to live and this is where I am planning to stay. See paragraph above. I also identify with doing a job which I enjoy, but often under the supervision of people whom I neither like nor respect. Not for my entire career, but often enough for it to be disheartening.
Third, there are, IMO, only two supernatural experiences for which we can be present in this world: the birth of a child and the passing of a dying person. I’ve been at both. I’ve felt the euphoria of holding my friend’s newborn baby and I’ve felt the release of my father’s passing from a car-accident-damaged body. Both were awesome (in the original sense of that word) and our culture hides them away in hospitals where most people don’t have the opportunity to experience them. In this regard, I agree with Shep’s father—more people need to be involved in the nitty gritty of life. And like Glynis, I’ve lost friends when I went through a crisis—a surprising number of people are only willing to take, unable to give support in any form.
North American culture is so focused on appearance, material possessions and sex. And the more television and popular culture one consumes, the more one gets focused on this triumvirate. Living by these assumptions is the down fall of Shep’s friend Jackson. He concentrates on these three issues and doesn’t believe in the value of the real pillars of life: kindness, sharing, responsibility, friends and family.
My only reservation about this book is how slickly everything works out in the end: the well timed cash, the group escape, the abandonment of Beryl to her fate. That doesn’t feel “real” to me, although I enjoyed it—who doesn’t want the nice guy to win in the end? But of course many real situations wouldn’t make the cut in fiction for that very reason. So what do I know? So much for that.
Number one, I’m so grateful to live in a country where a life-threatening illness won’t bankrupt me. Not to say that there are no expenses involved, but certainly not the bloodletting that happens in the United States. Yes, I’m Canadian and I will be staying here, thankyouverymuch.
Second thought: I identify with Shep Knacker very strongly. My friends tease me because I have declared cable television, mobile phones and home internet to be unnecessary expenses which will slow down my stated goal of retiring early. (In 2 years, 10 months for the record). Unlike Shep, I have never planned to leave North America—Canada is where I want to live and this is where I am planning to stay. See paragraph above. I also identify with doing a job which I enjoy, but often under the supervision of people whom I neither like nor respect. Not for my entire career, but often enough for it to be disheartening.
Third, there are, IMO, only two supernatural experiences for which we can be present in this world: the birth of a child and the passing of a dying person. I’ve been at both. I’ve felt the euphoria of holding my friend’s newborn baby and I’ve felt the release of my father’s passing from a car-accident-damaged body. Both were awesome (in the original sense of that word) and our culture hides them away in hospitals where most people don’t have the opportunity to experience them. In this regard, I agree with Shep’s father—more people need to be involved in the nitty gritty of life. And like Glynis, I’ve lost friends when I went through a crisis—a surprising number of people are only willing to take, unable to give support in any form.
North American culture is so focused on appearance, material possessions and sex. And the more television and popular culture one consumes, the more one gets focused on this triumvirate. Living by these assumptions is the down fall of Shep’s friend Jackson. He concentrates on these three issues and doesn’t believe in the value of the real pillars of life: kindness, sharing, responsibility, friends and family.
My only reservation about this book is how slickly everything works out in the end: the well timed cash, the group escape, the abandonment of Beryl to her fate. That doesn’t feel “real” to me, although I enjoyed it—who doesn’t want the nice guy to win in the end? But of course many real situations wouldn’t make the cut in fiction for that very reason. So what do I know? So much for that.
April 6, 2010
I stayed up past midnight to finish the book, which tells you how much I cared about these characters. And I keep dwelling on the messages in the book today, namely:
What would I do if a family member got sick?
What would I want my friends and family to do if I got sick?
What is the proper relationship between healthcare and a functioning, moral society?
The novel appears to start off as a jeremiad, and maybe even just a vehicle for a political opinion, but launches from there to something much bigger. And of course, as she does in all of her books, the author fearlessly goes to inflammatory places like nobody else I've read can do. What she did for parenting in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN and for marriage in THE POST-BIRTHDAY WORLD she does again, exposing hard-to-talk-about, situations ideas with wit and insight.
I guess the book isn't perfect. I didn't think the relationships between the adults and their children rang true, but it was forgivable.
You might think, I'd rather not read a book about cancer. But you should read this one. I think it will be the best book I will read all year.
What would I do if a family member got sick?
What would I want my friends and family to do if I got sick?
What is the proper relationship between healthcare and a functioning, moral society?
The novel appears to start off as a jeremiad, and maybe even just a vehicle for a political opinion, but launches from there to something much bigger. And of course, as she does in all of her books, the author fearlessly goes to inflammatory places like nobody else I've read can do. What she did for parenting in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN and for marriage in THE POST-BIRTHDAY WORLD she does again, exposing hard-to-talk-about, situations ideas with wit and insight.
I guess the book isn't perfect. I didn't think the relationships between the adults and their children rang true, but it was forgivable.
You might think, I'd rather not read a book about cancer. But you should read this one. I think it will be the best book I will read all year.
September 26, 2022
Well, so much for that. I have been reading this book for 13 days and made it to page 157 in the hopes that it would get better. Nope. Alas. I like this author but not this book. Tedious. Unlikeable characters. Did I say tedious? It’s time to give up😬
May 3, 2019
Dearest Lionel Shriver:
I shall never doubt you again! I took my sweet time getting around to reading this because The Synopsis had me seeing this as some science fiction novel, with catchphrases like "The Afterlife"... & I do not typically like science fiction... But, get around to reading it I did... and i couldn't be more glad. I will admit that the story was a little slow in parts... some chapters seeming to elaborate more than necessary, but I find that most of her books are like this. However, I see this as a plus rather than the opposite, because I relish the details for the most part.
Anyhow, this is indeed about The Afterlife, but not in the conventional way. The Afterlife refers to Sheperd, the main character's, plan to save a good deal of money & retire early to a faraway country, impoverished enough that he can live on, quite literally, pennies a day. This is a very intelligent plan, although, obviously, he would have to leave this great country in order to afford that. The story begins as he finally tells his beloved wife that he is leaving with or without her, as she has made continuous excuses to not leave for many years now. He subsequently discovers that she is dying. Despite her bitchiness, Shep, being the great man that he is, abandons his lifelong aspiration to care for her. He even goes as far as to feel deep guilt for even imagining living somewhere without her. His wife, Glynis, is less than grateful for her husband's love... She even blames him for her dying state... when she realizes, perfectly well, that he played no part. Many less than stellar aspects of her character are revealed throughout the story, but she is not, exactly, a bad person... She is, simply, not of the typical "Good Guy" and/or "Good Person" definition her husband is.
There is one scene in here... I assure you, dear readers, you will know it when you read it... that literally left me... stunned for a good five to ten minutes. I have read enough of Shriver to have expected such turn of events... so I thought. Wow. I feel like I was completely blindsided... not only by the unexpectedness for the most part, but by the pure... bluntness of it all.. the details... the...
Many aspects in the discussion regarding life, death, & how much one life is worth are explored. Sheperd's best friend and/or colleague has his own troubles that bring in new dimensions to the question regarding life & worth. His daughter has a very rare, terminal diagnosis that causes her to struggle on a daily, minute-by-minute basis, which adds yet another dimension. The government, politics, the desolate medical system in this country are also explained and/or examined in detail. A few different medical procedures, the cost, etc. are explained... I am almost tempted to call this some sort of non fiction book with all the elaborate information in it. There is no way to even begin categorizing this book, which is why I never should have decided to wait on reading this wonderful book due to a one paragraph explanation...
All I can say is that you should read it. It explores Politics, Medicine, Euthanasia, Current Events, Suicide, Marriage, Friendships, Law, Ethics, Death, Equality...
Would socialism be better for this country?
When is everyday pain enough to warrant euthanasia and/or suicide?
Is suicide ever acceptable?
How much is one life worth?
How much is an extra month of life worth? A week? A day? How about when the person in question is in 24/7 pain? Only daily pain?
Where does one person rightfully decide that one life is worth more than his/her own?
Should a child who is guaranteed to die in six months still be required to go to class? How about 1 year? 3 years?
Who decides what should happen to someone whom cannot speak for themselves?
How much should one individual sacrifice to alleviate the time of someone already guaranteed to die? At what cost is an extra few months worth it?
Who should be responsible for the care of an individual when they afford it?
That, my friends, is only a sampling of the fascinating inquiries Shriver looks into.
I shall never doubt you again! I took my sweet time getting around to reading this because The Synopsis had me seeing this as some science fiction novel, with catchphrases like "The Afterlife"... & I do not typically like science fiction... But, get around to reading it I did... and i couldn't be more glad. I will admit that the story was a little slow in parts... some chapters seeming to elaborate more than necessary, but I find that most of her books are like this. However, I see this as a plus rather than the opposite, because I relish the details for the most part.
Anyhow, this is indeed about The Afterlife, but not in the conventional way. The Afterlife refers to Sheperd, the main character's, plan to save a good deal of money & retire early to a faraway country, impoverished enough that he can live on, quite literally, pennies a day. This is a very intelligent plan, although, obviously, he would have to leave this great country in order to afford that. The story begins as he finally tells his beloved wife that he is leaving with or without her, as she has made continuous excuses to not leave for many years now. He subsequently discovers that she is dying. Despite her bitchiness, Shep, being the great man that he is, abandons his lifelong aspiration to care for her. He even goes as far as to feel deep guilt for even imagining living somewhere without her. His wife, Glynis, is less than grateful for her husband's love... She even blames him for her dying state... when she realizes, perfectly well, that he played no part. Many less than stellar aspects of her character are revealed throughout the story, but she is not, exactly, a bad person... She is, simply, not of the typical "Good Guy" and/or "Good Person" definition her husband is.
There is one scene in here... I assure you, dear readers, you will know it when you read it... that literally left me... stunned for a good five to ten minutes. I have read enough of Shriver to have expected such turn of events... so I thought. Wow. I feel like I was completely blindsided... not only by the unexpectedness for the most part, but by the pure... bluntness of it all.. the details... the...
Many aspects in the discussion regarding life, death, & how much one life is worth are explored. Sheperd's best friend and/or colleague has his own troubles that bring in new dimensions to the question regarding life & worth. His daughter has a very rare, terminal diagnosis that causes her to struggle on a daily, minute-by-minute basis, which adds yet another dimension. The government, politics, the desolate medical system in this country are also explained and/or examined in detail. A few different medical procedures, the cost, etc. are explained... I am almost tempted to call this some sort of non fiction book with all the elaborate information in it. There is no way to even begin categorizing this book, which is why I never should have decided to wait on reading this wonderful book due to a one paragraph explanation...
All I can say is that you should read it. It explores Politics, Medicine, Euthanasia, Current Events, Suicide, Marriage, Friendships, Law, Ethics, Death, Equality...
Would socialism be better for this country?
When is everyday pain enough to warrant euthanasia and/or suicide?
Is suicide ever acceptable?
How much is one life worth?
How much is an extra month of life worth? A week? A day? How about when the person in question is in 24/7 pain? Only daily pain?
Where does one person rightfully decide that one life is worth more than his/her own?
Should a child who is guaranteed to die in six months still be required to go to class? How about 1 year? 3 years?
Who decides what should happen to someone whom cannot speak for themselves?
How much should one individual sacrifice to alleviate the time of someone already guaranteed to die? At what cost is an extra few months worth it?
Who should be responsible for the care of an individual when they afford it?
That, my friends, is only a sampling of the fascinating inquiries Shriver looks into.
June 5, 2011
Fictionalized account of lived experience of life threatening and chronic illness within America's health system. At the risk of leaving nothing to inference the author has made some of the dialogues/monologue on health care somewhat overbearing and put-on. At times this can be irritating. But I have to say that the issues are real, the character's situations seem real and the fault in health care are wide. The upbeat ending makes for a fairytale which few are fortunate to experience. Thoroughly enjoyed it and had difficulty putting it down.
April 6, 2011
What a compelling story this is! I picked it up late last night and couldn't put it down till I fell asleep at 3 a.m. Then got up and couldn't do anything till I finished the book. The hero of this book is a hardworking long-suffering everyman whose lifelong dream to get away from it all is about to be realized. After scrimping and saving his whole life he finally has the funds and the guts to leave New York with his wife and son and move to a tropical island where he hopes to live the simple life. This is no whim, but a careful and calculated endeavor to take his nest egg to a third world country where his family can live a good life on a comparatively small sum. His wife, who initially supported the idea, has been throwing road blocks up every time he gets serious about it. So he buys one way tickets for the three of them, packs his bag, and tells her he is going with or without her. She, in turn tells him that she just discovered she has cancer and he has to go back to work because they need his health insurance.
The story presents one of the complex issues of our modern medical world. How much is life worth? How far should we go and how much should we pay to extend the life of a loved one or of ourself, if the quality and prognosis are poor ? What would you do if it happened to you? or What will you do when it happens to you? And what is our obligation to support our aged parents, an ailing spouse, and a growing child all at the same time on a limited budget?
The characters in this book are all multidimensional and so interesting. The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad, and then there's a lot of poor schmoes like us stuck in the middle, trying to be good more often than bad. There is so much to think about in this book and so much to relate to. Fortunately, it's not all sadness and woe. There are humorous and light-hearted scenes interspersed with the heaviness to give the book balance, and obviously there's a certain tension to the whole predicament which creates suspense. I will remember scenes from this book for a long time.
The story presents one of the complex issues of our modern medical world. How much is life worth? How far should we go and how much should we pay to extend the life of a loved one or of ourself, if the quality and prognosis are poor ? What would you do if it happened to you? or What will you do when it happens to you? And what is our obligation to support our aged parents, an ailing spouse, and a growing child all at the same time on a limited budget?
The characters in this book are all multidimensional and so interesting. The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad, and then there's a lot of poor schmoes like us stuck in the middle, trying to be good more often than bad. There is so much to think about in this book and so much to relate to. Fortunately, it's not all sadness and woe. There are humorous and light-hearted scenes interspersed with the heaviness to give the book balance, and obviously there's a certain tension to the whole predicament which creates suspense. I will remember scenes from this book for a long time.
November 3, 2018
Before I read this book I never would have thought that a rare cancer and an even rater genetic disorder plus the ins and outs of the US-American health insurance system would make for a moving, witty and engaging novel. But they do.
May 25, 2010
Let me say up front, I am not recommending this book to anyone. I am not sure I exactly liked it, and I'm not sure who would be up for perhaps the most oxymoronic book I've read in awhile: a truly depressing page-turner. Add in that the ending is perhaps unearned, the author can tend toward polemic, pretty much none of the characters are likeable, and...yeah. It's a flawed book.
But there's a lot it gets right. How alone each person is when someone in a family gets cancer. How all of us dream of taking our savings and saying, "Shove it", to the whole American dream. How we bury ourselves under material things, and under big ideas, and under our personal narrative so we don't have to get to know each other, or ourselves. Yeah, lots of big ideas in this book, and some of them are approached with too much...earnestness?..but it's worth your time, as long as you don't mind being angry and sad while you read this. Which, as alluded to above, will not take very long, even at 400 pages, because whatever else the story is, it's compelling as hell.
But there's a lot it gets right. How alone each person is when someone in a family gets cancer. How all of us dream of taking our savings and saying, "Shove it", to the whole American dream. How we bury ourselves under material things, and under big ideas, and under our personal narrative so we don't have to get to know each other, or ourselves. Yeah, lots of big ideas in this book, and some of them are approached with too much...earnestness?..but it's worth your time, as long as you don't mind being angry and sad while you read this. Which, as alluded to above, will not take very long, even at 400 pages, because whatever else the story is, it's compelling as hell.
September 23, 2011
I am shocked by the accolades this book has received. There were parts of the book that were enjoyable and surprising, particularly the ending, but reading this novel was immensely painful, primarily because almost all of the characters were unlikeable, self-pitying, cynical, self-absorbed, and simply unbearable. I realize that to some degree this was the point -- the characters are supposed to be "human" and flawed -- but their extreme lack of empathy for others actually made them seem like caricatures, rather than endowed with "humanity." The fact that the coverage of Katrina was enjoyable to Glynis was just too much for me to take. And the subplot of Jackson's demise was excruciating to read. Additionally, as other people have noted, the cynical political rants aren't literary and don't contribute anything of value to the story. There were some funny moments, and some of the writing from Shep's perspective was compelling, but on the whole, I found this to be a disturbing and unenjoyable read.
February 16, 2022
gut wrenching, in your face, a serious and occasionally hilarious exploration of intimacy, reality, integrity and death
April 30, 2019
This book had so many words and descriptions that weren’t important to this book’s story. There were many times I skimmed over paragraphs because they were just too tedious. BUT I loved the characters and became very invested in their futures. It is a book about everyday and what people are willing to do to be happy either falsely happy or really happy.
October 21, 2010
Think this is my book of the year.
I loved it - the characterisation, story, social commentary and wit that can only be described as Acerbic.
Shep is a great character. He has done everything by the book in his life - starting his own business, looking after family - which is extended beyond his kids and parents to even his sister - a rock, who pays for everything.
Through selling his own business (and soul, by working for the man he sold to) he has amassed a tidy sum to pay for his retirement in his early 50s. He wants to move to an african island to live out his days on less than $5 a day.
His wife, Glynis has turned down his requests - instead putting him a holding pattern to discover places around the globe and to find reasons for not doing the migration. Early in the book it gets to the point where Shep issues an ultimatum - he has three tickets - the family can come if they want.
This is when Glynis responds with her own news - she has life threatening cancer. To add to the complexibity, this might have been caused by absestos, which he worked with in his life as a handyman.
Shep has to return to work and fund her treatment from his retirement fund. Cue lots of social commentary on the state of american health care, tax, working for the man. All of this is nicely rounded with other charcters - his friend jackson who can rant about politics all day - his sister, Beryl who is an arty type and expects Shep to part support her.
Sheps problems take a turn for the worst when his father (a vicar, so through religion into the mix) takes a fall and he has to support him, his wfie, her family who come to visit, his sister and his feckless son, who never leaves his room.
Poor old Shep.
Jackson too, has his problems - his daughter has a wasting disease, he has paid for a penis enlargement and is debt up to his eyeballs as well.
You care about the characters and get pulled into their world. The fact that Shep is such a good man that has so much go wrong for him is heartbreaking and the fact that you do care for him makes it worse.
The book layers problems on problems - to the point where survival is not an option. I am a little unsure of the ending - which turns into an escape fantasy story that is perhaps a bit too sugary in context of the book.
What more could you want - great story with loads going on, great characterisation and a social commentary.
I loved it - the characterisation, story, social commentary and wit that can only be described as Acerbic.
Shep is a great character. He has done everything by the book in his life - starting his own business, looking after family - which is extended beyond his kids and parents to even his sister - a rock, who pays for everything.
Through selling his own business (and soul, by working for the man he sold to) he has amassed a tidy sum to pay for his retirement in his early 50s. He wants to move to an african island to live out his days on less than $5 a day.
His wife, Glynis has turned down his requests - instead putting him a holding pattern to discover places around the globe and to find reasons for not doing the migration. Early in the book it gets to the point where Shep issues an ultimatum - he has three tickets - the family can come if they want.
This is when Glynis responds with her own news - she has life threatening cancer. To add to the complexibity, this might have been caused by absestos, which he worked with in his life as a handyman.
Shep has to return to work and fund her treatment from his retirement fund. Cue lots of social commentary on the state of american health care, tax, working for the man. All of this is nicely rounded with other charcters - his friend jackson who can rant about politics all day - his sister, Beryl who is an arty type and expects Shep to part support her.
Sheps problems take a turn for the worst when his father (a vicar, so through religion into the mix) takes a fall and he has to support him, his wfie, her family who come to visit, his sister and his feckless son, who never leaves his room.
Poor old Shep.
Jackson too, has his problems - his daughter has a wasting disease, he has paid for a penis enlargement and is debt up to his eyeballs as well.
You care about the characters and get pulled into their world. The fact that Shep is such a good man that has so much go wrong for him is heartbreaking and the fact that you do care for him makes it worse.
The book layers problems on problems - to the point where survival is not an option. I am a little unsure of the ending - which turns into an escape fantasy story that is perhaps a bit too sugary in context of the book.
What more could you want - great story with loads going on, great characterisation and a social commentary.
February 28, 2011
I have truly loved Lionel Shriver's past novels, but now wonder if she isn't a lot like the hand-walking queer (that character in Beaches who does all kinds of freak circus tricks to wow the crowds on the boardwalk) or that friend you make on the first day of school who you have to shrug off in mid-October because they have become so annoying and demanding. So shrill! So showy! So longwinded! I would tell my Mom NOT to invite her for another play date.
So Much For That details two families' slow painful orbit in the universe of a broken health care system. Genetic disorders, terminal cancer, botched elective surgery, placebo effects, copays, deductibles, co-insurance, assisted living facilities, the lot. These characters might be interesting, but it's hard to really know them for their congenital preachiness, malignant character flaws, septic world views, and specimen biopsy quality flatness. (Like my new medical lingo?) I don't expect suffering, bankruptcy, and death to be pleasant, but the 600+ pages of sarcasm and spite wore on this gentle reader's nerves.
All this aside, I saw the author I love shine through in the last 100 pages, and that was enough to redeem this book from the rubbish bin for me. Lionel, honey -- call me next time you need a friendly read-through.
So Much For That details two families' slow painful orbit in the universe of a broken health care system. Genetic disorders, terminal cancer, botched elective surgery, placebo effects, copays, deductibles, co-insurance, assisted living facilities, the lot. These characters might be interesting, but it's hard to really know them for their congenital preachiness, malignant character flaws, septic world views, and specimen biopsy quality flatness. (Like my new medical lingo?) I don't expect suffering, bankruptcy, and death to be pleasant, but the 600+ pages of sarcasm and spite wore on this gentle reader's nerves.
All this aside, I saw the author I love shine through in the last 100 pages, and that was enough to redeem this book from the rubbish bin for me. Lionel, honey -- call me next time you need a friendly read-through.
April 5, 2010
Shepherd Knacker is a protagonist after my own heart, the kind of guy who works hard, pays his bills, pays a lot of his relatives' bills, takes care of his family and defers his dreams. He wants to escape the rat-race but his wife is diagnosed with cancer and he needs his health insurance. Or does he? The book is unsparing and clear about issues needing discussing, including, just how much health insurance (and Medicare) do NOT pay for, and, just how oncology gives patients awful treatments that only extend their lives a few weeks or months at the cost of all the family's financial resources. As a physician with oncology experience, I can testify to the truth of the depiction of both issues. The story also gets behind the seemingly uneven relationship of soft-touch husband and mean-spirited wife to their basic love. A couple who are good friends also are well depicted, although the husband's self-destruction strikes a false note. The couple's daughter, afflicted with a congenital and inevitably fatal disorder, entertains us by being candidly angry. I was delighted to have discovered this author.
December 4, 2021
No recuerdo la fecha exacta de lectura de esta novela, aunque sí la impresión que me produjo. Y fue intensa. Si bien ya estamos desgraciadamente habituados a que nos cuenten la tortura económica que puede suponer el padecimiento de una enfermedad grave en el sistema sanitario de los Estados Unidos de América, la autora va más allá y explora los delicados límites entre la esperanza de recuperarse de una enfermedad grave y el encarnizamiento terapéutico. Quizá me sobra la rarísima enfermedad crónica de la chiquilla, me parece que no le hace falta a la novela o, al menos, podría haber tratado las desgracias de diez en diez y no así, a lo bestia. Pero nada de lo que lees a Shriver cae en saco roto, nada se pierde, nada se olvida. Ni aunque lo desees, ahí queda acechando. Y esta vez esa inquietud improbable en la que nos sumergía con su Tenemos que hablar de Kevin se transforma en una más probable conforme van pasando los años y la salud se hace más frágil.
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