Should We Stay or Should We Go

by Lionel Shriver

A married couple decides they will take control of their final years by exiting the world together at the age of 80—with unexpected consequences and possibilities in New York Times bestselling author Lionel Shriver’s brilliantly conceived parallel-universe novel of sickness, marriage, old age, and mortality reminiscent of The Post-Birthday World.

When her father dies, Kay is relieved. For ten years, she watched helplessly as Alzheimer’s ravaged this once decorous man. Her husband of twenty-eight years, Cyril, found his brief exposure to her father’s decline intolerable.

Healthy and full of vitality, both Kay and Cyril, now in their early 50s, fear what may lie ahead for them. One thing is certain: neither wants to die without dignity. To avert a similar fate, they make a pact: on Kay’s 80th birthday they will commit suicide together. Cyril, a doctor, acquires the means they will need to exit the world, a bottle of tablets they keep in black box tucked away in the back of the fridge. Their deal is made in 1991. They will have thirty more years together. 

But as time passes and their “final” day approaches, doubts begin to arise. 

Lionel Shriver’s highly imaginative and utterly captivating novel unfolds in a series of scenarios that depict various versions of how Kay and Cyril’s unfolding story ends, all with unexpected twists. As these highly imaginative scenarios build upon one another, it becomes clear that trying to control fate is futile. With cool logic, Shriver reveals how the idea of taking charge of one’s final years and saving oneself from the indignities of old age is a fallacy. Contemplating the inescapable end of their lives, Kay eventually discovers that when it comes to the end of life, “real bravery and nobility entails losing everything you love by degrees like everyone else, and dying when you least expect it like everyone else.”   

Brilliant and psychologically astute, Should We Stay or Should We Go is Lionel Shriver at her iconoclastic best—a novel that is fascinating to contemplate and impossible to forget.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Contemporary, Audiobook, Death, Literary Fiction, Novels

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 8, 2021

About the author

Lionel 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.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

GR friend Elyse asked if I had read Lionel Shriver’s new novel, “Should We Stay or Should We Go”. This was after I confessed to Elyse that my husband and I promised each other that if one of us suffered from severe dementia, we would find a way to allow that person to off themselves….like an overdose or something. We don’t want our loved ones remembering us as demented and not “ourselves”. Of course, my husband and I are in our 60’s, so it’s a ways off….or so we think.

Author Lionel Shriver explores this idea in her novel. In this novel, the couple are in their 50’s, and the wife, Kay, is dealing with her father’s decline. She sees the indignities that he is suffering and knows that her father would be mortified if he understood what was happening to him. Kay’s husband, Cyril, is a physician working in Britain’s National Health Service. Cyril is a strident socialist. He sees that after the age of 80, all members are a drag on the health care system. These elderly folks are responsible for large charges just to keep their frail bodies alive with poor quality of life. Cyril believes it’s his duty as a respectable socialist to not cost an unfair amount for the collective good of society. So, Cyril proposes that when Kay turns 80 (she’s younger than Cyril), they will take some sleeping pills and go peacefully.

It is here that Shriver has some fun. This reminded me of Paul Auster’s “4 3 2 1”. Shriver provides different scenarios of what could possibly happened to Kay and Cyril when that birthday occurs. Shriver includes real historical events in each scenario, like Auster. When Kay turns 80, it’s right after the Brexit vote and right when the COVID 19 pandemic occurs. Cyril has strong political opinions and is not a fan of Boris Johnson. Oh, and their three children, a daughter and two sons come in to play in each scenario. Hence, the “end date” occurs right when the pandemic begins, and quarantine begins.

What’s funny is how Kay and Cyril remain (or not) committed to the idea. In one instance, Cyril is frustrated with Kay because he’s living life with abandon…. he’s eating that extra piece of pie…he’s spending that money. Meanwhile, Kay maintains her self-control. “But you know how people worry about having a car accident in dirty knickers? I don’t want to be found on my death bed FAT.” Too funny. Shriver even gets in a plug in for her novel “The Mandibles” in a fun way.

The different scenarios are interesting and thought provoking. What I did enjoy was the character’s hesitancy when the time came. I realize that wanting to leave this life is easier than actually doing it. Shriver is honest with the characters changes of heart and commitment. In some plot lines, both Kay and Cyril were healthy and thriving at 80; who wouldn’t have second thoughts? In once situation, they chose cryonics and awake far into the future with strange ramifications.

There are twelve parallel universes in which twelve inventive futures play out. I enjoyed Shriver’s ideas of compromises, challenges, and quality of life. No one wants to endure a life ending in which you become a menace to your family or an unrecognizable version of yourself. Yet, committing to and executing an ending….well, that takes remarkable courage.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow…
This book took the cake on mind-bending topics to explore!
I was into it!!!
I dragged Paul into conversations about this one….and it sure would be a great choice for book clubs.

…There are a handful of authors who write about poignant *issues*…..
I consider Lionel Shriver the Queen Bee … of all authors (that I’ve read anyway)… who take up issues and toss & turn them inside out, bounce theories up & down - and all around — like nobody’s business.

With twelve alternate universes… we get to examine and contemplate…(for ourselves, too, if we are willing)…aging-living-and death-from every angle.
Should we stay or should we go?…
It invites discussions— whether the reader likes the book or not.

I rather not say too much…
other than it’s a brain-teaser for sure.

Who is this book for?
Old farts - age 60+ ….
and/or ….
for anyone else who wants to explore in ‘depth’ many sides of aging, living, and death…
It’s not completely without flaws ….
but honestly I took away plenty.
Loved the humor…parts were absolutely hilarious!
Loved the love…
Love the bickering…
Loved the extended family…
Love lots of tiny details…
… naked-spooning marriage sweetness…
…middle-of-the-night reading on the couch ….(out of kindness of Kay for her husband Cyril)
And most of all….
The reminder and hope that all of us wish to die with dignity and not in pain.

Yep… Lionel Shriver still can rock my little world
I’m a fan!!!
4.5 stars

[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Shriver's trenchant wit and intellect but I'm sorry to say this book didn't work for me. It's issue-driven and the characters are just chess pieces whose only function is to be moved around the board from chapter to chapter.

The topic of an aging population has so much potential but it gets diluted via the showy 'Sliding Doors' format which Shriver has worked far more effectively in the past. And there's a strained attempt to liken the projected suicide of the characters to the national self-harm of Brexit and the covid lockdown (Shriver seems sceptical about the latter).

This could have made a snappy short story - stretched to novel length, it fell flat for me. But flashes of cynical humour are a reminder of just how iconoclastic Shriver can be.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley

[Aoife Cassidy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I shouldn’t really be surprised given Shriver’s trajectory over the past few years, but this was really a rather unpleasant read. How disappointing when an author whose writing you really admire begins to sink in her own bitterness and prejudice.

Cyril and Kay agree at the age of 60 to a suicide pact, specifically, that they will end their own lives when Kay turns 80.

There follows a series of different scenarios and outcomes - they follow through, they back out, they go through cryogenic freezing instead, one of them backs out, they back out and end up in a dire nursing home, they back out and end up living long fulfilling lives when a cure for ageing is found etc etc.

The premise is really interesting and gives rise to a lot of philosophical questions about old age, quality of life and what it means to live a fulfilling life, and Shriver’s writing is sharp and clever but that’s where my faint praise for this book ends.

Racism and bigoted commentary by characters seeped into Shriver’s last book The Motion of the Body Through Space. It was well written, interesting and funny though, so I was able to get past it, to a degree.

This one, her latest book, is saturated with it. It is literary fiction for Daily Mail readers. It’s well written, but so bloated with racist, anti-immigrant, anti-lockdown (it’s set during covid), pro-Brexit sentiment, it’s impossible to overlook. It would appear that the characters are mere stand-ins/voices for Shriver’s own prejudices and it very quickly becomes tedious. There’s no character development, only civilised diatribe.

And even setting all of that aside, I don’t think the plot quite works. It’s very repetitive with entire passages repeated several times (if I had to read one more time about them kissing deeply like they did when they courted, I might have thrown the book across the room).

In short, bigotry masquerading as satire. I can’t recommend this book.

[John Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife and I read this aloud to each other a bit each day. Many years ago Ali asked me the question: would you rather get alzheimers or that I get it? It is not an easy question to answer, then or now.

The premise is that Cyril proposes to Kay on her 50th birthday, that they make a pact to take pills to end their lives thirty years from now. Kay's father and mother have recently died after difficult journeys with alzheimers. Cyril has been a medical doctor with the NHS for many years and Kay a nurse.

What ensues is different scenarios of what the possible outcomes may be. Sometimes funny, sometimes grim, but always interesting.

If the topic interests you at all and it's not too difficult a topic in your life, I recommend it. Not for everyone.

[Aldi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for about 60%, because 1) I had previously enjoyed Lionel Shriver’s writing about mortality and the stark, deep sense of complete alienation it evokes in most people; 2) I had previously enjoyed, and still did, Lionel Shriver’s writing in general; and 3) I am apparently really thick and it takes me 60% of a book to realise someone is not giving their characters really shitty opinions in order to craft interesting drama but in order to use their characters as unsubtle mouthpieces to sermonise about their OWN really shitty opinions.

Here's the thing, I don’t usually go out of my way to find out authors’ personal opinions on various issues, though of course in certain cases it’s completely impossible not to learn when someone whose writing you enjoy or enjoyed is being a deeply odious scumbucket about something important. I don’t mind admitting I frequently kinda wish social media didn’t make it impossible to take a “never meet your heroes” stance with authors. That not being possible anymore, it kinda depends on what the opinion is about. For example, I know Robin Hobb, one of my absolute favourite authors, is categorically opposed to fanfiction. I think that’s an outdated and probably uninformed stance but IDGAF, she is entitled to that opinion, and more importantly, she’s not using her clout as an author to go on a crusade against it so it doesn’t really hurt anyone. (On the other end of the opinion-having and power-abusing spectrum, fuck JKR.)

I don’t know where this book falls on that spectrum but I do know that once I realised what Shriver was doing (basically, preaching non-stop), it soured me on the book very quickly and I ended up not finishing it, although I had been enjoying the thought experiment. The main characters, an initially middle-aged married couple, make a pact to commit suicide at 80 in order not to disintegrate into dementia and physical decline and be a burden on their children and the health system. Each chapter of the book explores a different version of events in which they either go through with their plan or don’t, or only one of them does, and the various consequences of each choice. It was really interesting, and if the dialogue was weirdly exposition-heavy, with characters holding forth for pages and pages about various current issues in stilted, info-dumping ways that no ordinary human being would employ in casual conversation, well, I put it down to the characters being elderly, set in their ways and opinionated. But as the story evolved and it became clear that events like Brexit and COVID-19 were going to feature heavily in this book, the vibe that started to permeate the narrative was distinctly sneery, smug, and authorial-voicy. The first few times when one of the characters admitted with a tee-hee-aren’t-I-naughty twinkle in their eye that they’d voted Leave in the Brexit referendum, I rolled my eyes but went with, okay, that’s a reasonable conflict to introduce between a long-married couple. When the other character railed against lockdowns and other anti-COVID measures and frequently wailed about ~tHe eCoNoMy~ and how everyone was just being hysterical (conveniently Shriver left out the UK’s initial “herd immunity” tack and the way the constant hesitancy about lockdowns actually contributed to so many more deaths), I thought, okay, I’m not entirely sure that’s in character for this person, but sure.

Then we got a chapter where the cure for aging is found and everyone ends up in this bizarre utopia where everyone is physically 25, there is no war or crime or poverty anymore (no details on how) and things like racism or homophobia just don’t exist anymore (again, absolutely no indication what lack of aging should have to do with those things), and people play around with “transgenderism” as a lark. It was a vaguely benign sci-fi experiment on the surface, if backed by absolutely no credible worldbuilding, but the tone of the whole chapter was – well, gross. It was condescending. It was belittling, it made stupid jokes about racism and gender and it didn’t engage in a meaningful way with a single one of the issues it swept under the rug as being basically silly and irrelevant in a future where everything was perfect just because everyone was young and healthy. (Don’t get me started on the fatphobia throughout this book.)

At that point I sighed and went and did the googling, and – quelle surprise – found out that Lionel Shriver thinks “gender politics” are unnecessary and stupid, cultural appropriation is not a real thing, the world is “too PC,” Brexit is awesome, the economy is more important than people’s lives, and when people call her out on racist shit, it’s just because everyone’s too woke and she’s an honest person. You know, middle-aged rich cis white lady problems. The burden.

Meanwhile, in the book, the next chapter tackles the migrant crisis. In which the UK is overrun by savage hordes from the east who end up taking up every square centimetre, including Buckingham Palace and all the museums, bringing anarchy and strife, tearing down the art in hallowed halls and camping by the millions in entitled fetid squalor. The poor main characters, now in their 100s, are banished to their own attic while migrants in search of “a better life” (yes, it’s put in quotes, much like other completely ridiculous concepts elsewhere in the book, like “social distancing” and “inequality”) overrun their house and eventually decapitate the poor old dears with machetes. You could give her the benefit of the doubt and call it satire but by that point she’d made it amply clear that it wasn’t.

At a particularly cringeworthy moment, she even goes for a Stephen-King-in-the-Dark-Tower moment and has the characters reference one of her own books, discussing how “that Shriver woman” accurately predicted the economic downfall of the western world.

I wish I’d stopped reading before then, but like I said, I must be really thick. But not thick enough to finish this hateful tripe, to spend another moment deliberating whether Lionel Shriver should or should not be put into the deeply odious scumbucket category, or to spend another thought or dollar on any of her books.

[Anni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The conundrum behind the title, as Ms Shriver describes it herself, is “how to live a long-enough life yet still go out in style?”
The concept is the parallel universe one, where the alternative timelines make for multiple perspectives and possibilities to play out. She deploys twelve scenarios, some blackly comic, some touching and tragic, others horrific- including the repercussions of a suicide pact and - in one case, she plays with the speculative fiction of cryogenics.
This playful ‘what if ?’ conceit also means that Shriver can employ her usual trenchant social criticism over a range of current issues, such as Brexit, immigration, political correctness and the Covid ‘pandemic’.
Set in Britain, the American born Shriver is spot on with our geography, vernacular and politics because she has lived in the U.K. for nearly three decades.
This is the 12th novel I’ve read by this author, and I’ve found it as much fun as she admits she had in writing it.

Thanks go to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley

[Carol]

My sincere appreciation to Harper for a galley of Should We Stay or Should We Go via Edelweiss.

A choose your own adventure book for the aging. Brilliantly conceived, finely executed, this story is a tribute to marriage and family. It examines the long term relationship of Cyril and Kay as they reach those golden years when circumstances cause them to take the bull by the horns and make an end of life plan. Fatal doses of Seconal in the frig. Not that simple. Shriver allows her characters alternatives we might not have considered. A make me think kind of story. Shriver at her all out best.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should We Stay or Should We Go is moving, incisive, richly described literary fiction from one of my favourite writers, Lionel Shriver. It follows a married couple who decide they will take control of their final years by exiting the world together at the age of 80—with unexpected consequences and possibilities in New York Times bestselling author Lionel Shriver’s brilliantly conceived parallel-universe novel of sickness, marriage, old age and mortality reminiscent of The Post-Birthday World. When her father dies, Kay is relieved. For ten years, she watched helplessly as Alzheimer’s ravaged this once decorous man. Her husband of twenty-eight years, Cyril, found his brief exposure to her father’s decline intolerable. Healthy and full of vitality, both Kay and Cyril, now in their early 50s, fear what may lie ahead for them. One thing is certain: neither wants to die without dignity. To avert a similar fate, they make a pact: on Kay’s 80th birthday they will commit suicide together. Cyril, a doctor, acquires the means they will need to exit the world, a bottle of tablets they keep in a black box tucked away in the back of the fridge. Their deal is made in 1991. They will have thirty more years together. But as time passes and their “final” day approaches, doubts begin to arise. This is a captivating, tender and often sardonic read with a whole lot of heart and soul injected into it.

It's deftly plotted and on such a poignant overarching theme I couldn't think of anyone better than to write this astonishing and touching tale about the fickle, fleeting nature of life, the fallibility of memory and the pitfalls of growing old. In it Shriver constructs twelve parallel universes, exploring multiple futures for the couple, some of which stray into speculative fiction (e.g. successful cryogenics, a cure for ageing), and I had an absolute ball reading this book, which may have a grim starting point, but which in its execution is playful, funny, and sometimes, life-affirming. Both timely and timeless, the intention of the story is serious—to examine the quandary of how to live a long enough life yet still go out in style. I can't resist Shriver’s writing, so I decided to forge ahead despite this being a topic I would usually avoid. I must say, it's heartbreaking and beautiful, poignant and surprisingly humorous and it goes without saying: exquisitely written with deft handling of sensitive issues. Among the topics it explores are living life to the full, dying with dignity, autonomy and suicide. It has emotional depth, but Shriver balances that against lighter quips throughout giving a perfect equilibrium between light and dark themes in this thoughtful, thought-provoking story. Highly recommended.

[P K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lionel Shriver’s books are often organized around some central topical issue, which often makes them thought provoking. In her earlier books (notably We Need to Talk about Kevin, The Mandibles, So Much for That, and Big Brother), there’s a strong effort to integrate these issues pleasingly into a beautiful and memorable story. I started to see hints of a worrying disregard for the narrative and the increase of shrill and naked harping in some of the stories in Property. With The Motion of the Body Through Space, we see a novel comprised almost entirely of very artificial and didactic dialogue between characters, who seem to be hand puppets for Shriver’s views, or comically (unintentionally I think) one-dimensional foils. I respected Shriver so much as a writer that I thought that novel was a reflection of a hard year and an artistic misstep. I picked this latest book up eagerly hoping to see my old friend Good Writer Lionel Shriver again.

I hated this book so much I think I might finally stop reading Shriver’s books, after being an avid fan for more than 10 years. This book returns repeatedly to the theme that living a long life isn’t intrinsically valuable. Wouldn’t it be better to step out gracefully at your peak rather than sully that memory with years of dependency and incompetence? That’s exactly how I’m starting to feel about Shriver’s body of work. Shriver structures this book as a series of possible alternatives given different circumstances. Unfortunately, while this could have been an interesting choice, it gives her carte blanche for her recently favored “characters as hand puppets” style, and exonerates her from having to spend effort on character development and narrative building/progression. I’m not sure if Shriver is trending towards such one-dimensional depictions of issues because she finds it sells well, because she’s lost her critical thinking and communication skills, or if she just thinks readers won’t know any better. It’s possible she’s trying to be funny, but I feel that’s an overly generous interpretation of most of the book, though some of the dialogue is clearly meant to read as excessively blithe dark humor. When Cyril and Kay are forcibly checked into a care home, the proprietor is as invariably sadistic as a Captain Planet villain. It’s like Shriver wants to make sure readers don’t have to exercise any moral thinking. The proprietor is a baddie, that’s very clear.

Some of the aspects of the book that fell especially flat could have been partially rescued if it was revealed that the alternate realities were just Kay and Cyril speculating about what might be. Then the evil care home woman and the totally slap dash attempts at futuristic sci fi could be interpreted as droll humor, adding a sort of meta appeal, but they're not presented like that. They're just presented as alternative timelines. I understand that Shriver might be shooting for the satire genre, but it isn't smart satire. It just comes off as scathing and lazy.

In short, I’m very disappointed that I can no longer count myself among Shriver’s fans. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

[SueLucie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have long enjoyed Lionel Shriver’s work and her ability to cut to the heart of topical issues. Her writing is always elegant and so witty. She carries on in the same vein in this latest novel, turning her attention to ageing, and I found this really engaging, especially to begin with. But, as the publisher’s blurb says:

Weaving in a host of contemporary issues - Brexit, mass migration, the coronavirus - Lionel Shriver has pulled off a rollicking page-turner in which we never have to mourn deceased characters, because they’ll be alive and kicking in the very next chapter.

and this is where my problem with this book lies. Although of course I found the different situations Kay and Cyril experience sometimes entertaining, sometimes downright scary, always thought-provoking (I am thinking here of the cryogenics chapter particularly), overall I felt there were too many social issues crammed into too many possible scenarios, to the extent that by the end I failed to care about the outcome for the characters one jot. I don’t suppose LS intended us to care about them, but it came as a disappointment for me as I’d been invested in their dilemma in the first chapters.

With thanks to HarperCollins, Borough Press via NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Caleb Dagenhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong writing and an interesting premise: how to cope with declining health in old age? Although the suicide pact is a bit morbid, this tongue-in-cheek work started off strong. There was an opportunity here to treat serious topics with a bit of levity in a way that would have been truly memorable. For me, the first half of the book approaches that standard, and is probably a solid 4 stars. My only criticism of the beginning of the work is that there is a bit too much expository dialogue for a couple who have been married for decades.

However, later on, as the situations Kay and Cyril find themselves in become more outlandish, for me, they become much less interesting, and I found myself powering through the end of the book out of a sense of duty rather than enjoyment.

Note: I was provided a free advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Tooter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

[Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I had to read 30 pages of this racist, transphobic, xenophobic, homophobic wank for uni then I sure as hell am going to reap the rewards in my goodreads challenge. Call it reparations, Lionel.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

God this woman is brilliant.
A couple decide whilst in their 50s to kill themselves when they both reach 80. However, once at that age, they start to reevaluate. What follows is a collection of alternative beginnings, middles and endings. It's so beautifully written. I didn't find it hilarious but it is funny in parts. What it is, is absolutely brilliant. I loved The Motion of the Body Through Space. This is even better. She uses repetition and recurring themes so easily that you barely know she's doing it. Some dystopian, some almost utopian futures. Read it please, it's excellent.

[Christina Dalcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: Lionel is one of my favorite people on earth. But I’m not giving this book five stars just because I happen to like her style. This is important reading, particularly for anyone with aging parents, or for anyone who’s aging (i.e., all of us). Both hilarious and horrifying, SHOULD WE STAY gets right to the heart of what it means to face our own inevitable fate and what it means to live well (as opposed to living long). Highly recommended.

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 Best Books of the Year [#09 of 11]

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been some time since I read one of Shriver’s novels and now I am wondering why I’ve left this (and some others) languishing on my shelves for so long. I can’t remember the last time I read a novel that really made me think like this. Her books are just so provocative, in the best of ways. Of course, provocation has made sides, and I don’t always agree with what I think Shriver is trying to say, but I loved the intellectual exercise all the same. The dialogue is sharp as a knife, and Kay and Cyril leap from the page, vivid and fully formed. It’s a novel that asks big questions about what it means to be in control of your life, the dynamics of a marriage and how well we can ever know and trust our knowledge of our closest partners, familial duty and love and the toll it takes on our individual lives, the shape and purpose of a society and its role in our individual lives, and most directly about getting older, and how we navigate our own unravelling. Much to consider, much joy in being challenged to that consideration.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kay and Cyril Wilkinson are 50 years old - she is a nurse, he is a GP - and have been traumatised by Kay's parents' recently-completed descent into dementia and death, her father turning into a particularly violent person as a result of the disease. Concerned about Kay possibly inheriting the same disease and also about the increasingly-aged population, Cyril suggests that they make a pact to jointly commit suicide when they both reach the age of eighty. Kay agrees with the plan - but a lot can change in 30 years.....
As the couple's deadline approaches, both are quite fit and well - and Kay in particular starts to have second thoughts about their pact. On the day itself, she sends a text message to their daughter....
As this all happens quite early in the book, I was wondering what was going to happen in the rest of the book! In a clever twist, the remainder of the book is a series of scenarios, detailing various alternative 'lives' for Kay and Cyril in the lead-up and the aftermath of their 80th birthdays,
This was an excellently-crafted novel, mostly narrated by Kay - I loved the characters and the various scenarios, some of which were quite disturbing. Also plenty of topical stuff about Brexit, the Covid epidemic, the quality of care homes, pressures on the NHS and asylum seekers. Very nearly a 5-star read for me - 9+/10.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I'm a huge fan of Shriver's work, and this new novel is a page-turner and very thought-provoking.

[Liz Mc2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for book group and although I recognize its strengths I mostly hated it. It confirmed my negative impression of the author. Although it led to a lively discussion! I asked myself whether my dislike was only because I dislike Shriver’s opinions, and that is part of it, but I also found it brittle and clever rather than thoughtful and humane about mortality and what makes life valuable.

After a certain point I found that the different alternate scenarios weren’t adding new ideas and insights. And at times the book was a platform for Shriver’s politics at the expense of believable characterization (I just did not buy that Cyril, a lefty, career NHS doctor who argued for committing suicide at 80 so as not to be a burden on the state, would think mask-wearing was hysterical, smug conformity. And don’t get me started on the ugly stuff about migrants).

Some people in my group suggested there’s value in her provocations, but the last few years have left me thinking that there is not—provocation is for privileged people who don’t care who they hurt, and far too many provocateurs have gotten into power and turned out not to just be kidding.

[AtomicBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went on a whole journey with this book. If I am honest when I first started this book it I didn’t like it, I wasn’t sure I would be able to finish it but then something big happened and I fell in love with the writing, the story and the characters, and I couldn’t put it down. It starts a bit like a play, a dialogue between two characters, Kay and Cyril, but then the story really opens up, as we enter a story somewhere between Groundhog Day and Sliding Doors. The story touches on so many things, it is in parts funny, sometimes sad, a little bit heartwarming with a big dose of political satire but ultimately it is a brilliant memorable read.

Thank you to LoveReading for the ARC.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a great admirer of this author, I haven't loved every book, but they are always interesting, tackle big subjects and have her trademark quirk and humour. She is also keen on a 'sliding doors' approach. The Post Birthday World, one of my favourites uses the technique, and so does this new one. A scene that repeats and has a different outcome. There are 12 different scenarios in this story of ageing, contemplating what life will be like and figuring out how to leave the world gracefully or not.

It is the story of a long married couple, Cyril and Kay, who make a pact on Kay's 50th birthday, that they will kill themselves in their 80th year. They decide not to be a burden, not to take up more of the health system's resources than necessary. Kay's experiences with her mother have a bearing and Cyril who is a doctor has seen enough elderly people in long term care. It is a pragmatic approach and it does seem to fit their personalities. Particularly Cyril who is dry as dust and deeply political. But when the time comes will they be able to go through with their pact? We see 12 different ways that things roll out.

It is so nicely done, the motif of the ubiquitous white van, the conversations that repeat, a txt sent, it just had me all ready and waiting for the next mention of the various markers in the story. The quirky and clever conversations are just classic examples of the authors dark humour. Some of the scenarios are shocking, some sad, some endearing and some shocking. Oh I loved it, totally hooked from beginning to end. The cleverness of the author shining through at every turn.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel, the reader was marvellous.

[Христо Блажев · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Кей и Сирил имат хармоничен брак, добра професионална реализация и са почти успели в доброто възпитание на децата си. Двамата добре познават неволите на старостта от личния си опит и мисълта те самите да се окажат тежко бреме за близките си ги ужасява. Затова и по на още петдесетина те решават да приключат всичко на осемдесетия рожден ден на Кей. И годините политат – за да ги доближат до тази предначертана граница. Там, където животът им е влязъл в спокойно русло, още са с ума си, видели са свят, а единствената им тревога е за Англия, която се лута в болезнено разделяне с континентална Европа, и в опасната пандемия, която залива света. Остава им само да изпълнят своето решение и да си отидат с достойнство.

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[G.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF
I really wanted to enjoy this novel, I admire the author….ö however I really struggled with this , and , at 68% ! On a sunny autumn day I asked myself why am I still reading this ?! I couldn’t convince myself to continue so it is a DNF from me. Nevertheless I will give it 3 stars as the author must have spent a great deal of energy coming up with all the various scenarios of growing old and dying !! Shriver can without doubt write very well, but this cynical, depressing, dire plot was relentless, the hype tells me it is “hilarious “ … I fear then that I have totally lost my sense of humour, reviews say it is a must read for the older generation…. I fear I must be one of the grumpy exceptions! I simply couldn’t sympathize with the two main characters, if they stayed or went did not interest me one hoot. Simply not a book for me.

[SusanT · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I struggled to finish this. The first 50 pages or so were mildly enjoyable but the "science fiction" endings were just silly. Also, if one is going to write at length about dementia, one should have a better understanding of the disease. I thought the portrayal of the father racing about rather far fetched. End stage patients are generally off their feet as their motor function is impaired, not needing to be coaxed down off ladders or needing 3 people to contol them. A day spent in a dementia ward might have been research time well spent but i guess impossible during the Covid lockdown.

I enjoyed Shriver's last work and find her right wing angles quite entertaining, but this was quite frankly quickly churned out trash.

[Kristina Howard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book because the idea behind it was interesting and I like Lionel Shriver's writing. But, I just about hated everyone in it (especially the children) and tired of the endless lectures on UK's National Health Service.

[Caren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shriver's sharp-witted satire has become my favourite of her novels! I found it hilarious in parts, touching in others, disturbing in many sections, and creatively presented in structure and in thought. At the age of 55, Cyril and Kay Wilkinson agreed to end their lives when they reached 80, a double suicide to avoid the inevitable deterioration of their health, their loss of independence - "the process of whittling away what [they've] always done".

Shriver presented 12 different scenarios (universes), each portraying an alternative "ending" to their plan, each inventive and each connected in some way to the previous one. The structure of these "choose your own adventure"-like scenarios and the manner in which Shriver portrayed the possibilities of their decision to follow through with their plan or not, literally left me in awe of her imagination.

What also entertained me was Shriver's perception of our present and future worlds with the complexities that have kept us awake at night worrying. She brilliantly explored Brexit, the COVID pandemic, mass immigration, health and aged care, economic catastrophe, cryogenic preservation and the impact of each of these on the lives of this professional, happily married couple. Her exploration of the social, political, economic and psychological implications of the choice to die with dignity and at the time one chooses made for a compelling read!

[Cindy (leavemetomybooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of this book was very cool: alternate universes revolving around a couple (Cyril and Kay)'s decision whether or not to kill themselves on Kay's 80th birthday to spare themselves (and the NHS coffers) the indignities of aging. This reminded me a bit of Shriver's earlier book, The Post-Birthday World, but with many (too many) more alternative outcomes.

Shriver is as snarky and witty as ever, but this book fell flat for me overall. Some of the alternates were just too kooky -- cryogenics and anti-aging pills -- ugh -- and I get that the stay/leave of Brexit was a theme, but omg it was boring to read about it in detail, especially through the voice of Cyril who was such a bombastic know-it-all, and I did not love his Covid denier underpinnings either.

This would be an interesting story to discuss with a book group, assuming everyone could make it through the entire book. I ended up skimming in parts because I just wanted it to be over.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for the review copy. Available June 8, 2021 *

[Maryellen Woodside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book blew me away! Kay and Cyril Wilkinson are both in the medical field, he a doctor and she a nurse. After Kay's father dies from Alzheimer's, they make a pact to commit suicide on Kay's 80th birthday. Seems like a simple enough plot. But Shriver has presented several different endings to the story. Some of the ending are happy, others are downright scary. Loved it!